Some members of Congress are calling for a moratorium on implementation of the code until the issues can be worked out.
Meanwhile, homeowners should be present during their appraisals and be prepared to ask questions, according to Maureen Sweeney, who owns a Chicago appraisal firm.
She says homeowners should politely inquire about an appraiser's familiarity with the neighborhood and recent local sales to make sure the house gets an apples-to-apples comparison.
"Consumers are acutely aware of what's going on in their neighborhood," Sweeney said. "I always ask, 'Are there any sales in the neighborhood that you would like me to look at or consider?' "
The homeowner and the appraiser should be in agreement on what, exactly, constitutes "the neighborhood," Sweeney said.
McCarthy said having your real estate agent at the appraisal could be a good move.
"I never turn down information from a real estate agent," McCarthy said.
If there are any doubts about the appraiser, the homeowner or agent should contact the lender before the appraisal is turned over to the lender - otherwise, if they're unhappy with the results of the appraisal, it just looks like sour grapes, Sweeney said.
And there's the issue of nearby short sales (in which the house is worth less than the value of the mortgage) and sales of bank-owned foreclosures, both of which may have sold for significantly less than "non-distressed" properties.
It's not necessarily a given that the appraiser will consider these two types of sales as comps, dragging down your own, non-distressed home's valuation, according to Chip Wagner, who owns a Naperville, Ill., appraisal firm.
"It can vary," Wagner said. "There are some neighborhoods where short sales and foreclosures are a major part of the market, and some where there are just a few."
The difference to the appraiser, he said, is whether they seem to be dominating the area's pricing.
Sometimes, the foreclosures are the only closed sales to use for comparable data, and there's no alternative, Wagner said.
Another concern that didn't used to influence most appraisals: Lenders now want to know not just about sold comps, but about nearby houses that are for sale.
"The reason they want to see them now is because in a declining market, the competition is the listings," McCarthy said. "They say more to an underwriter than sales from six months ago."
