Lendervend "no railing on porch or deck" Condition

Every once in a while I run into a property where the owner is mid-construction or repair on a deck or porch. This ranges from; no railings on the deck, to the back door being a 20 foot drop to nowhere. In this case Provident Funding requires that the borrower either permanently seal the door or finish the deck/porch. The "permanent seal" can be as simple as disabling the locking mechanism so that the door cannot be opened, or a permanent seal of some kind (which makes no sense because NO ONE would ever do this method). Then Provident orders a "final inspection" from the appraiser to go out and check to make sure the work is done. It makes me cringe to think of the borrower paying $100-$150 for me to come back out and look at a disabled lock that took them less than 5 minutes to do.  I have made it a habit to educate the borrower on the Provident guideline and then give them a chance to disable the lock while I am completing the inspection.  This serves 2 purposes:

1. The borrower is happy to be given the information and chance to save money
2. It makes me look more professional and proficient in my job, adding credibility to the appraisal itself

If I leave the borrower with a "teaching moment" they remember that they were treated with respect by the appraiser who knew the guidelines, and saved them money by giving them information, so must have been extremely knowledgeable.  If the appraised value is less than they had "hoped for" (in this market? never . . . ) they would be less likely to accuse me, the appraiser, of incompetence and my opinion carries more weight.

By saving the borrower money (especially after they have paid the "higher than last time" appraisal fee) they have less of a feeling of being "nickel and dimed" and will be more likely to insist on Provident Funding next time (or the same mortgage broker who is sending deals to Provident).  When they use Provident next time that is another job for us, Lendervend's appraisal panel.

Yes, I know that by not requiring the final inspection I am losing money. Getting a mortgage loan is hard enough these days without us, the appraisers, trying to squeeze every penny out of the transaction ourselves. Lendervend is paying more than any other AMC I have come across and, although we have no control over market conditions and values, we can help keep Provident's customers happy in the small ways that we are able. Especially when it is something so simple as letting them disable a lock while we finish the inspection.