Comments on: FTC Attorneys Response to AGA

By: Elizabeth Morse Rhodes on Facebook

Elizabeth Morse Rhodes on Facebook — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 22:51:34 +0000

I see Corelogic as an anti-trust case right now. Buying up AMCs demanding low fees. Making appraisers pay to send reports through AppraisalPort, which is a company they own. They download your data for free. They also own many MLS’, own Marshal and Swift, mapping software. You have to pay to use those programs. Corelogic is on its way to controlling the real estate industry. How can they not be an anti-trust violator?

By: Baggins

Baggins — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 22:10:57 +0000

Amc’s are institutionalized racketeering. They meet in groups, share lists, and actively suppress the majority of appraisers whom participate in mortgage lending. Colluding and conspiring through shared software programs for ways to force appraisers fees down, while never returning cost savings to consumers. They are monopolies to themselves, paying unearned moneys back to lenders to retain contracts, do not disclose to consumers, and violate junk fee, unearned fee, and customary and reasonable federal fee regulations daily and hourly, on a legal loophole via their definition as an ancillary participant. We need an ethics lawyer in here, it’s obvious when a vital industry like appraisal loses 100k appraisers, literally half of it’s populace, there is anti competitive influence effecting us. Audit every single amc in the state, prior to making decisions on this, the evidence of antitrust and most likely also fraud is certainly there somewhere. Amc’s have gotten away with murder, they’ve behaved above the law without consequence for 10 straight years now, directly crushing the futures of an estimated 200,000 professionally licensed American individuals, probably many more than that all told. The ‘jobs’ created by appraisal management companies are not specialty jobs, they don’t lead to a more robust regulatory structure, but quite the opposite.

By: AppraisersBlogs Team

AppraisersBlogs Team — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 19:01:47 +0000

In reply to Mike Ford, AGA, SCREA, GAA, RAA, Realtor®.

Wasn’t sure about the letter of the FTC attorney. Anyhow, it’s been added at the end of your article. Thanks Mike!

By: Mike Ford, AGA, SCREA, GAA, RAA, Realtor®

Mike Ford, AGA, SCREA, GAA, RAA, Realtor® — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 18:49:02 +0000

In reply to AppraisersBlogs Team.

Gosh Des, I meant for anything I sent you to be included. I should have authorized it specifically. I apologize for any inconvenience and certainly am authorizing it to be published. I think the wording of the FTC attorney is important for our fellow appraisers to read for themselves.

By: Mike Ford, AGA, SCREA, GAA, RAA, Realtor®

Mike Ford, AGA, SCREA, GAA, RAA, Realtor® — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 18:44:23 +0000

In reply to Honest Appraiser.

H.A. (& Kathy), thank you both for the kind words.

H.A. I lived outside DC both inside and outside The Beltway from 1974-1980 when I worked for the nation’s largest Federal Credit Union out of Washington Navy Yard; and then later in Vienna, VA. I was even honored by a modest discharge ceremony held at Headquarters Marine Corps after I jokingly told a Marine CU member thankful for good service that he could help me find my missing discharge.

I LIKE DC but I don’t want to be a lobbyist there. Isn’t it ‘bad’ enough that as a Republican I find myself being a union organizer? (Kidding aside, it’s been a positive eye opener. I have greater respect for honorable organized labor than ever before).

It took me over ten years to acquire the background to become a real estate appraiser. I wanted to be an appraiser more than anything I could think of from 1980-1986. I still want to be an appraiser. Subject to health issues, I plan to work well into my seventies.

When all goes right, there is no more fascinating job in the world to me. I even got to develop a process for a New York Law Firm to provide for real estate appraisals in Delhi India. A process intended to be replicated throughout portions of Asia where the fundamental concepts of market value and a truly ‘open market’ are very different than what we are used to. I ‘ve been invited to bid on jobs in the Caribbean and have been sent across country here in the USA to analyze pending industrial business entity purchases.

My point is that we ALL really wanted to be appraisers. We did not ‘accidently’ find ourselves in this profession. It took a lot of effort. I’ll not voluntarily give that up without a fight. Especially not to be a full time paid lobbyist.

What I WILL do is gladly join with ANY of my peers in supporting OUR combined efforts to address our challenges.

By: AppraisersBlogs Team

AppraisersBlogs Team — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 17:15:22 +0000

In reply to David Burrup.

AGA’s email to the FTC was published last week: Restraint of Trade Investigation

As for FTC’s response, we do have a copy of the email. However, since it was addressed to Mike Ford, we’ll let him post it.

By: David Burrup

David Burrup — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 16:37:46 +0000

Please provide a link to, or copy of, the AGA’s email to the FTC and also to the FTC’s response.

By: Honest Appraiser

Honest Appraiser — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 14:33:53 +0000

Thank you as always Mike Ford for your insightful and knowledgeable reply.
What would the assessment be per member of AGA to set you up in Washington, DC for the next 2 years and hammer this out for us?? 😉 I wish you could.

Between the Dentist Bill, Cuomo and ALL the other convoluted crap our State Boards are more impotent than ever.

We need Simplicity and Accountability
We need less Barney Frank and more Barney Fife!!

I will hammer out my opinion and some personal experience in the next day or so and thanks again.

By: Kathy Morton Bunting Hoey on Facebook

Kathy Morton Bunting Hoey on Facebook — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 13:16:10 +0000

Well said!