Regarding the post was this a scam

I know this is a little older but I wanted to comment for anyone else that may read - first I hope you were able to work things out - It is a sad state of affaairs with regards to appraisals - we as lenders can no longer contact the appraiser directly. We must go througha third party management company. That company takes our orders and then hires an appraiser, we have no say in who they choose. It is unfortunate that the appraiser did not know the area well enough to give you a solid value. Since this new model has been in place I have found that appraisers are much more conservative. They will not push the subject when it comes to value. In your case the management company should have been provided the comps you found and the appraiser should have been asked to use the more accurate comps and reconsider the value. The biggest lesson here IMHO is if a bank asks for anything more than the cost of the appraisal upfront RUN do not walk RUN. They know that you will not shop around and are stuck using their services even if they are horrible, once ou give money you are financially obligated (in your own mind) and they know it. Also if things go wrong they keep the funds. When shopping for a lender if one stands out as way better cost wise than the rest there is probably a huge catch somewhere.
Hopefully you were able to get the refinance you needed? I am in the Bay Area Out towards the appraiser, and yes the market here is on an up trend.

Take Care
Brian Barnes
ENG Lending
Nationwide Lender