If you are doing too much and not being paid enough, you are a PERFECT candidate to hire and train a new appraiser. Three Ways to Reverse the Mass Exodus of Appraisers I was recently in Texas at yet another appraisal conference. The man who was speaking asked everyone to stand up. There were approximately 140 appraisers in the room. He then asked for those under 30 years of age to sit down. About five people did. He asked those under 40 to sit down. About 10 more did. Under 50. About 25% of the room was now sitting. Finally,...
New Guidance Helps Appraisers Analyze Exposure Time The Appraisal Institute published “Guide Note 14: Concept of Exposure Time” Feb. 12 to help appraisers understand exposure time and how to incorporate its analysis into appraisals. The guidance addresses how appraisers should link exposure time, which refers to the time a property remains on the market, to their value opinion and comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The Guide Note states, “An analysis and opinion of Exposure Time is required for appraisals where the definition of value is tied to a reasonable or stipulated exposure time. A discussion of...
Are employee appraisers of appraisal firms, AMCs or lenders “exempt” from overtime pay under the FLSA? Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees in most types of businesses are required to be paid overtime at 1.5x their hourly rate if they work more than 40 hours in a seven-day workweek, unless they are properly classified as “exempt.” As I’ll show in three cases below against an appraisal firm, a lender and an AMC, this law presents a genuine liability risk to businesses in the valuation industry. Let’s start with what should seem like a basic question: Are employee...
AMC Declares Bankruptcy: What Appraisers Need To Know You received a letter in the mail informing you that your client has filed for bankruptcy. It is this moment you realize that this bad news just became your problem. Many of us are familiar with the recent bankruptcy filings of Evaluation Solutions and its subsidiary ES Appraisal Services. Peter Christensen, attorney and general counsel to LIA Administrators & Insurance Services, shared in his blog that the total unpaid fees to appraisers, agents, and brokers as listed in bankruptcy documents is $11,048,411.97! This is a remarkable amount. Evaluation Solutions’ bankruptcy documents accounted for...
The Sky is Falling for Appraisers & Home Inspectors Chicken Little was right – the sky is falling…and landing on both appraisers AND home inspectors. Home inspectors often suffer from a general lack of respect, part of which is caused by the fact that they have no single set of national standards of practice like appraisers who have USPAP. Appraisers, on the other hand, suffer from what is commonly known as appraisal creep where the conditions and requirements of appraisal work keep expanding, but the fees for the work either shrink or stay the same. Now, forces within the government...
Chairman Hensarling Announces Series of Committee Hearings Focused on Looming Financial Crisis at FHA Washington, Jan 30 – Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced today that the Financial Services Committee will hold a series of hearings throughout the year that focus on the financially troubled Federal Housing Administration, the FHA’s outsized role in the nation’s housing finance system, and the need to create a sustainable mortgage finance system. The FHA’s single-family insurance fund, which insures more than $1 trillion worth of home mortgages, has a negative economic value of $16.3 billion, according to an actuarial report released by the Department of Housing...
John Brenan, The Appraisal Foundation, and Melissa Cohn, The Manhattan Mortgage Company, discuss on CNBC, whether the home appraisal system is broken after the Dodd-Frank Act. …complaints are skyrocketing and many appraisers are getting low or even failing grades now. Why is this happening?
