Sheriff's appraisal practices outrages group; law change sought

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By Lynn Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 12:30 AM Tuesday, January 12, 2010

DAYTON — A veteran property appraisal executive is outraged about Montgomery County Sheriff Philip Plummer’s foreclosure sale appraisal practices and said a statewide group is looking at changing the law.

“There has been talk that it will be very hard to get around the sheriffs’ lobbying group,” said Richard Henkaline, a member of the Ohio Coalition of Appraisal Professionals and president of Henkaline Associates of Washington Twp.

The Dayton Daily News on Saturday reported that appraisers working for Plummer — most of them without real estate or appraisal licenses — earned as much as $151,456 last year appraising foreclosed properties to be sold at sheriff’s auction.

“The amount of work and the money they can make by doing that just seems so excessive,” Henkaline said.

Henkaline said the law should require at the very least that the appraisers be licensed.

Plummer requires they take a course in appraisal, but neither Plummer nor state law requires that they have a license. Two have real estate licenses but the rest do not, said Chief Deputy Mike Nolan. The sheriff does not bid out the work, nor is he required to.

Nolan said the appraisers do 17 to 75 appraisals a week.

“There’s quite a few problems that I see with it, and one has to do with licensing,” said Henkaline. “I’m pretty distressed by the fact that the sheriffs’ departments don’t use licensed appraisers.”

State law gives sheriffs wide latitude in hiring the appraisers, who in Montgomery County are typically paid $85 per property.

“At $85 they can’t be doing anything but driving by a property and throwing a number on a paper,” said Henkaline, who says a proper appraisal takes at least six hours. “There can’t be any professionalism in what they are doing, not if they do 75 a week.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7455 or lhulsey@DaytonDaily News.com.

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