A Convenient Appraisal, but Not Exactly Unbiased

I'm still surprised there aren't any reviews on VTB's official website, given how seamless and fast their service is.

So, here's our story: we're buying a secondary property in the capital, and we're taking out a mortgage with VTB. When preparing our documents, the VTB website tells us that we've been approved for a unique appraisal offer (no on-site inspector needed) and gives us a link to a third-party site - [link] - which just so happens to feature VTB's official logo. I'm not sure how they choose the lucky winners for the remote appraisal, but it's probably just about everyone. The price tag is 4000 rubles.

What's even more astonishing is that you don't need to take extra photos from specific angles; they just use the photos from the listing on Cian (even if the listing is already closed). Our listing had photos of all the rooms, but let's just say they weren't perfect - many nuances (including renovations) were hard to understand from those photos, unless you saw the place in person. I guess they're just assessing the property's condition based on those photos, with a pretty general grading system (in our case, "needs renovation").

I'm not too concerned about the renovations, as the report concludes that they weren't evaluated. I'm guessing the bank doesn't really care (although friends used to tell horror stories about how appraisers would build "Potemkin villages" out of drywall to match the floor plan). You don't even need the floor plan, by the way - just the owner's passport and a copy of the EGRN (an electronic copy is fine).

So, in essence, the report is just a comparison with a few random neighboring listings. I'm not sure if they're trying to match the options to your budget or not. The selection might not be entirely objective, either. They do take into account the first/last floor, but not the absence/presence of a balcony or whether the building is made of brick or paneling. In our case, all the comparative listings were within one metro stop of the city center, which definitely gave our place a good score - but it wouldn't have been so rosy if they'd chosen listings closer to the MKAD. All in all, our appraisal was spot on. The verdict: our property is priced slightly below market value (a 3% deviation from the purchase price). We were happy with that. However, I do think there's a lack of objectivity in this report.

The pros: the appraisal format is perfectly in line with VTB's (although it might not work for other banks), it's relatively inexpensive, and the results came in the next day (automatically, no less, and even to our bank manager). It also seems like they're trying to match the appraisal to your budget.

Overall, it feels like these documents are just a formality, and the main goal is to extract a bit of money from unsuspecting customers (and preferably into the bank's pocket, rather than some other mysterious appraiser's). Thanks for the discount and the hassle-free experience.

Since an appraisal is inevitable, I'll say that [link] is a decent option, and I appreciate the convenience it brings to our mortgage woes.