Only you can stop forest fires.  It’s up to you, and you alone.

Ok Mike, I just got 5 more between yesterday and today.

Rick, as someone who listened in on dozens of those weekly conference calls that Landsafe conducted, I call BS to your claim that no pressure was applied. Were you encouraged to refer to the data on file from BOA as it relates to determining property value trends, or were you freely without consequences able to use your own data? Call it no pressure, but why was it a requirement in cases where market value was not equal to the purchase price that the appraisal was vetted by the district manager. And lastly, why would you consider a top tier of a 50% split as good pay for an appraiser?

Diana, IF you redact YOUR info from the emails but leave enough to prove its clearly a Chase or AMC driven solicitation for below C&R fees (take DAY date off, but leave month and year if possible) AND post those here we can start get something done about it!

If you prefer, forward to me and I’ll redact your personal identification info from them and start sending them to the FEDs and posting them and flat out try to humiliate Chase into doing the right thing.

They get away with it because they don’t have anyone holding their feet to the fire. I AM willing to do that but we need the proof as evidenced in the actual emails.

Actually, though they are “employees” many are still on 1099 compensation. The vulnerability to the AMC that must be exploited is the fact that the required performance quotas to qualify for health benefits, paid vacation etc mean working more than 8 hours a day to achieve. THAT is where these companies leave themselves open to the class action lawsuits from the same guys that we contacted…the ones that beat BofA and Landmark.

The ones that have specifically asked for leads to EMPLOYEE appraisers and that have already identified companies such as MetroWest and Solidifi to be companies of interest to them.

In Response to Rick above: Understood Rick, I remember the WAMU transition from respected appraisal department to ‘worthless lender’. B of A was as much a victim of Countrywide as taxpayers were. I have no love for B of A but their appraisal policies have always been high and without compromise in my own personal experience as a former vendor appraiser.

I’d submit Rick, that overall, you ARE a notable exception though. I interviewed over the years at too many S&Ls; Mortgage Companies and even Banks to accept there is no inappropriate pressure-starting with the suggestion that 3 to 5 SFR appraisals a day were possible. As Chief Appraiser at a large title company in the early 1990’s I can tell you there was HUGE pressure not to kill deals. So much so that we were sold off as an asset and my own hired (non appraiser)  marketing rep with the morals of a snake was hired as an outside ‘AMC’ to provide the products & values we declined to.

Lol! “Service second to none” my ass!

You make a good point Mike.

I should explain: I was laid off by WAMU in 2006 and two weeks later hired by LandSafe. It was a transition time for both organizations. WAMU had essentially been taken over by a Wall Street GURU (as an advisor to CEO Kerry Killinger) who demanded this old fashioned S&L, in business since 1889, get with the times and start emulating Countrywide and that idiot Angelo Mozillo (liar loans, 100%+ LTV’s etc). After this I had heard rumors from NY State that WAMU was starting to pressure their appraisers as part of Wall Street “update” but had never experienced it first hand. Not long after this WAMU stock became worthless (along with a big chunk of my retirement savings, but that’s a story for another day) and WAMU was handed over to Chase all gift wrapped by Wall Street & Washington. Praise be to the too big to fail doctrine. So ridiculous but I digress.

About the time LandSafe hired me, Mozillo was being forced out and they were in process of being taken over by BoA so I never worked under the Mozillo hay-day. Its pretty common knowledge a bunch of crap was going on but I had no first hand experience with it. LandSafe under BofA was completely zeroed in on good quality accurate appraisals with no tolerance for value pressure. Though they allowed the use of distressed sales which essentially under-valued their portfolio and ended up paying a couple billion dollars in fines to the Feds for doing that, including about $50 Million to a LandSafe staff appraiser who was smart enough to become a whistle-blower and was feeding the feds info from the inside for about 4 years (plenty of news reports on this juicy story).

But again that never affected me. In fact we sat through many classes and conference calls (at least twice annually) drilling us about following appraiser independence. They all ended with an 800 number we were instructed to call if ANYONE tried to pressure us for values.

I am now on staff with another lender AMC and we just finished a special 90 minute conference call about strict adherence to staff appraiser independence. These people are serious about this stuff and do not allow us to be influenced.

It’s possible I am an exception or maybe they knew I wouldn’t put up with value pressure or I was lucky to be in the right staff position at the right time, I don’t know. But with this experience, including the current one, I am amazed when someone says staff appraisers are puppets. It just is not the way it is.

Rick on reading your response to Bill, I was inclined to be more open minded and agree with respect to assuring the discussion is kept honest. That inclination is tempered by the old FDIC finding that fully 97% of the quarter million defaulted loan appraisals they reviewed, performed by Countrywide/LandSafe were not USPAP compliant and that 90% were egregiously deficient.

That’s a record of abject failure by anyone’s standards. Was it because of bad appraisers and reviewers not doing their jobs, or was it a result of pressure to meet unrealistic goals, interfering with work quality? Just asking. Fairly or not, it taints ALL former Countrywide appraisers.

In the interest of keeping it a fully honest discourse.

Bill, you are mixing two separate issues, working long hours and being pressured for values. I already stated we worked long hours – that was the downside – but we got paid well for those long hours. I was part of that lawsuit and it had nothing to do with pressure for values. It was about being classified as “exempt” employees. So when you say “My trainer would give you $130,000 reasons as to the level of pressure” you are either ignorant of the facts or choose to muddy the issue.

I recognize things could be better in this profession but more importantly this kind of irresponsible talk hinders our cause as appraisers! When people like Phil Crawford go online and state we were/are pressured for values as staff appraisers (especially at Countrywide Oooh, Ahh, GASP!), I felt the need to send him an email explaining my experience contradicting that claim and he laughingly dismissed it on his podcast, like he knows better! I lived that life. I WAS NEVER PRESSURED! NOT ONE TIME! If you have a different FIRST HAND experience then share it! But don’t act like it cant be true ergo, THE SKY IS FALLING! At BofA we had FIRST CLASS reviewers who would go over an appraisal, somtimes with me if it was below sale price but only to make sure we had all our bases covered and could defend it, never to pressure me to change it. The reviewers I worked with are the best in the business IMHO and would quit before they would prostitute themselves to BofA or anyone else! Again, my experience. Maybe there are some who are not like that but not the ones I dealt with.

Just bring back some honesty and perspective to this discussion otherwise you have no credibility and that helps nothing.

Rick, my former trainer was and still is a staff appraiser with BOA / Landsafe and now Corelogic. In having first hand knowledge of the inner workings, I say BS to you not having any pressure as a staff appraiser. My trainer and 364 other BOA staff appraisers just settled a class action lawsuit to the tune of 36 million for being pressured to work long hours with no overtime, breaks, etc. My trainer would give you $130,000 reasons as to the level of pressure. Don’t even get me started on clearing appraisals with your supervisor when the opinion of market value is less than the purchase contract. Give me a break.

CAMCPC ~ Certified AMC Profit Center / Good one Snickets.  It’s not a coincidence they never revisited the management rule.  Providing a thing of value is unethical in this business of non biased non advocacy positioning for appraisers.  But as they say;  There is a war on for your mind.  In this chapter, they seek to eliminate the value of ethics.  Anyone who trades ethics for cash, has also traded away their integrity at the same time.  There is no way out of that rat race, except to charge amc’s more than direct distributors, so that is what I have done.  A direct consequence of the CFPB’s failure to properly separate and force disclosure of the distinctly different fees between the amc or distributor, and the appraiser.  If the junk fee rule is no longer applicable, which it apparently is, that equates to cash in a hurry for the unethical participators out there.  We will remain mystified why individual amc workers do not have to have licensing themselves, and be held to at least basic ethical standards like the rest of us. This industry has grown large enough by now, there should be a central ethics committee, whom is empowered to yank licenses left and right. They have a lot of work to do.

I am hearing rumors that the Appraisal Institute is contemplating a new designation for small appraisal businesses:

CAMCPC ~ Certified AMC Profit Center

You simply need to be a certified appraiser to apply for the new designation. No special education or time in country required. AMCs have requested the new designation for some reason.

Ladt T is right! The first step is getting involved and to find out what your specific state issues are.

Once that is done, you may want to join an effective NATIONAL clout organization that CAN get something done on a national level.

Sadly, there are few state organizations that are effective any longer. VaCap is; NCREAA is, Louisiana is and California CaCAP is. Many other states are either struggling with internal leadership issues; have fragmented, or are so heavily influenced by specific appraisal professional organizations that are often PART of the problem rather than part of the solution. There are probably a few more out there, but I can’t name one right now.

IF they all came together as an effective organization they could really be a force to be reckoned with.

When it takes them over a month just to get the verbiage of a letter to regulators approved though, I have my doubts.

THAT is where the special interests impact really become apparent making sure THEIR members favorite Ox  don’t get gored.

I invite any interested in effective pursuits to contact any of the above state coalitions, and / or the American Guild of Appraisers. (AGA) (310) 220-4100.

We are successfully fighting for and defending appraisers right now. Not just words, but actual successes in helping appraisers fight state regulatory abuses. We COULD use a few more qualified member – volunteers though. There is more work than there are people able to complete it.

Perhaps one of the truly saddest commentaries on what our profession has become.

With qualifications as strong as any that are likely to be found, to look objectively and have to say that just proves that sensible business practices have been thrown out the window in favor of amoral opportunism.

Forsyth has been bought out; LRES just purchased some ‘hybrid product’ provider MC licenses can apparently do something that the company being bought out would not be allowed to do on their own, and Metro West continues to replace independent professionals with indentured servants.

First American (you have to add your own third word descriptor to their name since they have adopted so many, LLc, AMC, PACE PRO, Escrow, title, ACI Appraisal Software – Eee EYE Eee EYE OH!) the super conglomerate advertising top quality and compliant products that is too incompetent to even produce an advertised flagship product (Pace Pro).

Yet the Feds and regulators continue to allow consumers and taxpayers to be scammed by these deceptive practitioners. To his credit, at least ONE Fed has spoken out against Pace Pro.

Jman, it is a shame that we will be losing you, and other skilled professionals like you.

To paraphrase a well known quote;

First they came for the “low quality” appraisers, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a “low quality” appraiser.

Next they came for the “cheaper/faster” appraisers, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a “cheaper/faster” appraiser.

Then they came for the “corner cutting” appraisers, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a “corner cutting” appraiser.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Join your state appraiser organization today! Don’t have one? START ONE!
My state association, NCREAA, only began in 2012 and we have made major changes in our state as well as partnering with the Network of State Appraiser Organizations / NSAO to affect change nationwide. There are currently 23 states in the network!

All is NOT lost guys…it’s OUR job to TAKE BACK OUR PROFESSION!

Rick, up until a few years after ’01; probably around 03+- WAMU HAD a respected residential income property appraisal department. But after that I can tell you first hand that their SFR and 2-4 units processing department were as bad as anyone about pressing appraisers to overlook property deficiencies. My favorite was a two on a lot (duplex) on three acres in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. They held a just under one million dollar first TD.

They submitted it to us for a refinance appraisal. While there were MANY reasons it should have been ineligible for financing (no heat for one) the most significant one was that it had been partitioned through the courts and neither the lot size not GBA was as WAMU believed, and indeed insisted. For over a month I had them try to tell me I must change MY report to match the title companies erroneous prelim. They even threatened to cut off the firm I was working for if I didn’t change MY report. Fortunately the owner of the company was willing to tell them to go to hell.

B of A? Depends on whether you worked there pre-LandSafe or after. If it was after, and your experience was LandSafe based don’t try to tell me or anyone else that ever worked for L/S there was no pressure. We simply know better. I even took THAT issue up with the VP in charge of B of A corporate security (then out of Texas) and he personally assured me that the Western Regional Coordinator had some very specific retraining on what she could or could not do to ‘remedy’ perceived appraisal issues related to values; or insisting review appraisers provide alternative values even when we indicated there was insufficient credible information in a report to do so.

IF it was B of A (corporate) prior to L/S, I would concede they had a professional appraisal department that WAS properly insulated from loan production. My own original mentors were respectively a retired Regional Chief Appraiser and HIS number one (SRPA). Both adhered to high standards.

You said yourself you were expected to hit high quotas and work long  hours with no overtime. hardly optimal conditions. Rick there is no question some appraisers had decent careers. No one ever claimed otherwise. What we ARE saying is that since HVCC there has been a distinct, negative downturn in ALL aspects of R.E. Appraisal and that those denying it exists ARE a big part of the problem. Doom & gloom? How about a drop from $100k a year down to about $25k virtually overnight when HVCC hit? Like many others, I’ve revamped my business model and rebuilt it from the ground up. I don’t mind that. Its part of business. What I DO mind is that at every turn NON appraisers are intruding into MY profession and either directly stealing work through unfair business practices that routinely use unacceptable short cuts, OR that are now trying to circumvent ALL standards that you and I have to follow as appraisers!

Doubt me? Look up First American’s (ACI) $75 PACE PRO product and read the form carefully. This product is DESIGNED TO MISLEAD! Then look at how many segments of the loan process they control. Including their buy out of the software company itself (ACI)!

Look at the instructions from the VREAB Board Member that is NOT an appraiser, to HIS constituents to simply IGNORE that states new C&R fee. HE ought to be thrown off the board. He does not have to agree with a law, but he DOES have to work to see that it is enforced – not help to circumvent it!

THEN tell me “Sheesh” again; or snidely infer those of us complaining are all about “doom and gloom.”

Man, you are one cynical dude! You are free to not believe me, though I have no reason to lie to you. Look, working for WAMU then LandSafe had it’s downside – they worked us to death to make production goals then both laid me off after 10 years at WAMU then 7 at BofA. It wasn’t a bed of roses but all in all it was a great career that paid well and I slept at night knowing I was not a prostitute to the loan dept. Not ever. You may find that hard to believe but I’m just telling you like it is. And the honorable men and women who were my fellow staff production appraisers had the same experience. Sorry your appraisal experience has jaded you so much, but you obviously haven’t seen or experienced my world and I just wanted to let everyone who reads this know that, actually, no, the sky is not falling.