Tagged: appraisal fees

Customary but NOT Reasonable Fees 28

Customary but NOT Reasonable Fees

REASONABLE needs to become the appraiser’s operative word Appraisers, It’s time to grow a pair as some people say, or to stiffen the backbone, and quit caving in to the low ball fees being offered by some in this crazy “industry.” Another true statement is “you are what you are worth”. If you, as an business person, only know how to say yes to low fees, you won’t be worth anything higher to the majority of clients. Further, your self image and actual net worth are negatively impacted. You cannot expect to earn a certain income, then wonder why you gave yourself...

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Announcing VT Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey Release

Dear Appraiser Colleagues, Awhile back, you responded to a request from VaCAP to supply your e-mail address to participate in an upcoming Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey to be conducted by the Virginia Center for Housing Research and the Virginia Tech Program in Real Estate. This communication is to notify you of the survey’s eminent release. Please look for it to be sent to you via e-mail in the next couple of days. Your participation in the survey is vital to the success of this endeavor. Please take the few minutes necessary to complete the survey; it should only take...

Good news appraisal profession 5

Good News….For a Change?

Appraisers to be paid within… It is all-too-rare that we hear positive news regarding the appraisal profession. There is an awful lot of complaining that goes on, most of it justifiable, but little good news that gets shared. Part of the problem is that there is no central source for information regarding our profession which appraisers might utilize in order to find out what is going on across the country and affecting our profession, and could be used to enhance our industry and our citizens in our own state. From what I have seen, most of any good news is being...

Where Did All the Good Appraisers Go - Imagecredit Flickr - gerlos 5

Where Did All the Good Appraisers Go?

The good appraisers are leaving mortgage appraising as fast as they can. Thus far the housing industry has been applying “Band-Aid” solutions to the bigger real estate crisis. There are several problems going on at the same time, all contributing to the big picture, which is bleak to say the least. One true crisis in the real estate industry is an “information crisis.” This information problem, trickles down to appraisals, lenders, and ultimately, mortgage investors. Standardization, national guidelines, and disclosures are the only way back from this nightmare (i.e. the RESPA disclosure. One fee on the good faith estimate for...

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs 5

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

Online Petition to Make a Difference in Customary and Reasonable Appraisal Fees 5

Customary & Reasonable Appraisal Fees

A Cost-Plus fee structure will allow the Customary and Reasonable Fee provision, a component of Appraiser Independence, to be more readily adopted. Fellow Professional Appraiser, I am asking you to take a moment from your busy day to PARTICIPATE in an important industry effort. That issue is referred to within Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank legislation as “Customary and Reasonable Fees”: CUSTOMARY AND REASONABLE FEE In General – Lenders and their agents shall compensate fee appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable for appraisal services performed in the market area of the property being appraised. Evidence for such...

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Non-Lender Valuation: Consumers Should Tread Carefully

Competition, in a free market, is a fierce catalyst: one that can effectively sort out the bad apples from the bunch. Capitalism works, it is simple when left unfettered and when all parties are ethical in their approach to business. It works until politicians, however well meaning they try to be, step in with a”solution”. Through the Dodd-Frank reform and the Andrew Cuomo created Home Valuation Code of Conduct that predates Dodd-Frank, congress effectively went anti-small business again. I liken this profession’s recent undermining by congress to how they saw to sort out the small-family farmers by paving the way...

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Mortgage Disclosure Rule Alters Appraisal Fee Reporting

The Appraisal Institute on Dec. 17 finalized its review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1,888-page final rule on Integrated Mortgage Disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act, and noted several provisions that impact real estate appraisers and how appraisal fees are reported. The rule, which takes effect Aug. 1, 2015, mandates the use of two new disclosure forms, the Loan Estimate (which replaces both the Good Faith Estimate and the initial Truth in Lending Disclosure) and the Closing Disclosure (which replaces both the HUD-1 and the final Truth in Lending Disclosure). It...

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AMC Background Checks: Fair or Not?

“I was just asked by an AMC to get a background check. Do I have to comply?” As risk management advisors for Appraisers and Inspectors, this is one of the questions we hear over and over again. Let’s face it — appraisal fees are lower than ever before. Essentially, AMCs are asking you to do the same amount of work for less pay. In some cases, they’re even asking you to do more work. Does it make sense then that you have to get a background check in order to work for a specific AMC? Unfortunately, the increased costs associated...

AMC License Bonds 1

AMC License Bonds. Are They Working?

Are AMC Bonds Working? Current AMC Bond Requirements Eighteen states now require AMCs to carry surety bonds to be properly registered to operate in those states. The required bond amounts vary from $10,000 in New Mexico to $100,000 in Washington.  A list at the end of this post shows the required bond amounts in each state. Are AMC Bonds Working? The requirement for AMCs to carry bonds serves two purposes. First, the bond assures that if an AMC fails to comply with its financial obligations under a state’s AMC law, there will be funds available up to the limit of the bond...

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