Why I Built WorthMore: A Conversation with Daniel Martin

Carrie Carpenter sat down with Daniel Martin, founder of WorthMore.ai, to talk about the appraisal dispute that started it all.

What actually happened with your appraisal in Nashville?

So my wife and I bought a house on Seymour Ave. Great neighborhood. We loved the place. But when the appraisal came back, the number was low. Not just a little low, you know? Low enough to mess up our financing.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table reading that report thinking, wait, something is off here. The number just did not match what we were seeing in the neighborhood. Houses on our street were selling for more. Updated homes, similar size. And the appraiser came in under all of that.

When you looked at the report, what did you find?

The comps were totally wrong. That was the core issue. The appraiser used properties that were smaller than ours. One had the wrong square footage listed. Another was a fixer-upper being compared to our updated home. A third was in a different part of the neighborhood with completely different lot sizes and conditions.

It was like comparing apples to brake pads, you know? These were not comparable sales. Not if you actually knew the area and looked at the data.

I pulled up recent sales myself. Found homes that matched ours on size, condition, age, and location. The numbers told a completely different story than what the appraiser put on paper.

Walk me through what you did next.

I wrote a Reconsideration of Value letter. An ROV. Most people have never heard of it, but it is a formal way to challenge an appraisal. You present better comps, explain why the ones used were inappropriate, and ask the lender to have the appraiser take a second look.

I spent weeks on it. Researching comps. Pulling MLS data. Writing up the argument. Formatting everything so it would actually be taken seriously. It was like writing a legal brief, except I am not a lawyer and I had no template to work from.

I submitted it to the lender and waited. That was the worst part, honestly.

What was the outcome?

The lender accepted it. The appraiser reviewed my comps, agreed that the original comparables were not the best fit, and revised the value upward. We closed on the house at the right number.

That felt incredible. But it also made me angry, you know? Because I almost did not do it. I almost just accepted the low number. And I only figured it out because I am stubborn and I like digging into data. Most people would not have known this was even an option.

Why did that turn into WorthMore?

Because what I did manually should not take weeks. It should take minutes. The logic is not complicated. You look at the comps the appraiser used. You check if they actually match the subject property. You find better ones if they do not. And you write a clear, professional letter explaining why.

That is a process you can automate. Not with some generic AI chatbot. With something purpose-built that understands appraisal methodology, USPAP standards, and what lenders actually need to see in an ROV.

I kept thinking about all the homeowners out there getting low appraisals and just accepting them. Losing equity. Losing deals. Paying more than they should on PMI. All because nobody told them they could push back.

Who is this actually built for?

Anyone who gets a low appraisal and thinks something is wrong. You do not need to be a data person. You do not need to understand real estate comps. You upload your appraisal report. WorthMore reads it, finds the problems, and writes the ROV letter for you.

It is built for the person sitting at their kitchen table, staring at a number that does not feel right, and not knowing what to do about it. That was me two years ago. Now there is a tool that does what I did, but faster and better.

If your appraisal is low, do not just accept it. Check it.