How Do I Know If This Hardmoney Lender is Scamming Me?

[James G.]

Hi BP,

I am about to purchase a property in two weeks through a so- called national hard money lender called "Lonestar Hardmoney" ... Their website is lonestarhardmoney.com. I became skeptical when they would only use one appraisal company: Appraisal Commercial, Inc.  (appraisalcommercial.com) and their website looked similar to LoneStars... The appraiser was also willing to bring down the cost of the appraisal by $500 within an hour which seemed weird to me. Is it possible that I am paying the appraiser $2,500 for the appraisal, and that even if the "appraisal" comes in fine, that lonestar is going to find another reason to deny me the loan and keep my money? How do I check is this process is legitimate?

[Max T.]

What kind of property costs 2500 to appraise?