BECKLEY — Whitesville State Bank is suing an appraisal company and its owners claiming they grossly inflated a property's value for a refinancing loan.
In a complaint filed in Raleigh Circuit Court against Bane and Shane Sarrett and Sarrett Appraisal Service, the bank alleges negligence and fraud.
Whitesville State Bank hired SAS on March 6, 2014 to appraise a property in Raleigh County for a refinancing loan. The bank alleges SAS failed to do a proper appraisal on the property and performed work it was not licensed to perform on the appraisal.
In 2018, the house was appraised by another company for $520,000, which was $446,500 less than the amount SAS said it was worth four years earlier, the suit said. "During the period April 2014 through June 2018, Raleigh County residential real estate prices trended upward, not downward," the suit says.
The 2018 appraisal "revealed to WSB that the defendant's appraisal was grossly inflated," the lawsuit states.
The bank seeks monetary relief, trial by jury, interest and all other just relief. It is represented by Edward Tiffey of The Tiffey Law Practice PLLC in Charleston.
Raleigh Circuit Court case number 20-C-44-K