Coester Allegedly Engaged in Fraud Sued by Former Senior VP
Mr. Coester Was the Party Engaging in Fraud
Coester VMS, a Maryland based appraisal management company, and it’s CEO, Brian Coester, are facing a lawsuit by Robert Scheer, former Coester VMS Senior Vice President. Robert Scheer filed a lawsuit claiming tortious interference and is seeking a declaratory judgment that the 2012 Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality agreement provided by Coester is fraudulent and a forgery.
“CVMS and Mr. Coester have a history and pattern of engaging in fraudulent conduct which has led to their reputation for dishonesty in the appraisal management company industry….”
10. Mr. Scheer left his employment at CVMS, where he was Senior Vice President making approximately $180,000 per year, on April 11, 2016 to take a new position that had been offered to him as President of Valuation Links (“VL”), another appraisal management company. This new position would pay approximately the same $180,000.
11. There is no dispute that Mr. Scheer did not have a covenant not to compete and he was free to take a job with an appraisal management company which competed with CVMS.
12. Upon CVMS learning that VL was going to hire Mr. Scheer, on April 14, 2016 counsel for CVMS, Michael Y. Kieval, Esq. of Wiener Brodsky Kider PC sent a “Notice of Possible Legal Action” to the CEO of VL at the direction of CVMS’ owner and CEO, Mr. Coester, making the false allegation that Mr. Scheer was constrained by a non-disclosure/non-solicitation agreement which he had allegedly breached and that this breach could subject VL to suit.
13. CVMS and Mr. Coester knew that their statements concerning the alleged non-disclosure/non-solicitation agreement were false.
14. When asked to provide electronic copies which were contemporaneous with the alleged execution of the June 4, 2012 agreement, the Defendants could not do this. Instead, they provided a scan of the agreement without the signature page, followed by a separate scan of the signature page. The scan without the signature page was contemporaneous with the time period around June 4, 2012 – however, the fraudulent signature page was scanned in 2016, so it was not contemporaneous with the purported date of signature or the remainder of the document.
15. CVMS’ and Mr. Coester’s (collectively “Defendants”) actions in causing Mr. Kieval to send the false letter to VL caused VL to withdraw its job offer to Mr. Scheer.
16. When Mr. Scheer learned of CVMS’ counsel’s letter to VL, he demanded that CVMS provide him with the supposed agreement.
17. CVMS then produced a Non—Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreement dated June 4, 2012, which purports to be signed by Mr. Scheer.
18. This document is a forgery.
19. That this document is a forgery was confirmed by the expert report of Katharine Mainolfi Koppenhaver, Certified Forensic Document Examiner (See Exhibit 1 to Complaint).
20. There are two tell-tale signs that the document is a forgery – first through forensic analysis, Ms. Koppenhaver determined that the signature was physically “cut and pasted” and second, the signature that was “pasted” was one using Mr. Scheer’s married name of Scheer, whereas his 2012 signature would have included his non-married name of Chasteen.
21. The creation of a fraudulent document is consistent with CVMS’ and Mr. Scheer’s conduct in other matters.
22. CVMS had a routine practice and Mr. Coester had a habit of creating fraudulent documents to advance their interests.
23. CVMS and Mr. Coester have a history and pattern of engaging in fraudulent conduct which has led to their reputation for dishonesty in the appraisal management company industry.
24. In 2014 the State of North Carolina contacted CVMS to alert it that they were going to suspend its license for not paying appraisers according to state regulations.
25. This would have greatly financially harmed CVMS.
26. At the time, Mr. Scheer became aware that CVMS’ payments to its appraisers were routinely late.
27. In response to North Carolina’s investigation, Mr. Coester reluctantly agreed to allow an outside firm to audit CVMS’ payment practices. However, before Mr. Coester allowed the outside accounting firm to access CVMS’ records, Mr. Coester went into the electronic records and altered the data creating fictitious information which fraudulently reflected that CVMS had been timely in making payments.
28. Mr. Scheer had copies of both the original reports and the fraudulent ones, which were sent to the State of North Carolina.
29. Mr. Coester, who knew that Mr. Scheer was aware of what had occurred, told Mr. Scheer that if he ever told anyone about CVMS’ fraud then Mr. Coester would “take him down.”
…
33. Even after North Carolina’s investigation, CVMS continued to pay its appraisers late; the records would simply be altered to reflect timely payments.
34. As 2014 progressed, Mr. Coester continued his unethical activities. For example, Mr. Coester would provide fraudulent profit and loss statements to banks and lenders, such as Summit, George Mason, NFM, and Angel Oak, in order to misrepresent the financial situation of CVMS, painting a rosier picture than actually existed.
35. Mr. Scheer is also aware that Mr. Coester has committed fraud with regard to his personal taxes and he misused corporate funds. For example, Mr. Coester created an account at CVMS called “BC OWES” that kept track of the money Mr. Coester “borrowed” from the company with the alleged intention of paying it back. At the time that Mr. Scheer discovered this in January of 2013 the account was over $225,000 and it has now grown to over $400,000
36. During 2013, Mr. Coester continued violating the law. For example, the states of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, and Virginia would routinely contact CVMS concerning potential disciplinary action against CVMS in connection with the failure to properly pay appraisers. In response to this, Mr. Coester would use a number of tactics involving altered documents and fraudulent statements…
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This has been posted to numerous places already as well as my group. It’s sad and also scary that in an industry where AMC’s are supposed to help limit fraud you have Brian COESTER back to doing what he did as an appraiser. Commit fraud. This company should not be allowed to perform as an AMC with any state nor work with any lending institutions. Time for this to end. I suggest every state board be sent a copy of this lawsuit as well as any lenders currently doing any work with him.
this asshat lost his license in MD, as you can look him up in the disciplinary action section of the DLLR, and yet he swindled his way back into the spotlight…..totally unacceptable practices and disgusting and yet he uses his money to get out of it all…..no more!!!
Done and done.
I agree with the previous comments. Not only do I think Brian Coester’s business be shut down, but that he pay for what he did to Robert Scheer. He should do jail time as well.
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Before everyone comes running to blame Mr. Coester I would like to point out that Robert Scheer has pending criminal and a federal lawsuit against him that has already been filed in federal court. A company as large as CoesterVMS would have some people throwing stones and looking to get some money out of him. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/maryland/mddce/8:2016cv02717/359476
Hmmm. Interesting how this was filed 2 months after the one against COESTER VMS.
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Cobra, I tend to agree with John. I have worked with Coester for years and never had a problem with them. This Robert Scheer guy looks like he’s looking for payday from Mr. Coester and is doing everything he can to slander him. Small people become relevant by blogging about what other people are doing. As a former paralegal the timing of the suits mean nothing. If anything the federal vs state says it all. If you want to have real fun buy a copy of the Coester suit against Robert Scheer and you will see that this guy Scheer is something else.
CoesterVMS.com, Inc. v. Scheer (8:16-cv-0217), Maryland District Court
Thanks. I’ll do so.
Greg, tell the details, inquiring minds want to know.
Please detail this. I’m not creating an account for that, and could not find any info on gluegle. Some other interesting news; Both individuals share or shared ComfortCases non profit charity. The locations are literally next door. There was some national controversy regarding the charity just like a year ago or so. Some varied name research brings content more SJW focused than business related.
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It reads Robert Scheer stole company information and tried to use it against CoesterVMS at his new company. Coester caught him and as a result Robert Scheer got fired from his new job. Robert Scheer is suing to try and get money. From what I have been able to read Scheer got quite the case against him.
Well of that is true then shame on him as well and he needs to be punished as well. But what about the allegations against Brian and the fraud etc. if those turn out to be true as well then they both have a lot of explaining and both need to be punished. If true it still doesn’t absolve COESTER from their wrong doings either.
Classic data grabbing, but on a much larger scale? Figures, same old same old.
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LOL! BUSTED!
I bet the Virginia State Attorney General is sweating bullets hoping no one will remember the efforts many made to keep that state from issuing this guy a license…efforts and information the AG apparently chose to ignore.
AB one name he could probably use without too much concern would be his own…Brian Coester?
Thanks for posting this. Perhaps it will help bring more AMC staff WHISTLE BLOWERS out of the darkness and into the discussions and debates regarding the shenanigans of certain AMCs and the AMC model all together.
Well Greg Devall, are you the appraiser that has been taking all the $225 request coming to me ?
LOL!
Lets see if Sheer was earning $180,000 its affair bet that the owner was earning at least as much. So say $360,000 for executive compensation.
At $225 a pop that’s 1,600 appraisals a year ONLY to pay for these two parasites salaries! That doesn’t even count any kick backs or other inducements to get people to use them despite their horrible reputation in the industry. Heck their legal fees alone must be awesome!
So how exactly does paying some parasites $360,000 a year to process appraisals save taxpayers and consumers money?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Coester VMS has 10 TO 1 ratio of SALES PEOPLE versus Quality Control people on staff as there is only one appraiser on his staff to manage all their QC operations …which are all just send to Flatworld in India. I can’t see how that business model is safe for our lending environment …and that goes for anyone else like Nations (NVS) who has the same model in place. See what HVCC and this new AMC system has done for you? Nothing but killed the industry it was trying to regulate.These AMCs came in and made a bunch of money and they can leave with it but what are the remaining appraisers left with? Sadly, not enough of a profession to save as the new analytical tools are now here replace us.
Thanks to workingRE magazine, for having outsourced appraisal typist service advertisements every other page. The appraisers outsource the typing to the same people who turn around and offer outsourced review. See addenda.
Found him! https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-scheer-27482653
He is at Landmark now, have not had experience with them. Anyone ever do an order for them?
Home of the reverse FHA, endless update calling, infinite fee quoting per order automated, excessive stips, and remote serviced underwriting. Cheers if you run with those guys, make sure to allot extra time for unnecessary follow up, and be prepared to get underbid and waste your time, all the dang time. I worked with them around 2 years ago. As if the seniors were not tough enough to deal with.
complete and utter scum….call you round the clock asking for the report immediately following the very next morning and then wanting you to rearrange the report to appease their client….all about lender gratification and AMC benefit….i called in every month demanding my money and they paid me 97 days after submission of the report……would not work for them if they were the last appraisal business on earth….why do it ? hoping you might get paid…..they will be another JVI or ES Solutions….they will go under !!!
Love how Brian Coester’s buddies and employees are running to his defense. We know the scumbag is guilty. Brian and his father have been sanctioned for multiple USPAP violations. His company has been sanctioned by several states. One of the worst AMCs out there.
This guy needs to be out of business.
I don’t think even his employees defend him. Instead of working to be a better AMC I heard he spends his time writing to blogs pretending to be someone else.
they are paying him how much!!! pays to steal from appraisers. i didn’t even get a thank you card.
Dude it’s only like 90 dollars an hour. Hey wait, where did my income go? If the state regulatory bodies would simply audit amc’s more often for a variety of issues, the house of cards would fold overnight. Who will offer a cash reward for whistleblowers amc? What is the point of RESPA, TILA, RegZ, state regs, FDIC order placement guidelines, GLB, when the weak link is obviously lack of itemized separation on HUD1 for appraisal services. Junk fees are legal so who did the regulators think this unregulated mockery of an amc licensing system would attract, mother Mary and St Joseph? All amc workers down to the janitor should be licensed and tested in order to maintain those positions. If proper chain of command and compliance with regs was recognized, it may be possible the amc order manager should be more experienced or as experienced, as the majority of appraisers they work with.
It’s a damned free for all, matey.
Baggs, the HUD 1 has been replaced by the TURD. So called for obvious reasons.
Tila
Respa
Integrated
Disclosure
None of which require segregation of the fee actually paid to the appraiser and how much is stolen by the bank or AMC.
Looks like karma has finally caught up to all your lying and stealing, Brian Coester!
Taking bets now, Scheer is going to jail and fighting to get Coester to settle.
I will take that bet! e-mail me your first offer!
Nope. We bet hamburgers and beaver pelts round these parts. I’ll put 10 pelts and 2 burgers down that nothing comes of it, like always.
Time to grab the popcorn, sit back and watch the show! After all of this drama you guys still want to work for Coester more power to you. When (not If) they go under don’t come a crying because we won’t be listening.. HaHa
He’s got quite a rap sheet in MD… five domestic violence cases. Looks like he had to surrender firearms, ordered not to abuse, not to contact and enter residence and something about custody. Wonder what’s that all about. A bunch of cases where he’s listed as defendant for several tax liens, writ of garnishment of wages, unpaid taxes, and most recently the Scheer case.
Looks like this guy rips off more than just appraisers. Hope he gets audited by the IRS.
If you still work with Coester, you’ve been warned!
Yep, sounds like your typical social justice warrior.
Why does it seem like Danl, SamF and Carl are also all the same person?
Like Coester struggling futilely to try his ‘case’ in an appraisers forum instead of a court of law!
OK Mr. Coester and Mr. Sheer both; The agency that investigates tax fraud is the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). TIGTA is the armed, criminal investigatory agency of the IRS. It has the authority to make arrests.
Please DO drop a dime on each other. Enjoy!
Because they are the same person.
Unfortunately for you guys it’s IMPOSSIBLE to kill off an AMC. We refer to them as “worms” for a good reason. Cut one in two and you typically end up with two AMCs. Cut one in 20 pieces and you may end up with 20 new AMCs. Brian Coester is however one of the wormiest worms of all. Let’s cut him in half and see what happens! Shall we?
New article request for you, and I think you’ll like it. Post a straight reference list for all the major legal drama befallen big box amc’s over the past 10 years. It’s a story in itself and the list would be so long, no time for anything but an introductory paragraph. Go all Drudge report on amc history, hotlink every story in a long list, if you really want to make your point. I used to keep track of that but eventually relented, right about the same time that brain child amc tracking deal Matt Biggers tried out, was not able to hold up. You know what, I shouldn’t have been such a cheepskate and I should have subscribed to that. Wish I would have given that one more support.
Mr. Scheer had copies of both the original reports and the fraudulent ones, which were sent to the State of North Carolina.
29. Mr. Coester, who knew that Mr. Scheer was aware of what had occurred, told Mr. Scheer that if he ever told anyone about CVMS’ fraud then Mr. Coester would “take him down.”
Wait! Isn’t that being an accessory to the crime of fraud?
I’ve been watching this guy for years and his troubles with the different states. Shouldn’t he be on the TV show, “American Greed”?
Or a reality show…pretty much the same thing..lol Wait a minute I shouldn’t be giving this guy anymore ideas for him to make money. Pass the butter plz!
That’s the same deal with the new movie, Vaxxed. The researcher guy saved all that research data which was then altered, and disclosed that at a later date. He has a truck load of original research proving falsified data on vaccine safety. Cooking the books is the game of the day, now that corporations have become directors of the municipalities which hold them accountable. When we are asked to support a political cause these days, it’s quite likely to be simply playing a game of which side can send more money to political figures and associated groups through lobbyists. We should make these people wear nascar style outfits detailing their selected sponsors. The overwhelming majority of legislation and various legal writings, are actually written by private corporations for their own benefit, then sent through our legal system. A common misconception is that our politicans write or direct the writing of these laws. They don’t. The private companies send them in, and the political figure heads just sign off and have illusionary debates about content they’ve neither created nor read. It’s pure advocacy for cash. We’ve lost representative democracy and are currently dealing with private corporations being above the rule of law because they write the laws these days. Major companies rewrote the law and now many smaller companies also take advantage of that.
You know, he should use the Hillary defense. As we tread down this path of systemic and institutionalized corruption of corporate practices, rights continue to erode while fraud and corruption expands. An interesting highlight of this is when two criminals both threaten to use the rule of law to their advantage against the other. Well, what rule of law, if they both could operate that way with impunity in the first place? They’re likely biggest penalty will simply be in cash and legal fees. Neither will see a day in jail, despite any disclosure by the other, unless the justice system is compelled by a more powerful business interest to pursue them. Do you think major lending interests will let this house of cards fall? The companies are not going to give that up in defense of justice for appraisers, or any individual amc persons.
we are the only profession that can’t collect there money at the door. what happen to the good old days of collecting at the door. now we have AMC’s in our pockets stealing our money and committing fraud. the sad thing is all he is going to get is a slap on the wrist and a fine (big deal) they are generating close to 1,000 orders a day and making an average of $150 per job for a profit of $150,000k a day. So he may get a 10k fine, he will laugh it off just like all the other fines and he will make it back by paying less on a couple of jobs here and there.
RegZ was supposed to be cost prohibitive with the retroactive 10k initial and 20k thereafter, daily fines for ongoing violations of appraiser independence. My old line from the other forum is; If any lender is ever actually given that fine, I’ll fall over backwards in my chair and spill my coffee. There are some bloggers and posters out there who really know their law and regulatory data. We had high hopes that any number of these corrective actions and pursuits of wrongdoing would yield something, but none of them did. It’s not what you do in lending, it’s who you know. I mean, apparently, right?
“Rumors” abound that he has been passing bad checks lately. A poster to this blog claims to have gotten more than one. I doubt he is generating 1,000 orders every day.
I have not completed an appraisal for them for years. However, around December 2010 they owed me for a few appraisals. I tried collecting. I was told- check was in the mail. January- no check, called “check was in the mail.” February I got on AF and posted about it after I called them to see where the check was. The very next day I got a call from them saying the funniest thing happened, the check had been laid on a desk and was under a pile of other things when they thought it had actually been mailed. Darndest thing and they were sorry. The sad thing is, while it represented a lot of money to me at the time, it was only for $1200.
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I owned a mortgage company and used to get these types of lawsuits everyday from previous employees looking for a payday. I don’t agree with everything Coester has done but giving attention to an employee who is looking for his payday after stealing from him is not profession. If you read the federal suit which I did you would see this Robert Scheer guy is a piece of work…nut case to say the least. Deserves to be put in jail.
John Posner =’s Brian Coester, what a slanted post, you are skipping the Fraud part conveniently….
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Jerry, use your real name because I used mine and I am not defending Coester but if you knew how to read a lawsuit you would see the “Payday” sign all over it. That is the problem with America you believe the media hype. If you are an appraiser read and think for yourself.
Logical fault. Criminal action is not defensible with slander. They’re both pieces of work. When you were dealing with previous employee lawsuits, were you also altering records, forging documents, and generally recognized as having pillaged the appraiser community? Also with a previous history of professional fines and penalties? Logical fault. Stack overflow. Command could not be completed.
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If you look at what he’s suing for, what he is getting sued for and where he is working now the pieces do not add up to what this lawsuit says. He is suing to be able to keep the data he stole and then added a bunch of slander as a distraction. Read both lawsuits and it is very clear.
CoesterVMS vs Robert Scheer
CoesterVMS.com, Inc. v. Scheer (8:16-cv-0217), Maryland District Court
If what you say is true about defensibility, Coester should welcome a third party auditor to scrape the entire database and verify consistency of meta data and other required regulatory burden data.
Posner,
here is a little background on your boy Brian Coester. I recommend you read the whole thing. It’s a great read by Woody Fincham: Virginia is For Lovers: All But AMCs
Looks like Landmark is just as bad of the rest of them! Multiple fines and consent orders across the country! These AMC’s need to go away!
Landmark Network, Inc.
Minnesota
Unlicensed activity – Penalty Agreement
Landmark’s o.k. Sometimes when I’m lonely, I feel it’s nice to have someone call every single day for each individual order I’m carrying, just to check up on me and get repeated updates.
$180k for an amc manager? That’s a pretty high number for a mere unlicensed steward of simple liaison process between appraisers and lenders. They’re not individually licensed persons. If this was the military, the amc industry would be guilty of borrowed glory.
They do call me every single day as well. I think they use an offshore company to make the calls. Fee’s aren’t the best
What! That’s a deal breaker. If you’re not an American right here in the USA, I’ll only speak to you if I call outbound. Inbound international callers for any reason are simply not tolerated. In other countries, it is a legitimate job to phone scam Americans. Outsourcing phone duties is no longer an ethical option for any outbound calling services.
Last few I took from them were 565’s and 615’s. Always bid up and over the ‘processing fee’. They use the bid system but also shed appraisers left and right so if you keep bidding, you can get a few now and then. The cool thing about their bid system is how many different lenders participate with reverse FHA, and not all of them are so irrationally opposed to increasing appraiser fees. Reverse FHA was interesting because it’s like a mini VA or something, and only a few of the distribution outfits out there are handling it. I got away from it because every dang time I ended up in long conversations with retired persons. That was the fun part, but I’m not retired yet and found myself unable to escape grandma and grandpa’s relentless stream of realty questions and statements about the home. Most reverse FHA’s have tremendous oversight so you like always always get stipped. It’s interesting and rather unique work, as far as gse origination choices are concerned. An unusual quantity of elderly people have little tiny lap dogs and I still don’t understand why. Maybe I’ll relate better in another 30 years.
The first domino to fall.
i heard the Coester v Scheer lawsuit has been denied while the Scheer v Coester still lives.
a microcosm of the whole AMC world. All need IRS scrutiny, in my opinion.
Oh really. I hope this is true.
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From what I can see Scheer is scrambling. Coester filed an answer and a motion to dismiss. Instead of Scheer objecting they modified the complaint which is not a positive sign. Amending the complaint on a motion is only done when you can not fight the motion which only happens when you have holes in your argument. Then Scheer asked for an extension to his answer in the suit filed against him in federal court. That combination says he needs a new attorney or the attorney can’t come up with a good answer. https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/15345407/CoesterVMScom,_Inc_v_Scheer
Docket Date:
07/22/2016 Docket Number: 12
Docket Description:
ANSWER
Docket Type:
Docket Filed By: Defendant
Docket Text:
DEFENDANT COESTERVMS.COM, INC’S ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES TO PLAINTIFF COMPLAINT, FILED.
Docket Date:
07/25/2016 Docket Number: 13
Docket Description:
NOTICE, EXISTING SCHEDULE
Docket Type:
Docket Filed By: Court
Docket Text:
NOTICE OF EXISTING SCHEDULE SENT TO GREGORY D. GRANT, ESQ., FILED.
Docket Date:
07/29/2016 Docket Number: 14
Docket Description:
AMENDED BILL OF COMPLAINT/PETITION
Docket Type:
Docket Filed By: Plaintiff
Docket Text:
PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND JURISDICTION AND VENUE, ATTACHMENTS AND COMPARISON COPY, FILED.
Docket Date:
07/29/2016 Docket Number: 15
Docket Description:
OPPOSITION TO MOTION
Docket Type:
Opposition Filed By: Plaintiff
Reference Docket(s):
Motion: 8
Docket Text:
PLAINTIFF’S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT BRIAN COESTER’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, FILED.
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Good job. Wonder if it’s one person or multiple that work for COESTER or are lenders that use him. Very interesting non the less.
Bryan Coester take off your wig and drag outfit. None of us believe you.
This is an appraisers blog…not a forum for discredited former appraisers and AMC parasites to publicly argue their indefensible actions.
Do you REALLY think the regulars here cant tell when four or five new entities appear and magically start pretending to defend a scoundrel all of a sudden, but ignored all other articles about him and his firm over the past two years?
My experience with Brian Coester is that Brian does not keep his word. I would not sign Coester’s Vendor Agreement because it had required time limits on contacting the borrower and submitting the appraisal report that I knew I could not meet because of heavy volume in my service area. The agreement also had a clause that basically stated if Coester sent you a certain volume of work that it would be reasonable and customary to pay you a discounted fee. I contacted Coester VMS and informed them that any appraiser who signed the agreement knowing that they could not/would not honor the agreement was mendacious and not consistent with ethical behavior required of an appraiser. I also argued that I believed it was unethical for an AMC to promise any volume of work Brian Coester sent me a letter via USPS stating that he would alter the Vendor Agreement and it also argued that Coester VMS did not think the offer of a certain volume of work for a discounted fee was unethical and that the discounted fee was considered reasonable and customary. After receiving the letter I checked Coester’s Vendor Agreement and found it had not been changed. I made several calls to Coester VMS and was passed around to various people in management at Coester VMS to explain about the letter and the need to change Vendor Agreement. The agreement was never altered so I never signed the agreement and stopped accepting assignments from Coester VMS.
I do not know about Scheer other than he was a Coester VMS executive at that time nothing was done to correct the Vendor Agreement.
Appraisers should be very cautious about the Vendor Agreements they sign and keep true copies.
Bryan if you still have a copy of that letter please send it to your state board so they can investigate. If more and more appraisers would blow the whistle on these bad AMC’s maybe just maybe they will take a stronger course of action against them. Just my opinion.
Keep dreaming, but it’s a pleasant fantasy anyways.
https://refermyappraisalcomplaint.asc.gov/
No no no. F* them. Send complaints to the FDIC. YOU WILL GET FURTHER
Bryan, those were the important issues regarding state amc licensing that many states missed. But it’s never to late to amend extend revise and get wise. In Colorado we do not have to sign those agreements anymore. Something in the amc regs I forget, but that was a great day when suddenly through rules, these companies were not allowed to ask us to sign indemnity agreements anymore. I learned a long time ago that things I print on my trusty laserjet 3200, then file away, are not easily altered. Digital is code word for easy to cheat and change data. Paper is still an essential tool in any industry where powerful people can manipulate data, so basically everywhere. I’m still printing at less than 2 c per page on trusty graphite. This printer is 15 years old and still running strong. Paperless is code for ewaste.
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I have worked as an appraiser for Coester for 4 years and have zero problems at all with them. I am smelling some malicious intent here by appraisers on this company. You can not win a lawsuit in federal court against a state without having a very strong case and they did just that several times.
To me. Just the issue of a fraudulent signature and possible taking money from the business is enough for me. This is a guy that pays 300-350 for an appraisal and 300-350 for an FHA appraisal stating he uses his 6 points to determine a fee. Yet issues with paying appraisers is relevant and documented and the fact that he himself has committed fraud as an appraiser and sanctioned many times is a red flag. If people want to continue to work for him. That’s their issue. I choose not to as his company is one of the worst. I’m turning in orders that were well below C&R to the state of GA on him. Having this many legal actions and state violations should make it clear to everyone. Another appraisal loft in the works. Just my opinion.
Mark, kicking down the Appraisal Loft reference! Roasting turkeys while they’re still pecking in the fields! Bold and daring. Hey, I liked a few of your webcast audio deals there, listened to one the other day.
Bold and daring maybe. But the proof is there and the signs are as well. No one knew about appraisal loft and their issues but continuous disciplinary actions and actions for not paying appraisers are right there in black and white. You may be pecking but it may not be hunting season.
Oh and thanks for listening. I’ve got a lot more to say and to do. You may or may not agree with me but that’s me and I don’t care. I for one try and make a difference.
Nope, I don’t buy it. If there is no conflict what so ever, you’re probably doing it wrong. One integral part of checks and balances systems is providing the check to power as an impartial intermediary of sorts. To state there is never conflict is to state every deal all parties both sides never disagree. It’s a categorically false statement to make which is indicative of appraisers who don’t effectively speak to power, or perhaps interpreted by me somewhat out of context. But I mean seriously, do you live under a rock like that guy in the Geico commercial?
HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA
Koma, I am not sure what the complaint would be. It is not a violation of any regulation for the AMC to put stipulations in the vendor agreement it is up to the appraiser to adhere to the agreement they sign. Oregon does not have anything to say about reasonable and customary at this time.
GA, Not sure what malicious intent you smell but I can tell you that when I am lied to in writing that lie smells of malicious intent. Also I am curious as to what state law suits Coester won in federal court. Could you enlighten me?
See that’s my point. Don’t know about you, but not being a lawyer I’m unable to make that decision that’s why I’d send it in. Virginia does have a C&R fee. Again couldn’t hurt to send it in. What is my decision is to not accept work from shady clients. From all that I’ve been hearing/seeing about this company I would not touch work from them with a 10′ pole.
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Thanks for keeping them honest!
Hmmmmmmm, who could they all be?
I know! I know! I know! Pick me pick me pick me ~waving arms~
Appraisers are “SHOCKED” to find that AMCs are parasites to our profession.
if I was owed money from anyone I would demand immediate payments!
How is Coester still in business?
After all the lies, all the spin, all the misdirection, all the BS JUSTICE has prevailed.
The dominoes begin NOW!!!!
You know things?
Really, appraisers should just refuse to work for this company… He would not be in business without appraisers.
None of the AMCs would be in business without appraisers. It is appraisers that allow this type of company to thrive! Why is it that appraisers who work for the national appraisal crooks and AMCs are the first to post on the various forums all of the “BOO WHO” foolishness? Appraisers must enjoy being cheated and treated like crap or they would stop putting up with it!
It is this type of companies that are crying the blues about a “shortage” of appraisers. They are trying to get the education and experience requirements for license reduced so that they will continue to have an abundance of appraisers to feed off of. Just watch…they WILL succeed in this effort! Seems that our industry will never learn. Look at all of the appraisal organizations that collect dues and provide little if anything. What about all of the newsletters and Expo type of crap. Think about all of the people that earn their living sucking their livelihood from the efforts of appraisers. Some leach earning $180,000. per year just to screw you over! If he were the only parasite it may be different but there are so many that we need to call Pest Control to spray them all…or appraisers could just get their heads out of their ass! Gee, what a shame!
Agreed – I have fired all cheap, abusive and fraudulent clients. If we would ALL fire and report these guys they would not be in business. It did impact my income at first, however I have been able to recapture my income by focusing my time on quality clients. Maybe I have a little less work, but since the decent clients pay decent fees, I am not out any income and my stress level is down 100%… How many “Value reconsideration requests” have I received this year? NONE. Don’t allow yourself to be abused. Take control of your own destiny.
They fire me, I fire them… Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who. This is a festive occasion and we have a wedding to attend. I keep telling them I can replace them if necessary, but I remain mystified why they want me to do that. We’re Knights of the Round Table, We dance when ere we’re able, We do routines and chorus scenes. With footwork impeccable. We dine well here in Camelot, We eat ham and jam and spam a lot.
The U.S. Valuation Fact Sheet indicates that as of December 31, 2015 there were 76,800 appraisers. The study indicates of that number 31% were preparing residential appraisals. (the other 69% were doing commercial, review, playing at being a Chief, as trainee, etc). That was December… The month of July there was a further reduction of the total by over 1,000.
There are approximately 75,000 appraisers. If 31% of that number are doing residential appraisals that would equal 23,250 appraisers doing residential appraisals. The Texas Real Estate Research Center provided a study that indicated that about 1/4 of all appraisers did not accept work from AMCs. So…if there are 23,250 appraisers doing residential appraisals, that would equal 3/4 of 23,250 appraisers or a an estimated total of 17,438 appraisers. Is it possible that this 17,438 appraisers provide the salaries of $180,000 for each of the second in command of an AMC? Gee….how much of your money are you allowing to be stolen by these AMCs in order for them to send you a stippend? Are you stupid or what? Pardon me for being frank…
Had realty agent call me the other day, trying to find an available appraiser for ‘a quicken loan deal’. I had to tell her she’s an interested party, is not allowed to select or help find the appraiser, and subsequently told her I’m not touching any TSI work with a 10 ft pole. So in this time of stress, it’s the companies that abused the appraisers the worst, with the most out time.
Note to lenders; If your out time is over a month, you should consider direct assignment and substantial compensation increase. Reliable respectful clients are often a month out, but at least they have dedicated appraisers. In this time of plenty, some of the big box amc’s can’t find any appraisers. PCV tried to run a game on my mom recently. She’s an appraiser just getting back from years of hip issues. Told her they’re reducing fees to 333! Based on my advisement, she landed the next one at 700. Just goes to show you, the amc persons have absolutely no reliable data when it comes to justifiable or reasonable fees.
A few times back in the day when I logged into Coester, I was surprised to find my standard 1004 fees were much lower than I had stated them at. A little quick data manipulation and look at that! C&R!
I am 65 and do not accept assignments from AMCs or national appraisal companies. After thirty plus years in this business I no longer belong to any appraisal organization or pay dues to any group. I was on a 7 day Carnival cruise 04/17/2016, and again 07/10/2016. I will be aboard the Carnival Breeze September 11, 2016 for another fun trip. As you can tell…I am just playing around and not serious about work anymore! In between the cruises I took my grandson to Washington D.C. for a trip. You can see that all I do now is play! Life is good! (APPRAISAL REQUESTS ARE OFFERED MULTIPLE TIMES DAILY)
Just for conversation, lets say that you turn down four assignments each week at a fee of $450.00…that equals $1,800. or $93,600 per year. If you have a general certification and can do commercial, right-of-way, litigation, IRS, etc. that is just a start. Even as a certified residential appraiser you can stay as busy as you want. There is more appraisal work available than you can imagine. Do not be an AMC chump! So sorry.. too much advice to those who have no interest in hearing it. Best regards to those AMC tigers in our group!
Should I be a coach?
Probably NOT! The coach, the Expo, the AMCs, National Appraisal Groups as well as all of the appraisal organizations, news letters, etc. all want your money! Gee…I am not wealthy but I an NOT a parasite on the appraisal profession. Any advice I offer is free…It is my opinion and only that based on 30+ years of dragging the measuring tape. There is a saying that if something is free it is worth what it costs. Maybe so…but as an old dude with decades of experience in the real estate field I offer my silly opinions for free! I am not after your money, your vote or even your approval. Your friendship would be very welcome!
There are about 75+/- appraisers within a 50+/- radius of my office. Of these 75+/- appraisers there are THREE listed in the yellow pages of the local phone book. How many of you have offered to speak at a sales meeting with one of the MANY Realtor offices? Gee. The list of appraiser options are on and on….Why are you feeding the AMCs? Do all of your friends a favor and go and take another job…you suck at this one!
Wayne, that’s the ‘worth less by proxy’ argument. Just because I’m close to another provider, does not automatically reduce my relative worth and relative value. Trust the guys who know nothing of value, to get all corny with worth by proxy approaches. I just tell them, if you can replace me, why are you on the phone with me in the first place? It’s all song and dance. “If they call you, they need you. Price accordingly.”
Baggins…Maybe so. FHA has become so smart that they dictate to the appraiser how we will inspect the home. I disagree with that and they can take a hike. The VA seems to know all there is to know about appraisal so they can take a hike also. FNMA and FREDDY MAC dictate the UAD foolishness even though they required the taxpayers to bail out their stupid asses because they could not remain solvent. As broke as they were (MILLIONS) they still think that they should tell appraisers how to do our jobs. What a crock of shit is this secondary market! How many appraisal organizations are there that collect dues and do absolutely nothing? Did you spend your money to go to the “Expo? Have you hired the appraiser coach? Have you lost your stupid mind? (opps)
Guess you didn’t read my comments about the AGA. The appraiser coach is awesome as well.
I really hope you are joking when you say “the appraiser coach is awesome”. Please explain.
Love his podcasts. His shows are informative and he brings things to light.
Maybe you should open your mind. Oh wait. I’m sorry. Appraisers can’t do that.
Cobra, I know nothing of you, but if you’re drinking the coach’s Kool-Aid, then I will judge you by the company you keep. Go to Dustin’s blog / podcast and read my at length comments and responses and you will see I often have the polar opposite opinion with facts. His latest blog blows right past reality while he tries to lend support to someone wanting to enter the profession. I for one like EXPOSING THE MAGICIANS SECERETS, while his following disciples often discount the reality of most in this industry.
Well aren’t you the wizard. I have my opinions and my beliefs. You have yours. I don’t push mine on everyone like it seems you are doing. It amazes me how some people just think they are the total shit and try really hard to push their shit on others. Amazing. And yes. I like Kool-Aid. It’s refreshing. Judge all you want. I think I have my judgement of you now.
I find very little room in this field for my beliefs and opinions as I try to stick to the facts. When two states have the same VA fee schedule (CA / Idaho) but one community is 80% more expensive to live in (COL Calculator / Bankrate), the fact is these appraisers will be in different income circles on a local level doing the same job. If my state of CA is on pace to lose 400 licensed appraisers this year by way of BREA Licensing Stats, then it is not opinion, but fact. If the numbers show I have 1,000 appraisers within my single county of practice (+/- 50 miles) as direct competition, while other entire states have less, this is not a belief but fact. When the 2015 National Appraiser Survey – Allterra Group LLC asks “Are you optimistic about the future of appraising”, and 74.6% say NO, then I’m not providing a single opinion but am part of the super majority. Unlike Dustin, I had no booth at the Valuation Expo in Maryland last month, Joan Trice is not in my circle of friends, I don’t have a membership to sell you, products for you to buy, nor do I have an All Star team for you to join. There is one who pushes HIS agenda, and it’s not me. As it relates to Kool-Aid, by the sound of things, your favorite flavors are, Sour Grape, Deny Reality Raspberry, and Almighty Almond. I don’t know of you Mark, but please come back from the dark side.
Oh boy. I’ll just leave this here. SMH.
Wayne, you’ll find this news interesting I’m sure. Not sure which article to link, they’re all so informative. Google: Wind Down FNMA. Take your pick. Hear the one about how fnma lavishly improved a building they’re only renting? Read the ones about forced profit return while they’re in receivership? Well, it’s all part of the big picture and why appraisers are suddenly a profit point, rather than a simply compliance necessity. We all operate as if the fnma is a permanent constant, but many have continued to seek their elimination and a return to a networked private market instead, rather than a consolidated gse market. House of cards.
In the county of San Diego Wayne (50 miles +/-) there are over 1,000 appraisers fighting for crumbs (3 on my same street) and within a few hundred miles, there are close to 5,000. Our issues can be federal, state, regional, city, and even neighborhood driven. Any advise I provide must be filtered through my specific situation, and will thus often not apply to most appraisers. In this business, appraisers often will take their areas of practice (50 miles +/-) and assume everyone should do what they do to succeed. Although we complete the same forms, our problems are miles apart, and this in my opinion is why we have no single voice. Stay strong.
Bill….I have never been to San Diego. I have a lady friend living in Orange County! LOL…I agree that the view from my window is different than yours. I look at the planet earth as just one chunk of real estate. Yep, some of it is covered with water but even for those doing appraisals of mineral interests there is opportunity there. Our crazy government requires certain things by law that are intended to level the playing field somewhat. By this I mean that the Federal Government, the State Governments, County, City, School District, Community Development, Water Utility, parks & recreation, and on and on and on have a process that they MUST use to acquire certain services.
There was a time that our small company bid on this type of work. We did several appraisals of national guard armories, etc. The service would fill our email box each day with opportunities to bid on appraisal work all over the United States. Now….we do none of that. I have not done any AMC work in years and hit the delete button for those “opportunities” we receive each day. We do no mortgage broker work, no FHA….in other words just cherry pick what we want. I know that is different from your world. I must ask, do you know each of the members of your county commission? Do you know the county engineer on a personal basis? Do you know the city manager of your city and the council members? What about the city engineer and any of the consulting engineers that contract with them? The Dixie Chicks had a song about “there’s your problem” LOL…are you aware that bondsmen in the county need appraisals to be approved by the county? What about divorce, estate, litigation? Have you offered to speak at any of the real estate sales meeting for the thousands of agents that could have your business card and send you business? How about trying a whole lot of marketing? My 8 year old grandson knows how to make the cell phone sing and dance….My 80 year old grandmother knew how to use the yellow pages to hire an appraiser. My grandson has no money…My grandmother did!
Use your brain! I wish you well my friend!
Bill, there’s a lot in what you say. Similarly Cobra is in a market (Georgia) in which conditions he describes prevail. The nuts and bolts of his local issues may well vary from yours and mine, though core issues are the same.
As for Dustin, I’ve been interviewed by him and found him to be (apparently) honest and sincere. Good interviewer and appraisers that I know and respect that have taken his courses say they benefitted.
I don’t happen to be a proponent of a belief that technology replaces all tried and true methods; nor do I accept that all technological advances even have a place at the table when it comes to USPAP compliance. I don’t believe a paperless office is wise. I strongly disagreed with (most) of his advice to the new want to be appraisers, but that does not make his advice self serving or insincere.
I’ve only taken the two part regression course he offered. Well worth the money. Id encourage all to take them.
I assume you know of George St. Johns and the California Coalition of Appraisal Professionals. Completely unselfish and thoroughly dedicated appraiser that tried to organize right after HVCC. He was never about collecting money and doing nothing. Usually it was the opposite. He was and is limited by a lack of participation and inability to affect national issues.
Like you I realized MOST of ‘our’ collective appraisal issues are federal with subsidiary issues being state or local. No solutions are possible without clout at the federal level. That is why I joined the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA). They didn’t have a lot of individual clout when I joined, but their parent unions did. OPEIU and AFL-CIO are well known.
More importantly they have a direct active membership; retirees and family members of over thirteen million consumer taxpayers and THAT was enough to make federal agencies and congress listen to AGA wen we speak for them.
Any that know me or that have followed AGA posts over the past couple years know that all but one person are unpaid volunteers. We are hardly in it for the money. Despite that, our phone and office supplies and parent union overhead costs money. THAT is why we have dues.
When I travel to speak for AG in California, Nevada or Arizona it’s at my own expense. When our Maryland executive leadership travelled to Virginia to speak on behalf of VaCap and C&R fees it was at there own expense. The same holds true in MN, IL, NY, NJ, WV, GA, TX and LA. Our leaders there are all volunteers too.
When we speak before federal agencies now we are listened to with respect. True, there is no single voice for appraisers…nor would you or others want that. We DO however speak as one united organization alongside other like minded groups on behalf of appraisers when our interests are compatible.
Our letter campaign to regulators helped encourage the AQB to adopt revised criteria on alternatives to a four year degree. Not the way we asked for, but better than it was before.
The solution is joining with the other 19 to 21 active appraisal coalitions operating for the benefit of appraisers; and opposing the Alterra Group and Joan Trice’s self serving interests and views when appropriate.
We try to be very careful not to align ourselves with groups that are working against the interests of all or most appraisers. YOU would be helpful if you chose to become involved…but there ARE dues.
I attended an USPAP update class last Friday. I love to take some of this type of classes in person as I get to visit with my area appraiser buddies and swap war stories. The topic of FHA came up over lunch. I said that our office had stopped accepting FHA assignments. The group that I was with basically said that they did FHA assignments all the time and NEVER checked a single appliance and would NEVER crawl into the attic or crawl space of a home. These few folks that WILL remain unidentified are about my age and near retirement. One or two of them could retire yesterday with much more than me. If I am ever questioned about what they said, well…I must have misunderstood!
In other words they are just ignoring all of the new FHA rules and procedures and considering FHA employees to be a gaggle of geese not worthy of providing regulations. I totally agree that FHA personnel have become silly as grade school students but I am not willing to lie about what I did or did not do.
It does make me wonder how many of our FHA approved appraisers are REALLY doing the inspections as required or just saying pizz on it…Catch me if you can? These guys just absolutely DO NOT CARE about these rules. i suppose that I do not either but just not willing to say I did when I did not. Oh well, Go Away FHA! Maybe Donald will close that silly government money pit!
Amended lawsuit is a must read! Scheer states Brian Coester texted images of dildos and called Scheer a washed up faggot… Is this the sort of guy you want to do business with?
Scheer vs Coester Amended Lawsuit July 29 2016
Why he’ll never work in Hollywood again!
It would seem to be an impossible task to work with many amc persons, in a spirit of constantly high ethic and professional respect for one anothers business positions. The result of ethical business dealings is growing respect, dedicated relations, and symbiotic financial relationships. For a very long time, appraisers had sayings like, enough for all of us, work as a team, etc. I’ll never buy this new paradigm regarding having to ‘beat the competition’. I will continue to maintain a personal ethic that I never cause someone else to take a loss, so I can take a gain. A foreign concept amongst most middle management models. As they say; Sometimes you can read a book by it’s cover. The fail point for some of the staff models of appraisal businesses, is when they discount for orders ahead of the common group of appraisers. Because cost savings are not returned to borrowing customers, the act of discounting the appraisal fee is clearly an act of providing a thing of value to be the preferred selectee. Question: Why have regulatory authorities been apparently powerless to enforce anti kick back and junk fee rules in this realm of consideration?
I’ve intermittently done work for Coester VMS over the past few years. Just accepted an assignment. Will likely be my last with them after reading this. I lost out on a weeks worth of work payment with JVI went bankrupt. I won’t deal with that again. If they’re crooked, it’s better to get out of the boat before they sink and leave you empty handed!
Apologies for posting here-Webinar is tomorrow – I just learned of it. FREE HousingWire Webinar — Wednesday, March 1
I was originally mildly annoyed with my favorite National Membership Coordinator for sending me a link without telling me what it’s about.
This is for a webinar registration that features a cast of characters that alone makes it worth attending or watching.
It’s titled “What’s Going to Happen to Appraisers in 2017”. It’s to be moderated by Jacob Gaffney, editor of Housing Wire.
Usually I’m pretty careful about who I give an opportunity to pollute my mind but this cast of characters includes a truly noteworthy Rogues Gallery. Their bios are interesting.
Alan Hummel, Chief Appraiser First American Mortgage Solutions (Anyone remember the folks that bought ACI or developed PACE PRO?) Now for the good part:
I’m deliberately leaving the fourth off because I have no knowledge of them other than info that speaker is a reported partner in a multi county Florida appraisal firm owned by MAIs, and that he is a former Florida State Regulator.
Seeing who the featured speakers are helps us to better understand why the state of our profession is what it is today.
Was there ever an update on this lawsuit deal?
On a different topic, I live and work in Maryland, trying to get Maryland to change its legislation that currently allows AMC’s to take up to 60 days to pay for completed assignments down to 30 days. I have been in touch with several appraisal groups across the nation and even have been interviewed by a Washington Post reporter on the subject. Many states have changed their rules to state that AMC’s must pay within 30 days of the first receipt of the invoice from appraisers. If you agree please send me an email stating that you would like congress to make this a national law. Include you name, address and email. Simply say in the body of your email please add my name to the list of ( I support the 30 day Prompt Payment Act) for appraisers. Once I receive everyone’s email, I will send it on the Washington Post reporter and a few other Delegates and legislators. I can’t promises anything but I am trying on behalf of all independent fee appraisers everywhere. Send to marty@mcappraisalsinc.com
GA requires 14 days unless you agree to other terms with an AMC. You should have to wait 30 days after you turned in a report.
good luck Marty….i too live in MD and filed complaints on 7 AMC’s and been through the whole bit….the DLLR, Hogan, MD commish, and all involved including Simonaire…didn’t do diddly !!! They pass the buck and go right back to their standard rule under Senate Bill 658 that removes them from placing disciplinary action or criminal sanctions against these scumbags….it’s a joke, however i’m optimistic and not pessimistic in your efforts….but do not get let down if nothing happens….been there done that !
“THE COMMISSION MAY NOT BRING DISCIPLINARY ACTION UNDER § 16–702.2 OF THIS TITLE OR RECOMMEND CRIMINAL SANCTIONS UNDER § 16–706 OF THIS TITLE BASED SOLELY ON SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION.”
One person fighting a battle has much less chance for success than many. You can do a lot. I don’t mean to discourage you by any means, but could do even more with more people.
Legislators and regulators respond to numbers. Frankly they also don’t care at all about the interests of real estate appraisers.
Read the laws. They are always couched in language describing how what is being done is for the benefit of “The People”, taxpayers or consumers. Any proposals made should show how those interests are benefited by timely payments to professionals.
Insert [taxpayers-voters-consumers-The People] are not being served by professional appraiser fees being held hostage by AMCs. As consumers we pay AMCs in advance. Why are they allowed to collect ‘float’ interest using our money? Additionally how do we know as consumers that our appraisals were not subjected to undue pressure where appraisers simply do as AMCs tell them to do in order to get paid?
Getting good responses so far, please keep em coming. If your state enforces less than 30 days on AMC’s to pay that’s great. However we need legislation to at least get it down to 30 in states that are currently longer. Kentucky has mandated that AMC’s must pay in to an appraiser fund I believe that its $2000, with an additional $300. I was told that if an AMC goes belly up owing appraisers, they can get paid through this fund. Sounds like a great idea.
Chris, On the contrary, the state can bring disciplinary actions against AMC’s, and it is the state legislation we want to have changed to reflect AMC’s must pay appraisers within 30 days of first receipt of an invoice, which in turn the commission has to follow and enforce. There are other things we would like to see happen as well Like AMC’s can only use independent fee appraisers unless there aren’t any in the area they are trying to serve. The use of staff appraisers by AMC’s who we all knows many are owned by banks/lenders, is a direct violation of HVCC even though they try to hide it, It is Coercion & Collusion. Congress is going to have to realize that by allowing this continued practices by AMC’s is hurting the consumers.
Marty, they won’t do it….period ! I’ve been through the whole bit and won’t disclose the fine details but let’s just say i didn’t get paid, they pressured for value, and they put me in time out(DNU list) for not doing what they wanted me to do…..all of it was wrong, unethical, and more or less illegal and i pressed every button and filed every complaint…got every possible political personnel and office i could muster involved and it got me nowhere….all i say is….good luck with it and i mean it !
Thanks again Chris for the info. What I/we need is signatures/emails as I requested above. If we get 3000 appraisers dedicated to the cause I think we can make some changes.
Marty I think payment should be required on receipt. AMCs collect their fee right up front just as we used to. The only exception to payment upon receipt I could justify is where they have NOT been paid up front. In such cases 30 day payment is reasonable but cannot also be conditioned on their receipt of payment. If they do not get paid that is their cost of doing business under a bad business model. Most that I know of charge the clients credit card before they ever set the appointment.
PS AGA will send you email in support
I would just like to get paid for the appraisals my appraiser completed for Coester. He sent me check numbers and dates but I never received the checks. I’ve been trying to get paid since February 2018. After awhile they stop answering their phones and don’t return emails or phone calls. Funny……this seems to be his M.O. Just received a notice from Washington State Coalition of Appraisers due to the complaints coming in for the same thing. I don’t know…..whose fault is it? When my bills don’t get paid….its my fault. This is not the first time he has pulled this. There is history. Found his Facebook page….boy is he living it up while the appraisers he hired are trying to pay their bills with the payments he is not sending. I guess from now on when we are contacted by an AMC we need to do a complete background check and internet search to see whats up with the company. Weren’t the AMC’s put in place to stop this from happening? Forgive me if I sound a little angry. I guess I am.
I thought you were professionally very clear and concise…and on the mark.
The proof of ANY check being sent by a debtor is the canceled check. Otherwise, it is assumed to have either been lost in the mail; misaddressed or simply never sent. Saying I sent check number 123 on February 2018 means NOTHING except that payment has never been received by the creditor.
An HONEST debtor would have immediately said “Obviously it has been lost. Let me cancel it and reissue it today.” An ETHICAL debtor would not permit his creditor to remain unpaid so long beyond any remotely reasonable period. IF it were me, I would not treat such a debtor as being either honest or ethical. Turn them over to collection company agents.