They are the people bribing the officials (which is not punishable legally), not the people receiving the bribes. 

Otherwise, the value supported by the first appraisal will be used to calculate the maximum mortgage amountI would hope they use common sense - hell, I rehabbed the whole house, inside and out - but again I ask, is there a chance I get punished by having a contractor who gives me good prices, and by searching out good sales in materials and appliances?

Unless it's illegal in your area for contractors to take on work without a license, or local code prevents a GC from pulling permits, the only real disadvantage is that the contractor can't be censored or punished by the licensing body, which usually takes the form of loss of license and fines.

We are going to use the power that left is centralizing in the federal government to punish them, to break 'em up, and to make them pay for this.

Mortgage fraud is a federal crime and is a Class 4 felony in AZ, and the fines and class type/name vary by state as well as the punishment...

Heck, even dog fighters and animal abusers hardly get punished with your awfully broken system.Pitbulls, cane corsos etc are NOT dangerous breeds.

I think these are great laws because they punish the dishonest folks.

Even if it turns out the repairs are your sister's financial responsibility, the owner can not punish her by not having repairs made. 

Are you trying to punish the guy for some imagined slight?

I really hate punishing someone for something that isn't there fault, but unfortunately the system is set up that way.