Virginia is NOT Playing Around!
Two AMCs Disciplined by VREAB…
At the May 16, 2017, Virginia Real Estate Appraisers Board Meeting two AMC’s were disciplined by the Board.
SettlementOne Valuation Corporation was disciplined in Mississippi, Illinois and Pennsylvania, all for unlicensed activity within those states. SettlementOne was required to report the disciplinary action to Virginia within 30 days, which they did not. The Virginia Real Estate Appraisers Board imposed a $2,500 monetary penalty for these violations of the Boards Regulations.
Dart Appraisal was disciplined in Minnesota for providing an estimate of value on the engagement letter to the appraiser. Dart Appraisal was required to report this disciplinary action to the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board within 30 days, which they did not. A consent order was signed and Dart Appraisal was required to pay board costs of $150.
It is amazing how AMC’s have been licensed just a short time and the amount of disciplinary actions that have reoccurred with the same AMC. Does this beg the question, should they be allowed to operate at all? Clearly they have not learned from their mistakes.
Additionally, the VREAB imposed revocation of license on two appraiser licensees.
If you have never attended a VREAB meeting, you should consider it. They are always interesting and you can receive up to 2 hours of Continuing Education per renewal cycle.
The full meeting minutes will be available on the Townhall once posted, usually in about a week.
Save the Date: June 13, 2017
Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals
2017 Annual Conference, Tuesday June 13, 2017, 4:00 PM
Roma Ristorante Italiano
7240 Bell Creek Road
Mechanicsville, VAÂ 23111
Guest Speaker:
John Russell
Sr. Director of Governmental Affairs and Chief Lobbyist
American Society of Appraisers
There is no cost to attend the conference and dinner will be available for purchase during the conference. All members and potential members are welcome.
Postscript 5/19/2016
AppraisersBlogs Team received an email from Jim Chapman, Board Administrator of Virginia Real Estate Appraiser, requesting the following correction regarding Dart Appraisal:
We would like to notify the administrators of this site of incorrect information regarding the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board meeting held on May 16, 2017. Your blog indicates that Dart Appraisal “was required to report this disciplinary action to the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board within 30 days, which they did not.”
In fact, Dart Appraisal did report the violation to the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board and was found in violation of 18 VAC 130-30-160.4, which is for “having been . . . disciplined in any jurisdiction . . . .” Dart Appraisal was not found in violation of 18 VAC 130-30-160.5, which is the regulation that requires written notification within 30 days.
Thank you
Jim Chapman
Board Administrator
Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board
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The fines are ridiculously insignificant
AMC will blacklist an appraiser for life for one mistake. I think AMC should suffer the same fate.
They will keep paying the pennies to rake in the millions.
As much as I love that Virginia and other states are disciplining these AMCS I am disturbed by the small pennies they have to pay. These companies make a ton of money off us appraisers. These small slaps on the wrist aren’t going to do anything to them. $150??? $2500?? Once again states showing they have no balls to go after these companies and hold them truely accountable. Why are these states so afraid of AMCS? They will take an appraiser to the woodshed for a small violation yet just continue to do nothing significant to these AMCS. Until a state actually does something big to An AMC that violates any law they will continue to run around and not give a crap. Â
Interesting just got an invite from Settlement One. They are real pricks about portal fees, meaning any communication with paper work is charged a fee. I did a one time job where they charged me for every construction inspection, 10 in all. I told no them way.
Ross, that’s what we need more of. It’s your license and in most cases business so we have to stop accepting this nonsense and they’ll be forced to stop dishing out this nonsense.
$2,500 and $150!!!!!!!!!! LOL………an appraiser forgets to check a box and he’s likely blacklist and banned. what a royal joke. lenders and lender interest group control the entire lending appraisal process. this is just more proof. Hello is anyone home???????????
“NOT Playing Around!”.  LMAO! the AMC was “disciplined” and was given a $150 fine. Seriously? that will teach them!
this “disciplinary action” is one step above the VREAB saying to the AMC, “PRETTY PLEASE?”
what a flipping joke.
HA! $2,500? and $150? Are you freakin kidding me? That’s not even a slap on the hand. We do that and it’s minimum $10 K and just added to an exclusionary list if we are lucky!
virginia’s intention are positive but, this story is definitely “playing around”.
I just got an e-mail from Dart Appraisal asking me to take their survey about personal property appraisals. Â I just deleted it, since it’s a waste of my time, but maybe they see the writing on the wall, that no decent appraiser wants anything to do w/an AMC and they are looking for other wees to make fees, or maybe I’m all wrong ad they are looking to exploit more people, but whatever the case may be, I’m sure that WHOPPING $150.00 fine scared the BEJESUS out of them!
I will make them pay……..”1 dollar”! Â lol
Its been a little over a year since the Mercury Network was spun off/sold, and at the time I was amazed that their press release indicated they work through 20,000 appraisal transactions A DAY. If each of those transactions were billed at their typical portal fees ($10 to $15), the amount of money these software companies, AMC’s, etc., steal is unbelievable. The message is good (follow the rules), but the penalty is all gums (no teeth).
Well I in expect settlement one and dart to easily and quickly get the $ fines refunded by their cheap and fast appraiser panel. No problem for both of them.
Gee Wally that was a very large $2,500. fine that those AMCs were charged! No Beaver….the three card poker tournament at Sams Club payed $8,500. yesterday! Just chump change for a chump profession! We are the chumps! Looks like we will always be the chumps as those most pitiful in our group keep on working with the AMCs! How can we get rid of that pitiful group?
We can talk all day about how these fines are to low, but the elephant in the room is that the C&R fee violations (federal level) by the lenders are to big to enforce. With allowable $10,000 daily fines per single occurrence, do the math on what the fine should be for one below C&R appraisal fee from 7 years ago (2,555 days X $10,000 = $25,550,000 ). The fun begins when you take their numbers from the past few years (CU database collection / 20 million appraisals) and multiply those numbers by similar single occurrence fines (10, 20, 25 million dollars). To admit there is a problem, is to enforce a trillion dollars in fines or collapse the entire system. Never going to happen.
I believe there is tier guidance on the amount of fines that can be levied with the State regulations. If either of these AMC’s are disciplined again, the fines will be higher. There is a cap that can be levied, which I believe is $10,000. Keep in mind the only violation is not reporting discipline in other states within 30 days, so not a consumer issue. Personally, I believe the fees should be higher or the license should be revoked, especially for non licensed activity in multiply states. That’s probably why I am not on the Board.
Bill…that is funny! The humor you present is great. As you KNOW THIS earth will spin out of our solar system and exit this galaxy before any lender/amc will be fined $10,000. That is just too silly to comment on!
Thanks for the encouraging words Wayne, but my comments leaned more toward the serious side than the silly side. The numbers I presented are only mind boggling because nothing was done on day one, day 60 or day 2,555. In this case the word nothing means lenders have been given a pass (wink wink). Would it have been news if lender A was fined $600,000 (60 days at $10,000) because they failed to meet any of the four standards (C&R) as outlined within Dodd Frank on the first enforced case (C&R fees)? In the days of billion dollar fines (a few years back), a $600,000 fine would have gained no mention publicly, but on day 61 I would almost guarantee lenders would have raised the appraisal fees a few hundred dollars. Oh to dream.
The fine is minor in the eyes of the wrongdoer since the owners of many AMC are banks, financial institutions.
I find it ironic that according to the Virginia Legislature, Chapter 30 Professions and Occupations; Article 38 – The Real Estate Appraiser Licensing and Certification Act; real estate appraisers are REQUIRED to have a license to do appraisals.
and someone who is unlicensed, and did an appraisal, would be penalized;
§30-38-15. Penalties.
(a) Any person engaging in real estate appraisal activity in this state who is not licensed under this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and shall be ineligible to obtain a license for a period of one year from the date of his or her conviction of such offense:Provided, That the board, at its discretion, may grant a license within a period of one year upon a finding of extenuating circumstances, and after an administrative hearing.
(b) Any person acting or purporting to act as a certified real estate appraiser who is not certified under this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned in the county or regional jail for not more than one year, or both.
(c) If any person receives any money or the equivalent as a fee, commission, compensation or profit by or in consequence of a violation of any provision of this article, he or she shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed above, be subject to a penalty of not less than the sum of money so received nor more than three times the sum as may be determined by the court, which penalty may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction by any person aggrieved as a result of any such violation.
WOW – looks like some pretty stiff penalties for an individual who does an appraisal without a license in Virginia!
BUT, unlicensed AMC’s get “disciplined”, (whatever that means, no fine mentioned though), are ALLOWED to keep their licenses, and appear to receive a fine only because the “discipline” was not reported.
(am i reading this right?)
seems VERY hypocritical for someone to constantly tell appraisers, day after day, that “they” are looking out for them, then to have appraisers find out one day that they are not, and are instead working for someone else.
“Clearly they have not learned from their mistakes.”
Well golly gee – i wonder why?
shame, shame.
Bubba Jay that’s because we appraisers can’t donate tens of thousands of dollars to these legislators that are making up the different laws between appraisers and AMC’s. Plus I don’t know why bother to call them AMC’s they should be called Banks cause that’s who owns most of them (larger ones).
well, something is certainly going on isnt it?
especially when an appraiser would get fined heavily, charged with a CRIME, (a misdemeanor), probably blacklisted for life, etc., for doing ONE appraisal without a license.
BUT, when an AMC, (yes – bank), operates without a license, damn near NOTHING happens. question – how many appraisals did the AMC’s mentioned in this article, work on without a license? 100? 1000? 10,000? how long did these AMC’s illegally practice for? months? years? not hard to guess that it was more than a ONE TIME event.
i agree – NOBODY is looking out for appraisers, and NOBODY has their best interests in mind. NOBODY. and i dont care what ANY of them pretend to say. what is being said to appraisers faces, is clearly different than what is happening behind their backs.
looks VERY familiar, doesnt it?
Bill, I did not intend to offend you in any way! Maybe my previous comment was silly but sometimes it is better to laugh than to cry. I believe that you and all of us know that the government or any aspect of government is not going to assist appraisers in any way. That is just not going to happen! So far, no appraisal organization, union, expo, etc. has been of any assistance. Where are these large fines? Not going to happen!
The U.S.Valuation Profession Fact Sheet Dec/2016 indicated a total of 73,731 actual appraisers. This report indicated 51% of these to be doing residential appraisals. The Texas Real Estate Research Center did a survey a while back that indicated that 1/4 of appraisers were refusing to work with AMCs. Using very inaccurate math it appears that 51% of 73,731 appraisers are doing residential work. That would equal 37,603. Based on the study only 1/4 of those do AMC work, would equal 28,202. I understand the math is not exact but I also know that many of those who are licensed/certified are no longer working in this business.
I was asked to speak before a group of our appraisal board a few months ago. I was told by several of the group that they were “required” to order appraisals thru a management company! They really believed that and appraisers need to know that is what is being promoted to these folks. Where in hell is our appraisal organizations….you are paying dues for what? Appraiser organizations, Expos, Coaches, News letters, etc. are just a waste of the money you will need for retirement! Wise up!
Back to the point…if only 28,000 or so appraisers are feeding the AMC parasites all across the U.S. it would seem that the AMCs are in a pitiful position. I know they send us emails every day wanting us to accept their work. Not sure who the SOB in our area accepts work from them but I assume they are starving. Do now know why as I inspected eight properties on Monday!
We will not get any help from our government, unions or appraisal organizations. All we have to do is stop working for AMCs and they will become a fond memory. This is an individual thing…do not have to ask permission from anyone…just stand on your on two feet!
No offense taken Wayne, but I will add to your math the following. Per the collateral underwriter portal, I believe I saw where big brother government shows only 50% of all licensed appraisers have submitted work through their system. Either by choice (civil use work only, part time, licensed but no practicing, etc.), I think in reality the actual number of working residential loan appraisers is much lower.
Your numbers jive somewhat with Wayne’s. I’ve seen reports that there are approximately 80000 distinct licenses with only 40000?? Showing up thru GSEs
Wanye, that’s what I’ve always promoted. It is your license, it is your business (most) and you do not have to accept these terrible fees. For the ones that say well I gotta eat I say yes I do too, but while your taking $195 2055 and $325 1004 I’m demanding and getting $325-$350 2055 and $550-$600 1004. Do the math! And for those people who say I’m gouging I say that’s capitalism baby and these are 21st century fees. Are you still living in the 90’s?
OFF TOPIC ALERT! I just got an email this morning from one of the larger AMC’s. I have not accepted any work from them for a couple of years. They wanted me to upload my signature to their site so they could affix it to BPO’s, save me valuable time and expedite delivery to their client. I’m pretty sure that USPAP would like to know why someone sent out a report unsigned! I also periodically change my signature by moving it up, down, right, left, bigger or smaller. So, if something comes up I can look back to determine which one I was using by size and or location.
There was a time that the National Association Of Independent Fee Appraisers had their act together! I had earned the IFAS designation and was the local chapter president. This was a while back, and the group slithered into the toilet!
Like many, I paid dues to become a candidate for membership into the Appraisal Institute. After thousands of dollars in course fees and dues I learned that is the biggest joke I have ever had played on me! If you are paying dues to this organization you should know that “if they are your friends…no need for enemies!”
It seems that as an independent fee appraiser we really do not have ANY friends or support in this industry. Honestly….YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!
Three days ago I went with my son to protest his property tax assessment. When he bought his home the appraiser did a good job. That appraiser is a friend of mine but he added his E&O policy and every AMC type of addendum known to man! His jeans must be worn out at the knees! I Like him but what a w**re! We got the assessment dropped over !0,000. That is what mattered!
What would the Appraisal Destitute do without over charging for continuing ed. And, as you so aptly noted “the path to nowhere” course fees? If you think the number of appraisers is dropping, then the number of members for the entity whose name we do not speak must be falling off a cliff. I am surprised that their business model still works. When I was still a member. In the first letter the new president wrote (inside cover) was not to use appraisers who were not designated. So, an associate member was akin to whale doo doo on the bottom of the ocean. That was my last money spent with them. I just hope and pray that there is enough money so all the big wigs can fly to somewhere nice like Europe, drink expensive wine, eat expensive food and hold meetings about earth shattering appraisal matters while patting each other on the back. I don’t know the exact age. But, I would venture that a lot of designated appraisers 50 years old and up were grandfathered in. JMOCO ( Just My Own Convoluted Opinion)
I’m at a loss to understand why appraisers even work for any AMC that makes them pay a technology fee to upload a report. That’s ridiculous. The good AMCs are the ones that pay you your fee and let you upload your report free of charge without doing any special software or paying portal fees. Don’t accept assignments from AMCs that do this to you, or put them on 3-4 week turn times, and jack your fee up by 2x the portal fee to make them feel the pain and make their lender customers feel it to. Then give the AMCs who do not do this and pay reasonable fees the faster turn times and work with them.
This will have the effect of helping drive those AMCs like SettlementOne to a fair model, or impact their service so badly that the lenders working with them drop them and go to the better AMCs.