I would say that it depends on the situation, and is hard to define.
An addition may mean that the house cannot get a loan. It may require that inspections be done and it needs to be brought up to code.
It may not be a problem at all, or could be grandfathered in.
A lender will not go look at a property, they rely on the appraisal. If the appraiser isn’t aware that addition was un-permitted, I’m not sure if they have any liability. They should realize that something is wrong if the public record and actual size/rooms don’t match.
Just because it was done years ago and has changed hands and hasn’t been a problem before, doesn’t mean that it won’t become a problem in the future.
The current owner may not even be aware that a previous owner created this situation.
It could become a total nightmare OR it may not come up. The appraiser is probably the only one that will bring it up.
If someone pays for an inspection, they do not have to share it with the appraiser unless they want to.
An appraiser is not an inspector, the appraiser’s job is to establish current value but mention any defects or concerns that they have.
The appraisal industry is changing drastically on May 1st.
