Amrock Mandatory Diversity Training
An appraiser shared the following with us. Amrock is requiring all appraisers on their panel to complete a diversity, equity and inclusion training by April 19, 2021.
Amrock Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training Requirement:
You’re Cordially Required to Take Part in This Training
Hello,
As an organization, we firmly believe in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) for everyone – and we’ve taken a stance through the implementation of our DE&I Strategic Plan.
As part of that plan, all Amrock team members have completed an online Cultural Competency Training. We’re now extending that requirement to all our Amrock partners as well.The training supports our DE&I Strategic Plan and aligns with our expectations of client engagement by all who represent us. It also supports an understanding of anti-discrimination laws in our industry, such as the Fair Housing Act.
You’re part of our extended family, which means you’re also part of our “for more than profit” philosophy and culture.
Please complete the Cultural Competency Training by Friday, April 19. The training is brief, but if you need to interrupt your session, it will automatically save and you can continue later.
An appraiser’s reaction to Amrock’s Mandatory Diversity Training:
I will not say the name of the company, and I have been working as a vendor for 10 years. They have a performance report that has a specific category for behavior which I have ranked at the top for those 10 years. There was no incident that would require this, just something they are doing company wide.
Today I logged on their site to upload an appraisal and a splash screen came up telling me that all their staff has taken this course and they want all their vendors that are representatives of their company to take it. They started out sort of sort and then said it was a requirement.
I will go on record as saying in this area of Florida I have appraised over the last 28 years property for all sorts of people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or race and never once said anything to anyone that would be deemed anything but professional. I am a Conservative, Christian, and I believe in what I believe in, however when I appraise a property, it is the property I am appraising and not the person’s sex, sexual orientation, race or religious affiliation.
I have been in this business 28 years and I have made a good living without being “woke”.
I guess I am asking everyone’s opinion and allowing myself to vent. What does this have to do with appraising?
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My first thought was “am I now an employee of Amrock”? Then I thought real estate agents (salespersons) are also independent contractors and many brokerage’s require them to take certain classes before they can work. I have no problem taking a class in diversity. I do enjoy learning new things. Forced diversity might destroy this country yet, so why not learn about it? BTW – forced diversity was a major contributor to the fall of the Roman Empire. So my question is Amrock paying for my time? I bill at $100/hr for my appraisal expertise & knowledge. Will each and every AMC require their own class? Will VA appraisers also be required to take this class for Amrock? (I am not a VA appaiser). So many questions.
This will be like the background checks. Every AMC will want you to take their training.
In my state it is required to take a 3.5 hr Fair Housing class as part of you curriculum to get your appraisal license. Can I just submit the credentials from that class?
What does “woke” mean?
Woke has negative connotations at this point. Initially it meant generally that someone was aware of the perceived injustices around them and often times vocal about it, activist mentality.
At this point because of the disingenuous nature surrounding many social justice issues you’ll either find a. people who perceive it to mean that they’re aware of social issues or b. a sarcastic label/response for people deemed to be feigning outrage, hyperbolic, offended at everything, hypocrisy. People who pretend to care but apart from posting something on social media do not do anything in any meaningful way to actually make change and or co-opt whatever they are promoting for self gain.
Today’s satire becomes tomorrow’s woke demands…
Fxk that
Are they going to pay me for my time?
I bet AMCs will find out very soon that they can charge appraisers for their DE&I training. Just another way to steal more of your hard-earned money. Unfortunately, there are plenty of suckers still working for these crooks.
There’s a sucker born every second!
Great point. They will be adding a fee and call it an “EDUCATION” fee on top of the portal, maintenance, technology, upload, etc., fee’s they already charge. And appraisers will just say “I’ll add it to the fee I charge them”…..and it will never stop until we all have Fee Fee’d our way out of being appraisers.
They are (in my opinion) pandering and inoculating themselves as much as possible to the inevitable disparate impact-based lawsuits that they anticipate down the road.
It’s odd that they require diversity training, yet continue their own purported gender-based discrimination against certain female appraisers. Maybe they should focus on that too?
In any case, pandering or prudent sensitivity, ever since the White House OFFICIALLY announced that the federal government has been guilty of systemic racism in its housing and infrastructure development policies it is wise for any lender or associated services to start jumping through the hoops just as if we had never heard of equal opportunity or fair housing or prohibited bias throughout our careers.
Insulting? Certainly. Necessary? Also yes, though not for the reasons that are promoted.
Well played Black Knight. Promote a narrative of appraisal bias to market your alternative bifurcated product, complete with YOUR pre selected ‘comps’. Just be aware that YOUR so-called ‘SCOUT” program is under very close scrutiny. So far it appears to be a massive “fail”.
Does the coach have a VHS tape for sale on his website covering such a topic? If not, and if there’s a profit to be made off the appraisers backs, I’m sure his staff in the Philippines are putting in long hours to produce it (English subtitles please coach). After completion, does he mail out all star paper certificates, or are they digital. Will Amrock even take such a gold standard document?
Seek the truth.
I reserve the right to judge those on the content of their character. If you act stupid, talk stupid, dress stupid then I am going to assume you are stupid. If you need to push some false narrative then you and those in your woke narrative are the problem. Amrock pays about $350 per 1004 which is $125 less then what is reasonable and customary for the market. How about Amrock takes a course in Dodd Frank before pushing libtard logic? This is proof liberalism is an absolute mental illness!
Sincerely, Mr Unapologetically White
This is nothing more than political. I called my Amrock “Ambassador” to get the scoop on this training and was told that Amrock simply wanted appraisers to be sensitive to the feelings of others, to which my response was what makes Amrock think that I’m not sensitive toward other’s feelings. No response. Every licensed, certified, and general appraiser is required through USPAP to “perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests.” One bullet point in USPAP include ” must not advocate the cause or interest of any party or issue.” Amrock is doing nothing more than politicizing issues occurring in society today, attempting to make certain ethnicities feel sub-par. I strongly urge any appraiser doing business with Amrock to call them and voice your disagreement with this requirement. What we do has nothing to do with politics, feelings towards any group, etc. I’m tired of hearing all this sensitivity crap from those who have agendas.
In a moral panic, all one needs is an accusation, proof is not required.
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6247076716001#sp=show-clips
https://theglobalherald.com/news/gutfeld-on-cancel-culture-targeting-tv-show-hosts/
https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/co-voter-rolls/
Judicial Watch offers a physical printed magazine monthly, to your mailbox, with a small member donation.
Woke culture is a fantasy, a purely destructive force, absent of logic and reason, rooted in emotion.
Amrock, formerly known as Title Source (TSI). I’ve identified the root cause of your concerns, and problems.
First and foremost, I do not work for Amrock.
For those that do, you have a tremendous opportunity at your feet. Imagine if as a whole every appraiser/vendor refused to take this course. I understand why, it will not occur and make no judgement on your decision, but it is an opportunity to stand up for our profession and expose our oppressors.
Yeah but you can just skip that entire argument Philly.
The financial incentive of not being forced to share with an amc is enough.
Fees continue to be moved upward voluntarily these days.
I was telling my appraiser pal about these $950 orders for just 1004 and rental, telling him to jump in. He’s already out but did say; I knew if I hung on another 20 years, something would eventually give.
Still not enough to keep up with the pace of realty and other employment factors though.
Still seeking the exit myself and never did even try to train anyone. If they’ve read my reports through review or something, that’s enough. Here is your license, this is how you do it, good luck you’re going to need it. The irony of some of the most destructive big name amc’s claiming their ventures are not strictly profit driven. If culture is ripping people off left and right without restriction, they’ve certainly got a lot of that.
This was my quote, sadly I wished I had read it before posting. Anyway, I took the course and let it run in the background. I knew had I called the representative of the company they would have forced me to the take the course or lose work because of it. On the site I posted the original Thread one fellow appraiser that works for the AMC did reach out to them and got pushback just the way I thought it would go down because he didn’t feel it necessary to take a course that did not apply to him.
Related
REDFIN How Dare You!
The following (linked) article is exceptionally offensive to everyone in the real estate business and related sectors who actually know what they are talking about. People that are not racists, and who are offended at being falsely called racists directly or by inference.
REDFIN executives ought to know better than to permit their name to be associated with such levels of reckless dishonesty, deception, and misinformation.
Hopefully, the marketplace will ‘reward’ them appropriately.
Pay attention to the statements “after adjusting” for all significant differences. Which is then refuted further in the article by their own comments. They clearly have not adjusted for all market significant claims.
Frankly, it doesn’t appear that they have adequately adjusted for any of the differences using any nationally or internationally recognized real estate appraisal approaches. Certainly, none were disclosed. No methodology was identified. No credible reconciliation of data was provided.
Buyers of real estate in ALL instances consider LOCATION to be a huge factor. The old adage about location, location, location being the three most important considerations in buying real estate still applies.
Yet Redfin is largely dismissive of the influence on value of proximity to parks; & makes absolutely unfounded broad sweeping generalizations concerning funding for school districts based on race (that is ILLEGAL in California).
They then go on to admit the only city they considered crime rates for was Chicago!
Ostensibly because all the other cities lacked adequate data! Another outrageous assumption. More likely that the results from such analyses failed to support their spurious allegations and contentions.
It’s doubtful they were able to properly account for other major locational factors such as frontage to busy traffic streets, alleys, adverse commercial or industrial uses nearby, rail lines, airports, public transportation, incompatible land uses, or neighborhood reputations evidenced by excessive graffiti or ‘Detroit style’ visible abandonment.
Since Chicago is mentioned by Redfin, what percentage of value loss is attributable to proximity to any of the meat rendering plants there, or associated odors?
On the other side of the location coin are positive or beneficial locational characteristics. Do Chicago residents place a premium on overlooking the Lake or other waterways?
The reputation for responsiveness and adequacy of protection by police, fire, and other emergency services is a big concern to many people. The perceived quality of local political leadership is also an issue. The latter category has been demonstrably lacking in Chicago leadership for decades.
Contrary to demands by limited self-serving groups with their own agendas, MOST Americans (all races) WANT good police protection. Most Americans do NOT want police departments ‘defunded’.
Most Americans will NOT pay a premium to live in areas like “Chaz” or “Chop” or other areas where city leaders have abdicated their obligations to ‘protect & serve’.
Most Americans don’t pay location premiums to live in neighborhoods where needles or human feces line the streets.
Most Americans don’t want to have to explain to their kids why ‘the ladies’ (or the guys dressed like ladies) are always standing on the street corners and talking to people in all the cars that stop by.
Automated ‘valuation’ modeling and systems have long been known to be inadequate for accurate market value analysis. They fail to account for MANY value-related factors that simply cannot be quantified scientifically. What part did these play in Redfin’s incompetent and spuriously inaccurate development of incorrect conclusions?
The value of an ocean view across the street is one such characteristic. While science or pairing MAY produce a broad range of possible value contributions for such a view, the DEGREE to which the view is valued in the specific marketplace is subjective and requires local expertise and experience. In short, it requires the ‘artful’ application of valuation techniques. Whether done by a competent agent or an appraiser.
REDFIN apparently (clearly?) had an agenda to promote. That of purported systemic racism in America. They were not about to let facts to the contrary or knowledge of recognized valuation techniques interfere with their narrative.
It never ceases to amaze me that the only people that can identify purported value disparities in entire neighborhoods are people with zero appraisal qualifications, integrity, or credibility.
Value disparities that cannot pass even cursory factual analyses. The article is full of unsupported claims & contentions.
It’s one thing to identify, acknowledge & alleviate real racism in America. It’s quite another to perpetuate a lie. Society cannot correct that which was fabricated in the first place.
States with mandatory USPAP compliance regulations in place should take legal action against the author and sponsoring company for the appraisal conclusions being offered without any degree of competency.
No permission is required for reprinting this post provided it is posted accurately & in its entirety.
Michael F. Ford, AGA
General Certified Real Estate Appraiser
V.P. Special Projects & Chairman
National Appraiser Peer Review Committee
American Guild of Appraisers
#44, OPEIU, AFL-CIO
PRESS.REDFIN.COM
Redfin Study: Homes in Black Neighborhoods Are Undervalued by an Average of $46,000 | Redfin Press Center
https://web.archive.org/web/20220314145007/https://press.redfin.com/news-releases/news-release-details/redfin-study-homes-black-neighborhoods-are-undervalued-average
(If the above link doesn’t copy to this post it can be viewed on my FB page) https://www.facebook.com/mike.ford.58910
It is amazing that a real estate agency such as Redfin would get involved with controversial political issues. But what amazes me even more is the fact that they are likely the ones selling the homes in these “under-valued areas” and have no clue that appraisers simply provide information based on available data generated by buyer activity and market acceptance. Could it be that agencies like Redfin are the ones establishing list prices which potentially is the cause of areas being under-valued? Are they not aware that what determines value in a market is market/buyer acceptance? And my question becomes, why are buyers not paying more for properties in these so-called under-valued areas? Appraisers have not one bit of interest in what houses sell for, if they’re adhering to USPAP, regardless of the neighborhood. I wonder how many appraisers have purchased properties to prevent higher pricing. Seems to me Redfin is out of touch with their profession and have absolutely no clue as to the role of the appraiser. To place blame on racism without citing one specific example leads one to believe that the agenda is purely political. Rude awakening coming! Their article was simply idiotic and divisive. And for me, it was meaningless.
Check this out from The Appraisal Foundation, a survey about diversity.
https://appraisalfoundation.questionpro.com/
You have to answer NO to get to the survey.
Nope. The survey is from Appraisal Foundation, it was standard to their subscribers list.
Cultural competency…. Like how we do not get to pick and choose our individual customers if we work mortgage lending, and are held to very high standards through multiple checks and balances and regulatory bodies. Providing acceptable service for anyone and everyone the lender may put us in touch with or we get sued and washed out in a heartbeat? One wonders if the amc individual employees could hold to such a standard, with their hands in the cookie jar all day.
The notion that appraisers are not culturally aware is a bit insulting in the first place. That being said, I do not want to lose clients so, I will take the course. It’s forced upon us.
Sad. It has to be necessary. Look at the insensitive post. just saying