Sign the Letter
Sign VaCAP Open Letter to AMCs
Fellow Appraisers,
A few weeks ago, Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals (VaCAP) sent out an open letter to the AMCs. This letter was republished by many coalitions, and appraiser groups across the country; liked and shared on Facebook and broadcast on several industry blogs. VaCAP received an overwhelmingly positive response from the letter. We even heard from several Realtors applauding our efforts! Activity is still ongoing with comments! Click here to read the letter and comments!
We heard you loud and clear…
The letter can now be signed by individual appraiser here on AppraisersBlogs. We will gather signatures and submit the signed letter to the FDIC, CFPB, Comptroller of the Currency and our Federal Reserve Board.
Note: To protect the appraiser identity from retaliation, only the initial of your last name and state will show on line. The copies sent to the FDIC, CFPB, Comptroller of the Currency and our Federal Reserve Board will have your full name.
VaCAP also authorizes anyone to use the letter. Several appraisers have asked to send our letter in response to AMCs soliciting them for fee and turn time. Please feel free to customize the letter and you see fit.
Review and sign the letter below.
VaCAP wishes to thank the staff at AppraisersBlogs for their support in hosting the letter signing.
Thank you for supporting VaCAP!
Postscript 10/6/2016
This letter can be signed by anyone, not just appraisers. Please forward this to your Realtor and lender contacts, friends, consumers, etc. Please post on your social media outlets as well. Our goal is to raise much needed awareness and support to change the broken AMC model within our industry.
VaCAP AMC Letter
| 582 | H. | CA | Aug 29, 2024 | |
| 581 | C. | Connecticut | Aug 19, 2024 | |
| 580 | H. | Jun 19, 2024 | ||
| 579 | C. | IN | Apr 21, 2024 | |
| 578 | W. | TN | Apr 18, 2024 | |
| 577 | S. | MD | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 576 | C. | CT | Feb 08, 2024 | |
| 575 | D. | Illinois | Jan 29, 2024 | |
| 574 | M. | AL | Jan 28, 2024 | |
| 573 | C. | AL | Jan 27, 2024 | |
| 572 | H. | Arizona | Jan 26, 2024 | |
| 571 | F. | CA | Jan 10, 2024 | |
| 570 | M. | NY | Nov 21, 2023 | |
| 569 | W. | FL | Sep 15, 2023 | |
| 568 | l. | CA | Aug 16, 2023 | |
| 567 | W. | Arizona | Jul 28, 2023 | |
| 566 | M. | TX | Jun 05, 2023 | |
| 565 | R. | Ct | Jun 01, 2023 | |
| 564 | C. | Tennessee | Apr 18, 2023 | |
| 563 | E. | Tx | Apr 14, 2023 | |
| 562 | M. | IL | Apr 11, 2023 | |
| 561 | T. | La | Apr 09, 2023 | |
| 560 | T. | LA | Apr 09, 2023 | |
| 559 | S. | WA | Mar 28, 2023 | |
| 558 | M. | AZ | Mar 09, 2023 | |
| << < > >> | ||||
- The New Con: Hybrids, Waivers & AMCs Threaten Public Trust - December 16, 2024
- VaCAP Supports Shane Lanham’s Legal Fight - September 10, 2024
- It’s Just Responsible Journalism! - February 21, 2024
Thank God!
Thank you VACAP!
THE FIX is to start paying appraisers Customary and Reasonable Fees and remove the AMC model from the equation. AMC’s are nothing but a middle man, who adds no value to the process and takes over half the appraisal fee.
The AMC’s are currently lobbying the ABQ to reduce the education and experience requirements because they do not have enough appraisers to work for poverty wages via APPRAISAL SHORTAGE propaganda. The professional appraisers I know and work with simply REFUSE to complete assignments for any AMC today. Last year, we decided to only work with Direct Engagement Lenders and clients who directly engage us for estates, bankruptcy, divorce etc. Was the transition hard, YES! Initially we were making less due to a low volume, but now we are back to a steady flow with quality clients and fees at and in many cases above C&R for non-complex assignments.Â
It should also be noted that the CURRENT appraiser qualification requirements are necessary in our field. Anything less and the banking industry will have another bubble on their hands.
Nick Gioia | Facebook
The complexity of the issue (C&R) Nick on my local level is that with depressed residential lender fees, non residential work has also become adversely effected. In fact, with a lower scope of work, upfront payments, extended due dates, etc., often times AMC WORK PAYS MORE than civil use assignments. If the appraiser received the full amount as paid by the borrower on a residential loan (No AMC), then although a separate market, the civil use assignments would in my opinion go up by a similar amount. The AMC model has been very destructive.
God, it did not take long for the laws of unintended consequences to show up. Just a few years ago, it was argued that licensing would merely legitimize an illegitimate company. Turns out it did just that and amc’s see themselves as more valuable to the appraisal profession, than appraisers themselves. When I challenge an amc manager I ask them to quiz their staff and ask how many amc workers have aspirations to be appraisers. In CO some amc’s are maintaining the 100% over appraisers charge or 50/50 split model, despite the appraiser charging 1500 dollars per.
Maryland Appraisers need to stand-up against abuse from AMC’s.
I feel like we’ve been here before…about 12 times since 2009!
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. ~ Thomas Edison
Hello VIRGINIA and thank you VACAP!!
I’m a Realtor® and approve this message.
I’m sick and tired of AMC’s hiring inexperienced and incompetent appraisers from as far away as 300 miles to complete a report for $250 while my clients end up paying double or more for the appraisal. Enough is enough
It’s one of those new things. Realty sales agents must continue to offer choices so as not to steer customers. But that does not prevent them from assisting borrowers in making competent decisions regarding sourcing lenders. Mr Realtor, think of it this way; It’s a free market and realty agents have to date, not assisted market corrections in terms of assisting customers to source loans through lenders whom do not use amc’s. The fact many buyers and sellers are not informed of these issues until a problem arises, is the problem itself. And as many a realty agent provides imbalanced coverage, saying things like; I only do listings and don’t work with buyers, the lower skill level realtors are the primary body of persons whom assist the consumer lender choice for the buyers. The realty community at large needs to develop tools for buyers to identify if the lender is using an amc or not, and help buyers make better informed decisions regarding sourcing the appraisal service, which is rooted in which lender they choose. If Matt Biggers Appraisal Advisor was still around, there would be a tool for that, but regrettably there is not a tool for that currently. Would it be permissible for a seller to demand to know if the buyers lender is utilizing an amc or not, prior to finalizing the contract? I think that with such a substantial issue as poor servicing from amc’s, it would be a permissible action to select one buyer over the other, based in part on how the lender sources appraisal services. Nothing wrong with demanding better service, that’s supposed to be part of the deal. Agents are not allowed to pick appraisers or reject appraisers, as the agent is ‘an interested party’, but I’ve often wondered if the realty agents could demand transparency in offering contracts, regarding the buyers lenders choice of appraisal distribution service. Food for thought.
PLEASE< PLEASE< PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
The correct terminology as stated in Dodd Frank is REASONABLE and customary.
Guess who turned it around!!!!
One could blame the lobbyists whom forced the rejection of hud1 forms with separated line item for appraisER and total appraisAL charges. One then in turn places blame again on the CFPB for both failing to adopt a new hud1 form which is compliant with junk fee and unearned fee rules, and also because of the safe harbor provisions in their own interpretation guidance faq’s.
Specifically 5.f, but there is a lot of interpretive rules here. Quiz your amc’s and see if they can answer even one legal point about these issues. Betcha a hundred bear skins they cannot.
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/eregulations/1026-42/2016-06834#1026-42-f-2
Click the interpretations plus sign after.
Someone should post a link on the AF, that’s usually good for 200-500+ sigs if the thread carries steam.
JTIP, where you at!? lol.
My fellow appraisers can solve this problem totally and completely. We do not have to pay any dues or ask for permission from any person on this planet. All we need to do is join together and stop taking AMC orders for 30 days. That may be a good time to take some continuing education…maybe a time to market your services to other appraisal users. Maybe take the family on a cruise. Does not matter if you sit in the corner and play with yourself…just take one month off and fish, play checkers, chase wild women…ANYTHING but work for an AMC. These AMCs have rent, utilities, salaries, insurance, taxes, etc. etc. How are they going to pay those fixed expenses unless YOUÂ pick up the tab for that? Just 30 days…one month and we will put a stop to the parasites that are making a disaster for our profession. So simple…but it will never happen because we have too many idiots working as appraisers. Really…some of these would beat the hell out of their mother if an AMC said that is what they should do. Your peers are laughing at you!
Thank you Wayne!
It certainly is refreshing to see another person out there willing to apply simple logic to the problem. Can you imagine the national news if appraisers actually would grow a set and boycott AMC orders for 30 days? It would be the top news in the nation on every network.
The funny thing is NOW is the best time to apply the concept while the demand for appraisers is strong and AMCs are already feeling that there is a shortage of “GOOD” appraisers.
They busted the ATC strike of 1981 by firing those on strike and bringing in military air traffic controllers. How many appraisers do you think the military has? ZERO
Their Possible Solutions:
Wheel out the AVM 3000 and pray that it could value everything in the country for a month.
Drop all requirements for being an appraiser and allow Brokers to value everything (talk about the ultimate Halloween scare).
Agree. We should boycott AMCs. Especially those who are bad  ie not paying C&R fees.
Good one Wayne. Time for some oldies but goodies.
I remember my first day at the parents appraisal office. 2 secretaries. An additional solo appraiser with apprentice in the back room. Our primary deal was a 3 room deal, 3 appraisers, 2 secretaries, and 2 apprentices. We passed files back and forth, ran varied printers, fed exed, stopped by print shops, went to assessors, and the list went on. My job was to data type for the first few years. Trusting the new guys to run adjusts or do solo inspections was not even a consideration, as that approach was not respectful to the clients or the borrowers best interests. I remember the motivation for the future, when each and every morning, no matter which files I was working, there was always $10k worth of orders on the desk. Lenders assigned us 450 to 750 city side, no questions, typically at 6 week turn times and they would state the rate lock expiration and would not state due dates. The other appraiser sat around with nothing to do, since he botched enough orders the lenders rang us and we hired an additional person to handle the permanent increase in demand. We ran acreage, farm, golf, and mountain at 1.5k to 2.5k. Once we got 10k fee to appraise a historical barn shack in central Telluride. We worked with amc’s back then. They typically charged 25 dollars to process orders, and no more than that.
Oh shoot, the youboob vid link did not present like news article, it imported the pic. Too bad. Did not want that big pic there, just wanted the link with description.
As I have said many times, i do not work with AMCs or mortgage brokers. The only exception is when the VA assigns me an appraisal for a mortgage broker. Well as usual, I received a VA assignment and completed the report on July 29, 2016. Today is October 5th, 2016 and no payment. This transaction closed about six weeks ago. I am tired of sending this dude invoices. This is not the first time I have had to play “chase the check” with this person. He will be served with notice of a small claims suit on October 14, 2016. As per my legal representative…I do not need to send him any notice as the invoices we notice. I bet this will get his attention!
As far as the Veterans Administration is concerned I consider the relationship I have with this lender to be adverse. I see any future assignments to this company as a conflict of interest. I understand that the VA wants an appraiser to take any assignment given…but they will receive my resignation from the panel if this cannot be resolved! I only receive two or three VA assignments each year and I turn down two or three assignments each day. Who needs who?
Hi Wayne, I’m also on the VA panel and had the same issue with a mortgage broker. I took the VP of the company to small claims court and sued for triple damages. He actually had the balls to say “we didn’t even make much money on that loan!” They stiffed me on a $425 VA condo. I requested $1,350 for time etc, they did not want to pay that. I told him point black, I’ll take $850 and move on since we were in front of an arbitrator and I would have had to take another day off of work to schedule a trial in front of the judge and I was simply too busy to waste a full day in court when I have 10+ orders a week coming in. They paid the $850 and I moved on. Most VA clients pay, it’s just the fly by night mortgage brokers that ruin it.
Ralph…
I totally understand how you feel. I could be wrong but if you and I were working in the same market and you told me that Joe at DIPSHIRT Mortgage was a slow pay, i would quickly come to the conclusion that if he would not pay you….GEE he most likely will not pay me! The ONLY reason I do appraisals is to earn money…If an arsewhole does not pay…they are toast. Really? I am going to believe my fellow appraisers all of the time where payment is concerned. HOW IN HELL do these mortgage idiots think they are going to earn a living if they have no appraisers willing to work with them? OH…I forgot there is ALWAYS a stupid appraiser in our group! There should be a website posting the names of the stupid appraisers!
I work for VA also, don’t forget we are allowed a $15/month late fee. And we have backing from the VA is we don’t get paid.
Chris…
Not my intention to be rude but $15.00 per month late fee is just silly. The only thing more pathetic is the belief that “we have backing from the VA”. You will find out that you do NOT have backing from the VA and they will assign you to do an appraisal for every deadbeat scum mortgage company in this solar system. The VA dictates how many days you can take to complete an assignment. Do they dictate how long a lender can take to pay for the appraisal? NO they do not…they even act as though they are making an apology if they ever have to request payment on your behalf. The VA is NOT your friend!
I have been appraising for more than thirty years. I happen to like AMC’s. At least the few I work for. I remember the days of waiting til a loan closes to get paid. I also remember spending a lot of time chasing down payments especially with attorneys and brokers. I also remember losing clients because of values. I get top fees from my AMC’s. If not, I don’t do them. My AMC’s all pay within 10 days. What does slow me down now and limits income is supporting the adjustments. But, my adjustments are always supported. That has added time to my process, hence increased fees. If you hate your AMC, find another. I turn down more work than I can accept. I’ve reviewed lots of appraisals, and the majority of them have been poor. Is the work poor because of low fees, or are the fees low because of sloppy work? It is your choice.
hello Memyself&I…If you are making a living working for AMCs you could be RICH working without them. They…the AMCs suck…always have always will. I do admire you in your ability to work with them. There is no way in HELL that I will work with such scum! Again…I wish you well! Thank GOD in heaven that I do not have to bend over for an AMC…Just not going to happen!
Also…has anyone ever noticed that when an appraiser responds about a review…the appraiser who is being reviewed is always pitiful….Talk about one upmanship! I am good…you are bad…LOL What a crock! Have any of you ever met a builder who was NOT the best builder in the solar system? I have been doing this Sh*T for about 40 years and believe me…you need a good sense of humor to survive!
Memyself, it sounds like you had poor business practices to start with. I don’t remember having to wait for loans to close because I collected at the door or prior to scheduling the appraisal, and deposited or cashed the check before working on the report. I never had to wait to get paid, or chase clients for payments.
I also didn’t lose clients because of values since I worked with ethical ones.
You know, I never did like COD. What came with that was the constant need to explain the client relationship and then illustrate the illogical premise that although the report was required for consumer protection, the consumer had to pay for it, but the lender owned all results. I like the billing structure better. By continuing to use paper methods and folder methods per report, I never miss a payment. Last one to get by me was a dual final inspect set and the mb only paid one. That was 7 years ago. Non payment is a non issue if you work with direct assignment clients, for the most part. It’s one of those hot buttons where regulation was effective for most considerations. And then with new portability rules, I find it’s easier to let any lender to lender compensation and portability issues get solved amongst them. It’s nice to never deal with comps and transfers and rewrite requests any more. Although of note, in my brief spell with the VA, since they distribute orders centrally, but then in the most confusing fashion do not also manage billing centrally, I did nearly deal with non payment. This one mb had my appraisal fee included in his commission. I guess they were used to dealing with volume appraisers whom may let something slip by now and then. When I finally figured it out and informed the processor, surely heads were rolling and I got that check personal check issued, fedex next day. That’s what the mb’s used to put me through, so I do prefer billing structure better, I just do the work, and collect the checks.
I couldn’t disagree with almost all of you more. I have been appraising 32-years. I remember when ordering came directly from the originator of the loan. I remember being told that if I didn’t ‘make-value’ that I wouldn’t receive another order. I remember when Realtor’s had a say in who did an appraisal (who was a ‘good’ appraiser (i.e. consistently ‘Made Value) or who was a ‘bad’ appraiser (didn’t make value sometimes).
When AMC’s came in, together with the new regulations, the influence referred to above was virtually stopped. I no longer had to put up with sitting by a real estate agent at a football game and be told that they ‘might’ use me, but they would have to see how I did first.
As for fees, there is no government onus to work for free. As I recall we fought a civil war over slavery many years ago. If you don’t want to do an assignment for peanuts, just tell them that and take the next call. Pretty soon all the cut-rate guys will get filled up and their turn-times will get farther out and you will receive more calls. It is the appraisers that control the fees and not the AMC’s. If all the appraiser just quoted a higher price, then the AMC’s would be forced to pay a higher price.
Asking the government to arbitrate what fees should be is very dangerous. You might not like what you ask for.
I learned that lesson the hard way. I actually signed the pro hvcc deal back in the day. Who would have guessed the action of ‘correcting distribution process’ would be all smoke and mirrors, where one pressure based system which was primarily profit focused would merely be replaced with another dissimilar yet still purely profit based distribution system. Oh well. Fortunately, I became a Ron Paul fan, and learned a great deal about the merits of private property, private enterprise, free markets, and limited government. I still hold out hope that middle management modeling can be reformed, because separation from loan production continues to be a beneficial aspect of current distribution. If only the distributors recognized what it means to be a non advocate. The spirit of separation rules are long forgotten, even though they’re only a few years old. These middle managers went wild chimp style when they were entrusted with the appraisers pay ahead of us, even though they’re much less qualified than us. Lenders should not even allow the amc to pay the appraiser, and if only lenders would have forced a cost plus system on middle management. But how then could they have skirted junk fee rules and turned the amc’s into profit centers. Oh well, the beat skips on. Amc’s, the long arm of the lender. Just FYI Kieth, that influence has been steadily creeping back in for some time now. If you review amc solicitation websites, some of them so much as advertise profit sharing return to lenders and also advertise detailed performance tracking systems, boldly declaring they work with appraisers whom close the most deals. If only lenders were not taxpayer backed, the free market would have corrected all of this on it’s own. Paul: “We should not reject free market capitalism, because the truth is we have not actually had that in some time.” (An audit the fed related statement.) The beat skips on.
hello keith,
You say that you disagree with most of us but you do not say if you are an AMC whore. Are you one of those who take AMC assignments for chump change at lightening speed? I would hope that with 32 years of experience that you are above that. Personally…I do not care what any AMC pays or what any silly appraiser accepts as their pitiful fee. My goodness…I cannot possibly accept 75% of the assignments that are offered to me! you dudes that want to bend over for an AMC…go for it!
I quote premium prices. Period. As far as I can tell, my office is at the forefront of the fee range. If they don’t want to pay me to do the work for that amount, that’s fine, they can call someone else.  This goes for AMC’s, the pope, the president, anybody.
We do quality work. We do it as right as possible.
We work for all types of clients and are current booked out about 65-days. I get at least five and sometimes ten offers per day for work. I don’t have to shave a price for anybody and will not in any event. I have never been short of work in 32-years.
From your name-calling and direct insults I can only assume that you must be more than a little over-wrought. I can’t quite follow how you got ‘AMC whore’ and ‘bend over’ out of my initial message? If anything my message was anti AMC to the extent of working for reduced fees.
If your message is a reflection of your analytic skills, I would suggest a good vacation to help you get sorted out.
Keith, I strongly disagree with you. AMC’s have not improved the lending process or lessened the pressure on appraisers. How many times have our estimate of value been lower than a sales contract amount? When that happens, we know that appraisal will receive a Reconsideration of Value request. Realtors involved will label us difficult or incompetent and may flat out refuse to work with us in the future (blacklisting). Many times we are dropped from an AMC appraisal panel. And if we are blacklisted for not playing ball, we may as well change careers or specialize in non-GSE work. We may even get a frivolous complaint sent to our state board! At least when the mortgage broker/loan officer would pressure appraisers within the realms of direct distribution, appraisers could make a complaint against that individual’s license. Such action is no longer possible. Appraisers are individuals, and we are inadequately positioned to, or dare to, go against an AMC corporation.
And your last point regarding government arbitrating fees, there is absolutely nothing in the letter suggesting this.
Hey…sorry for the AMC Whore comment. As a general certified appraiser I honestly pick and choose the appraisal assignments that I accept. I have earned the IFAS designation…had the qualifications for the SRWA designations. I needed a couple of classes to earn the MAI. I also need a class or two to earn the CCIM. None of that matters as there is no way in the HELL of this Universe that I would stoop so low as to work for a parasite AMC….An MAI working for an AMC??? Have you lost your f—king mind? How many assignments can you do in one day? What if you are offered five assignments each day of the week? Can you do that? Some of these are a single family home…some are 150 acres of flood plain, some are multi-fa,ily, duples, new construction, a new subdivision, on and damn on…WHY IN HELL would you crawl on your belly and accept an assignment from any AMC? Why in hell would anyone do that?
This is just another reason why the MAI designation is totally a joke. A complete waste of money and time. Check it out…just the AMC clowns are making the profits!
With 10,864 licensed appraisers (BREA Licensing Stats – 09/12/2016), the state of CA only needs 10,840 more signatures to reach 100%. You can do it.
Keith is obviously in the pocket of an A. M. C. Not sure where he’s been since H.V.C.C. but there is obviously a problem with this model. Just read all the comments here and everywhere else on line when appraisal is the topic. I would say read the comments on A.M.C. buzz , I mean Appraisal buzz but sadly, no one can post comments anymore. What a shame. We all know these companies have run us into the ground and the only fix is to do away with model  altogether, replace it with portals, OR actually  require them to comply with Dodd-Frank and stop the B.S. scope creep and pay reasonable fees. Forget customary because those fees are no longer reasonable. Just don’t accept the order when the fee is too low ? BS ! Go ahead and accept the order. Request a fee increase once it’s received. When the crooks cancel the order send the paper trail to the boards. Ask the boards to audit the A.M.C. to see how many appraisers they have screwed and to see their bogus fee surveys. All you appraisal boards out there, start to inforce federal law and follow LA, VA, and soon to be NC’ s example ! HAPPY FRIDAY !
After what I though was a very civil back and forth with Joan Trice from Appraisal Buzz some months back relating to an article posted there, within a few days all my OLD COMMENTS were deleted and there comment policy was changed. It is of my opinion they feel it is easier to silence the concerns and open discussions, then it is to address them. Sorry about that.
Is a class action lawsuit against these companies possible under the following premise: These companies distribute and sell our appraiser contact information to amc’s, include appraisers in their lists regardless of our objections, and due to such actions; appraisers have experienced remarkable cumulative time drain and time waste having to deal with unexpected amc callers and emailers which we never had and never will have intentions of dealing with? If I went around assembling lists of private businesses, posting their information on my site, leaving information up despite written objection, and even profited from that data, wouldn’t that be illegal? Just because a company is coincidentally in the same industry should not give them permission to sell data and solicit on behalf of others, with no prior permission granted what so ever. Please respond. Thank you. / The abuse of ethic continues. / Dave – Great email there about Miller Samuel. That one should be an article in itself, very informative.
Appraisal Buzz is not an open forum. John Trice AKA J.T. has deleted our comments as well when it reflects poorly on her Clearbox customers. It’s comical for J.T. to say that Keith is in the pocket of an AMC, when she is personally profiting from the model. Just though I would leave this here as it probably will not be deleted unlike comments on the Appraisal Buzz.
Baggins, I DO feel a class action lawsuit warrants further research. Hint, Hint…Mike if your are listening….
Keith, you are a troll who does not even deserve further commentary as your points are not supported by fact. You statements imply that you were a number hitter back in the day. Therefore, it is logical to assume that you continue to be a bottom feeder.
I think you misunderstood JT. JT was criticizing and calling Appraisal buzz A.M.C. buzz.
We all know Joan Trice is a lackey of the AMC, her buzz promotes amcs agenda, and her clearbox sells appraisers identities for profit. Oh and I hear her NAC was a flop. Too many parasites that live off our profession.
Thank you Jeanie ! I wish people would slow it down a notch and READ before replying !
So your thanking Jeanie for call you a parasite and lackey…LOL At least your honest.
Yes, Jeanie, Â J.T and I both agree with you.
***It should be noted that JT revised her post after my comment.
Wait. Is there a question of assumed identity verification? Are you sure the poster is the same person referred to? There are only so many letters in the alphabet.
No “little AMC Nick,” I am thanking Jeanie for taking the time to actually read, comprehend and understand sarcasm. Unfortunately, it does not appear that you have that same capability. Are you an AMC reviewer? Â Are you located in the United States ? Can you even speak English ? Â I don’t see anywhere where anyone has said (in your words) “for call me a parasite and lackey, LOL” (unless of course they are talking about AMC’s or those who promote them). ********It should be noted that J.T. hasn’t revised anything after “little AMC Nicks” comments and has no intention of doing so. Happy Friday night appraisers !! And whatever for you AMC trolls.
Poor J.T. is mad for me speaking g the truth…the truth hurts my friend.
Joan Trice is not the only person with the initials J.T. Hope that clears it up for you.
Folks, instead of arguing among ourselves, can we please focus on the letter and forward it to friends, colleagues, lender contacts, etc.? We need a lot more signatures. Please spread the word! Thank you
Hold the show. J.T. That’s Joan Trice from Clearbox? Or if it’s someone else, just please understand the automatic name association is there. First, everyone needs to clarify who’s who, before drawing assumptions and arguing.
Thank you.
Trout/Baggins/X
To the AMC lovers on this post and those who do not want the government setting prices, I would just note the VA has increased fees in Colorado to $700 for a 1004 and $900 in Montana. Â The VA i.e. Government has realized that if it wants it’s orders accepted they simply had to increase fees, simple case of supply and demand and their fees are going up throughout most of the country. Â I for one am a big fan of their fee structure!
While I have not done an AMC order in 3 yrs, when they do call for a quote, I typically quote $150 & higher than for my non AMC clients and when they ask why, my response is, “It’s the aggravation factor of simply having to deal with you”
To Keith MAI, there still is considerable pressure with value reconsideration, 48 hr Turn Times and then getting blacklisted by the lender/AMC for not acquiescing to their demands. Â They have taken your business and personal relationships away from you. Â Appraisers are finally getting some luck with increasing fees and it’s the largest AMC’s screaming for lower standards for licensing in order to create a new army of Trainee/inexperienced labor in order to get those $225 orders accepted. Hopefully this does not happen! Â Stay strong everyone!
Ralph….
I like your post but I feel it necessary to add these few comments. First of all, I have ZERO respect for the MAI designation. I do understand that there are many who consider this designation to be something special. Since there are many who feel that an MAI designation is somehow “special” why would an MAI want to work on residential assignments issued from an AMC?
Two signers today!
As Lt. Colonel Frank Slade would say: “Whoo Ahhh”
I am reminded of a well known children’s book each time appraisers are asked to lift a finger to save their own profession.
To Retired Appraiser…
Why should any of us worry about saving this profession? The people that use our services have no respect for any of us! They think they can dictate our fees and turn times. They really do not seem to like us much. Over 60% of the current appraisers are above the age of 50, and only 31% of all appraisers are actually doing residential appraisals. I have been signing petitions, writing letters, making posts like this on numerous sites for years. It does no good! I am tired of paying dues to silly organizations or other similar groups! The various appraisal organizations have so many “designations’ that even I do not know what some of them mean. The general public must see this crap as total foolishness. I know that I consider the designations to be crap!
I made the choice to just enjoy my life and let my fellow appraisers do as they please. At age 65 you can sign up with medicare. At age 66 you are ok to draw full social security. Lets say that you are drawing social security, living in a home that is paid for, zero debt, charging about $500. for each residential appraisal and cherry picking about 3 – 4 a week. If you have a few other investments that just adds to the fun. Sit back and watch your fellow appraisers chase AMC’s for chump change….better than Saturday morning cartoons!
The AMC has taken away control of the appraiser’s business. For far too long, the AMC has made “fast” appraisals the determination of quality and credibility. Today, February 17, 2023, I have fired the last AMC that I will ever do work for- AMROCK. It was a pleasure to say good-bye.
It’s kind of sad but I have said good bye to all of the AMC’s approximately eight years ago. Life has been much simpler since then without the all of the stipulations and stupid requests that seemed to be dreamed up by grammar school kids…