Appraisers were simply order takers… A friend that refers a lot of commercial work to me forwarded the following communications from an AMC. He’s been telling to ‘go away’ for some time now. This time he played along to see exactly what it is they are hustling. I’ve redacted my friends name and eliminated excessive line spacing and repetitive email signatures. I also bold highlighted references to John Brenan & AQB communications. Otherwise it’s as copied from my email. We’ve all heard enough about hybrids so you can either read the copied emails or skip them. It’s the article from...
Cap on AMC fees & Compensation Disclosure… VaCAP was informed of Senate Bill 655 introduced on January 10, 2018 in the General Assembly by Senator McPike. The bill limits the amount an AMC can charge a consumer for their services at 20% and also requires the AMC to disclose the amount charged for their services. We do not know who is behind this bill, but we thank Senator McPike for introducing it. We will share more information as we obtain it. See the bill here or below. BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-2022.2,...
VaCAP has been asked by our neighbors in Maryland to help promote their AMC legislation. HB 64 was introduced into the General Assembly by Delegate Michael Jackson on January 10, 2018. The bill reduces the amount of time an AMC has to pay an appraiser from 60 days to 30 days. The current language of the bill is as follows: Article – Business Occupations and Professions (a) Except in cases of breach of contract or substandard performance of services, an appraisal management company shall pay an appraiser for the completion of an appraisal or valuation assignment within [60] 30 days...
There is no shortage of appraisers, only appraisers willing to work for Appraisal Management Companies, but there will be a shortage if the current toxic business climate does not change. The AMC business model is based on lies that hurt the consumer and your constituents. There are many voices that have agendas to reduce the qualifications to become a Real Estate appraiser, whether it be a Licensed Appraiser, Certified Residential Appraiser or a Certified General Appraiser. There are also voices that would like the requirements of an appraisal by a person licensed by the state to be waived as there is a...
…Multiple Wall Street and other large financial institutions have approached my firm this year after they neutered their AMC vendors, requiring that they use our firm for high-end work. We are to be paid our fee and allowed to provide our reasonable turn times. I was told many horror stories by those institutions who came to realize we are not robots, nor are we widgets. By taking this step, they invested in risk management. However, their initial stream of new business was met with 3-4 addendum requests per assignment that had nothing to do with any requirements, repeated prior requests...
Appraiser Alert: Don’t Mess with a 4’ 10” Senior Citizen! Last week I called a borrower to schedule the appraisal appointment. She asked me some very odd questions; “Are you a licensed appraiser? What is your license number? How can I verify this information?” Well I had never been asked any of these questions in my entire career, but I answered as there really wasn’t anything I was hiding. It was 19 degrees outside when I arrived at the property and this senior citizen, not more than 4 feet 10 inches tall, was sitting on the porch. I proceeded up the porch...
Hybrid Appraisal Created by Independent Appraisers? Hybrid appraisals/alternative valuations is the most polarizing topic in the profession these days. With AMC’s all rolling out their new alternative valuation products, wouldn’t it make sense for independent appraisers to come together and create OUR own hybrid/alternative product? This is our opportunity to compete directly with AMC’s and regain control of our profession. The blueprint for this hybrid/alternative valuation model is already in place. We just need to come together, create a better one, and market it to the same investors that are already using them. If independent appraisers got together and did...
Like many other appraisers I received a copy of paperwork filed in conjunction with the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board / FTC and Real Estate Valuation Partners (REVP) aka Valuation Partners. (Thank you VaCAP!) To me it’s a bombshell, but before I go into the story of who did what to whom, and for how much let’s start off by asking all readers to click this link to see who the players are. Even if you read the article elsewhere please read the following link. Got it? Great. Just so we are clear, one of the Chief players appears to...
Why wasn’t the original appraiser asked to do the 1004D Update? Here it is the new year, and the potential games played by some AMC’s have already started. On January 3, 2018, I received word from an appraiser that this “substitute” appraiser was asked by an AMC to do a 1004D Update on a report another appraiser had done in September 2017. The AMC provided the original appraisal with the assignment request. I see mentions of this kind of assignment on various forums I read, and the posters always question these requests. On the surface, it was not a highly...
In the case of the FTC vs Louisiana Real Estate Board, Real Estate Valuation Partners (REVP) was issued a subpoena by Louisiana to provide some documents. They have filed a motion to quash the subpoena and not provide documents. When you read through the 11 page document, and we highly recommend you do, it appears REVP is hiding crucial documents that may be incriminating to themselves and other appraisal management companies. There are 12 specific items being requested. Take a look for yourself here. It is very telling! b. Requests No. 4, 5, 6, and 11 ask for REVP’s internal...
