Who is the appraiser working for?

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Hi Everyone -

I am new to REI and am close to doing my first deal. The condo I am looking at seems to be valued between $260K and $280K. I have a verbal contract with the seller to buy it for $217.

The plan is to write the contract to require the property to appraise for $271,250, which give me exactly 20% in equity.

Problem is, a real estate agent friend of mine (who I think is sort of full of it) told me that appraisers will have the sales contract with them, and will not stick their neck out much further than the contract price.

If they are going to stick close to contract price, what good are they? And if they don't say that the property is worth much more than I am buying it for, how do I justify what the "market" price is for this property?

Finally, how do I avoid PMI if my lender says I am borrowing 100% of the purchase price?

Did I miss something when I was told appraisers are "independent"?

Thanks in advance
V-man