Appraisal Institute’s Harassment, Tests, and Dance with AMCs
The New York Times article by Debra Kamin, published on May 8, 2025, unveils a disturbing culture within the Appraisal Institute (AI), peeling back the curtain on a decade of alleged sexual harassment with Craig Steinley — former president and current vice president — who found himself in the uncomfortable spotlight. Accused by at least eight women of inappropriate behavior, Steinley’s antics include unwanted groping, as detailed in interviews with 12 women and a $412,000 settlement to silence ex-CFO Beata Swacha, though he denies all allegations. Former CEO Cindy Chance’s lawsuit claims Steinley made lewd remarks and groped her, while ex-director Alissa Akins was shown the door after uncovering a testing fraud that misgraded exams, potentially certifying unqualified appraisers since 2008 — a bitter irony for an organization meant to uphold standards.
Cindy Chance responded with a resolute press release yesterday, framing her lawsuit as a bold stand for appraisers and the public trust she championed. She highlighted a governance breakdown, retaliation, and collusion with private interests, sketching a troubling “insider ecosystem” that has eroded the profession’s foundation. In a YouTube video posted recently, Chance detailed how her advocacy against Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) led to her firing, confirming suspicions among her followers. She revealed that her “Cindy’s Desk” columns, which criticized AMC predatory practices, provoked backlash from the AMC lobbying group REVAA (Real Estate Valuation Advocacy Association), costing AI Executive Officer Craig Steinley their endorsement for his candidacy. Chance faced intense pressure from Steinley and then-president Sandy Adamatis, culminating in a 12-against-1 meeting with REVAA and AMC leaders the night before an August board meeting where actions against her began. Despite intimidation, she refused to stay silent, later learning that AMC attendees predicted her firing. Chance expressed alarm at AI officers accepting REVAA endorsements and colluding to silence her, emphasizing her lawsuit’s role in protecting the profession and public. She commended the Times’ reporting, called for transparency, and expressed frustration with the entrenched culture she aimed to reform, advocating for accountability in the midst of the turmoil.
AI’s President Paula Konikoff quickly countered with a promise of investigation, claiming the article doesn’t reflect their true colors, while vowing to battle Akins’ lawsuit and shrugging off the testing fiasco — because who needs accountability when a polished PR statement will do? Meanwhile, a petition on Change.org, launched by Alison Arms, demands Steinley’s removal from the executive board, citing the reputational and financial toll of his alleged actions — a clear signal that the rank-and-file have had enough of this unfolding drama.
Jonathan Miller’s take on Housing Notes dubs AI the National Association of Realtors’ mischievous twin, tracing a darkly comical arc of misdeeds — eight years of self-dealing, including those extravagant European jaunts on membership dues, and now a scandalous cocktail of harassment, test-rigging, and financial blunders. He sketches a gloomy scene: SRA and MAI designations fading like forgotten trophies, membership dwindling, dues skyrocketing, and mortgage rates inching up as credibility takes a nosedive, leaving homebuyers in the lurch. Miller laments AI’s abandonment of its residential SRA members since the 1991 licensing shift, noting that consumers wouldn’t know an SRA designation from a shiny sticker, while the lending industry chases fast-and-cheap appraisals through AMCs — quality be damned — or leans on automated models like Zestimates for valuations. This erosion of integrity, fueled by the testing fiasco and #MeToo ethical lapses, could see the credit and bond markets deliver a harsh verdict, hiking mortgage rates in response. With AI designations looking more like relics, Miller calls for a forensic audit to unearth the messy truth behind this professional soap opera.
The real twist lies in AI’s long, cozy dance with REVAA, where the rhythm of their partnership directly orchestrated Chance’s exit. Her bold critique of predatory AMCs — slashing appraiser fees, exerting undue influence over the appraisal process, and bloating their own profits at consumers’ expense, all veiled in secrecy — struck a nerve, leading REVAA to flex its influence. This pressure, channeled through Steinley and AI leadership, silenced her transparency push, explaining AI’s mute stance on the troubling practices of AMCs as they twirled with REVAA. The evidence points to REVAA’s heavy hand in her ouster, demanding a rigorous investigation, audit, and overhaul of REVAA-affiliated AMCs and AI to reclaim the profession’s integrity.
- Bye Bye AMC: A Script to Sideline Appraisal Middlemen - May 15, 2025
- Appraisal Institute’s Harassment, Tests, and Dance with AMCs - May 9, 2025
- The PAREA Program: Costly Promises, Empty Support - May 6, 2025
The high costs of cheap appraisals.
https://appraisersblogs.com/uncovering-flaws-in-fha-appraisal-n-loan-review-process/
An anonymous article? Sounds legit. What conflicts might this author have? We’ll never know. The stuff at AI is bad, but piling on to the misery of others only hurts the profession. When you look down and try to figure out who metaphorically ‘shot’ the appraisal industry, you might find out it was you holding the gun.
You might want to brush up on the definition of whistle blower. And you should take the time to read the actual lawsuit. Amc’s decimated the appraisal industry. Have been doing so for some time. Alongside the dereliction of duty of top people at appraisal trade groups whom sold everyone out to be on the amc gravy train. You’re like; shoot the messenger.
Thanks for the condescending comments. I surely haven’t read or understand as much as you. After all, the lawsuit is facts, right? As soon as you make an allegation, it’s true. That’s what I learned in law school. Just like appraiser bias- all those lawsuits were true- right? There were no opposing viewpoints. Allegations = facts. It’s also important to trash a group of your fellow professionals, after all. That’s what’s important here. It’s a competition to see who can hate them more – got it. Don’t worry about the collateral damage to 10,000 other people and their reputations by association. As long as you feel superior. It’s comments like yours that make me just astounded that we can’t get people to come together as an industry.
Amc’s have been trashing most working appraisers for two decades. They’ve decimated gse appraisers working positions, advocated against traditional process and developed tools and processes which have put tens of thousands of appraisers out of business, the attrition continues. All the appraisal trade groups had ample time to respond. They failed to do so.
Maybe the point is being lost here; We want industry corrections, so everyone can flourish instead of the constant attrition and reduced demand from gse side providers. The only thing that’s necessary is honest transparent and fair process.
Unfortunately, I can absolutely back up some of these events that have occurred. For six weeks we tried to get AI to get a meeting with the CFPB and bring them along. After six weeks of stalling we went around them. The same day I emailed, we had a meeting with the CFPB and Director two-three business days later.
Unfortunately AI leadership at the national level has failed the thousands of members and appraisers who will get swept up in this as collateral damage. But, which is worse? Continuing to allow it to be swept under the rug and hidden so reform never happens? Or force the change so the profession can regroup with new leadership who will stand for their members? This is not an easy pill to swallow for so many of the AI members who have amazing local chapters and dedicated their time to create classes and help peers.
This same kind of thing happened for far too long at Fort Hood before it finally went public and commands were taken from those who helped perpetuate the sexual assaults and cover them up.
So what’s your name “Working Appraiser”?
Read the lawsuit, read the Miller article. Quite the event. No wonder these people do not advocate for independent appraisers. So many of them are inside track players whom are self dealing with loyalty and fealty to their people, disregarding so many others. Cindy stepped on a hornets nest when she tried to talk about corrupt amc processes. Turns out PAREA was a colossal waste and should have been scrapped all along, something we all knew anyways. The best part; REVAA runs that show. They step in with impunity as top amc executives really call the shots. Meet your new new boss. A culture developed around the perception of untouchable status, and it came back to bite them.
From Millers article; / Final Thoughts / What was in it for the Appraisal Institute? Their behavior has been so suspicious and secretive for the past 15-20 years that one can only believe that there is someone who is enriching themselves, feeding at this trough. No one can be that stupid, killing off their future and tricking their client base, both the appraisers and the end users of appraisals. Or maybe they can be that stupid. Incidentally, AI recently proposed to stop having quarterly board meetings. / Is the Appraisal Institute ethically bankrupt or terminally stupid?
Well…. Amc’s run the show over there, apparently. We’d expect no less from amc’s. There are hundreds if not thousands of appraisers integrated into amc’s at every level, many whom should have their licenses stripped. Will try and fish up the AI tax returns here in a minute. / Thanks.
If allegations are found to be true then, as you aptly point out, their lack of defense of the appraisal profession makes perfect sense. This suggests there may be some truth to the report. Common sense will tell you this is, in all probability, why they have been so quiet in spite of the entire industry openly wondering “where is the AI?”. If true, this whole appraiser “witch hunt” must have been a nightmare for the poor souls having to hide behind their ivory towers hoping they could weather the storm. No one wants to throw themselves into the fire voluntarily and AI is no exception. If this is allowed to play out, I believe the naysayers are going to be disappointed. Alas, once they get close to the truth, a settlement will be on the table with an agreement of non-disclosure accompanying it. It’s just how the system works.
Just had to respond to a review from a Clear CRAPital appraiser who disagreed with my opinion of value—without offering any actual analysis. They just copied and pasted the same generic boilerplate Clear Capital is known for and slapped a number on it. I was honestly stunned at how far off their value was compared to mine—until I saw the reviewer lives in Virginia, holds licenses in four different states, and is somehow reviewing (while being geographically competent) on a California appraisal.
The AMCs have officially corrupted the appraisal profession—and the Appraisal Institute has been complicit in allowing it to happen.
HEADS UP ALL YOU LICENSED APPRAISERS – to the AQB
I want the record to read clearly that any efforts to provide standards equivalency to the IAAO assessing community should be rejected as this group practices and relies 90% on unproven theoretical cost approach valuation. THIS IS THE LEAST RELIABLE APPRAISAL APPROACH and 90% of the time is practiced solely without the benefit of the market approach – We should not elevate the cost approach to a an “additional pathway” experience worthy of submission for practical appraisal experience. It is no secret that Trustee Pete Fontana is pushing this with support from Lyle Rieke from Fannie.
PASS IT ON1
I worked in Montana for 2 years. They refused to give me a reciprocal Certified General after having my license since 1992. I was in good standing so the reasons they gave were that back when CA started giving licenses, the State didn’t review my work as if it was an application for a designation. I had no control over how my home state awarded licenses. I filled out the app. Paid money and listed my experience, and took the test without studying. It was discrimination! A California woman was coming into their state as a new competitor. The jerks in Montana are thick as thieves. They openly hate Native Americans who live there and my dark skin didn’t help me. When I realized I am Black in Montana I moved to Oregon. Pete is a big jerk and has people like Darwin helping keep out appraisers from moving into their state. It is the wild west, another non-disclosure state, but I was hired by Chicago Chase to appraise a famous cowboy artist home being remodeled by a movie star’s son and it was creating a new home from original barn. Interesting work in boonies near where I lived.
The AI was incompetent and protectionist, so they don’t want anyone who is competent to do work there! The AI has been male-dominated and women who are highly qualified appraisers are paying a price from those little guys who feel threatened by Cindy’s qualifications and we all know now that all that Ethics talk is hollow window dressing.
I HAVE SUPPORTED THE AIREA AND THE AI FOR 45 YEARS. ONE MORE CERTIFICATION OF MY MAI WILL MAKE ME A LIFETIME MEMBER.
NOW THERE WILL BE NO MORE MS. NICEY-NICEY. I WILL REVEAL MANY MORE OF OUR PEOPLE LIKE ARMORIN WHO IS ALSO INVOLVED IN Cindy’s firing after secret meetings!
There are more unethical appraisers teaching Business Profession and Ethics class we need to recertification.. I personally have been fired by Mike Mason who is a 2nd generation appraiser. I knew his Father who was a smart guy. He was against the AIREA not merging with the Society of Real Estate appraisers .
Since 1990 I have watched the corruptions and kept quiet for fear of retribution but I don’t care any more.
I will keep in good standing as long as I live. I will keep speaking out and if required, I will testify to anything I say. So centure me now or you may add to my s**t list!
wow! I stand with you on this. Sorry you had to experience this.
Apparently you’re not allowed to comment here if you don’t spout the running orthodoxy that:
-the AI is bad. Always. In everything. Everywhere. Every chapter. Every member.
-All their members, everywhere are corrupt and/or feel superior and/or whatever other derisive thing you can say about 10,000 individuals.
There? Did I say enough bad things about AI this time for my comment to get moderator approval?
After all – we need appraiser UNITY. That means taking down 10,000 AI Members and alienating them and calling them names. That’s definitely the best way to get all appraisers to come together – by tossing thousands of them under the bus. That logic is undeniable. Unity through division. We should all have GLEE and happiness and the misery of an entire group of our profession. That makes us good humans. “Something you spent a lot of time and money on going south? Well – that makes me so HAPPY! By the way, please sign my petition against AMCs and the TAF. If you don’t, you don’t believe in appraisers coming together for their industry”. I know, that seems like some kind of deranged mental issue, but I assure you it’s not. This logic only applies to the AI, by the way.
No other organizations, particularly ones that sponsor this blog with banner ads beside this article, can be criticized. They are above reproach. But remember, we oppose corruption and believe in transparency. We definitely don’t need an article about how the AGA is affiliated with labor unions that got the last administration elected (the people that tried to take down our industry). Definitely no conflicts there at all. Nothing to see. Go AGA!
Lenders and their agents shall compensate fee appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable for appraisal services performed in the market area of the property being appraised. Evidence for such fees may be established by objective third-party information, such as government agency fee schedules, academic studies, and independent private sector surveys. Fee studies shall exclude assignments ordered by known appraisal management companies.
Why are amc’s having any influence with the appraisal trade groups? Amc’s are agents of the lenders. The regulatory structure pertaining to amc oversight needs reconsidered. Amc’s should be overseen by the same federal agencies that oversee lenders and they should not have anything to do with state based appraiser oversight boards. We want things to get better for everyone not worse.
This again shows how people that criticize an organization that don’t belong to it just really make leaps of logic for things they have no experience or information about. You know that there are many people that work for lenders and AMCs that also happen to be members of various Appraisal organizations, including the Appraisal Institute? At one point in my life for medical reasons I had to take a job as a bank appraiser for 2 years. Should I have given up my designation with the Appraisal Institute because I was no longer a sanctimonious fee appraiser, but instead one of those dreaded evil bank reviewers? Thankfully, I’m back to the job where nobody can criticize me anymore, which is a suffering, put-upon independent fee appraiser. Should we start checking members at the door at chapter meetings and make sure they haven’t taken a job with a lender or an AMC? I’m assuming, of course you mean that AMCs as an industry shouldn’t have an outsized influence on an Appraisal organization, but that’s the problem when you make generalized comments like that and try to group and divide people. Which is evident by your phrase “no matter where the road leads” – which means you don’t really give a crap what happens to individual working appraisers that have designations. If they are collateral damage, then so be it as long as your holy Crusade keeps going. How do you possibly expect to convince a group of people with varying interests and agendas to support you based on that? Honestly, I think you need to get out more and meet a few more of your peers that aren’t necessarily just residential fee appraisers. I’d like to see a New York Times article about what kind of influence labor unions have on the AGA, if that included indirect support for getting the last administration elected and how much that might’ve hurt the Appraisal industry. Maybe somebody should do a little investigative reporting on that? I’m sure it’s all rumor and allegation, but that’s all we need these days. I don’t belong to the AGA, but I can certainly look from the outside and make all sorts of assumptions and paranoia that must certainly be true.
Hi there. Sorry, edited that comment down before I read your response. Trying to keep this simple and straight forward. You’re mis reading me. I’m one guy, a low level appraiser whom wants fair working opportunity with gse work and not to be sidelined for having a fair market fee. How could that be too much to ask? If you are a member of an influential group, go have some influence which will lead to industry corrections which will lead to a better future for everyone.
I thought designation meant the people involved were leaders of the industry. The people whom could be called upon for industry assistance and correction of any potential unfair process or matters of ongoing ethical violations. If anyone were to have stepped in to set this ongoing amc train wreck straight and demanded something more honest, transparent, and fair for everyone, shouldn’t that have been the AI? So why isn’t that happening? The point of the article is one person tried to make that happen, and was subsequently dismissed. Do you agree with the dismissal?
I knew I wanted to work formy MAI and I had cred and a great reputation. I was held back by a female who was high up in the profession and was a mentor I trained under. She was a litigation appraiser who made tons of money being an advocate. I caught her in the act when a later case on a contaminated gas station site at a 7 Freeway entrance got an IHOP. she forgot to clean her work file and we found a superceded page with a $375k value (assuming no contamination and one later that was over a million). Most appraisers who do litigation work get repeat work from the big law firms that represent clients and it is high pressure work.
I never got but a few lawyers giving me repeat work, but most of them settled. On my number.
Baggins me thinks you mischacterize the profession. I’m not mad at the AMC’s because I work according to my own standards and my own fees. And, I know many who do the same. I will agree that too many appraisers are AFRAID to demand higher fees, but that is their call.
Dave
The amc’s broke the traditional model of direct billing where the consumers appraisal fee went entirely to the appraiser completing the task. Subsequently when no fee rake is involved, lenders would select the best most experienced appraiser they could find for that appraisal fee.
Under the amc model the totality of all appraisal fees is in a group pool and the strategy for engaging appraisers is no longer tied to quality service as the priority, but rather carving out the larger profit margin from the total pool of all consumers appraisal fees and associated appraiser vendor fee payouts. So when they can sub you they do. All it takes is one person to undercut your rate. You’ve been lucky so far, but like three out of four other appraisers whom now refuse to work with amc’s, one day your luck will run out. Be careful what you wish for because you’re supporting the model that puts so many other small businesses out of work and out of luck.
That’s not a mischaracterization, that’s the truth of what’s happening. Amc’s could choose to have a fixed rate cost plus billing for amc side service instead of operating on a variable margin where profit is increased if they can sub out for cheaper appraisers, then not return that cost savings to consumers, hold that as profit instead. They choose not to. If you had to vote, in your opinion which method is more transparent, ethical, fair, and reliable; Cost plus amc billing? Or variable fee rake undisclosed to both the consumer and appraiser vendor?
The first-hog-to-the-trough extortionist model, you know, on a rotating basis. What could be more fair? Smirk.
I will not be renewing my membership (since 1978) after this year. William Barnes, SRA.
Can’t say as I blame you. To continue would be akin to paying the mortgage for the person that has been having an affair with their spouse.
I’m wishing I’d not renewed mine last November. Total waste of money and time.
Her situation reminds me of the typical interaction with lenders and AMC’s: Yeah, we want a “real” appraisal and an “unbiased” opinion of value … as long as you make the number we want, only state positive things about the property and market and when we’re pressuring you, pretend that we’re not. And, oh, don’t say “church”.
Let’s imagine that the entire thing collapses for a moment. Most or all of you guys and gals are educated, ethical hard workers, can juggle vast amounts of information and analysis in your heads, can research probably better than title companies, understand land surveys, can put attorneys in their places on the stand, have detailed knowledge of very large geographic areas, understand the concepts of economics, politics and statistics, need no supervision from “bosses”, can recognize BS in an instant, can read people, can read a house, a piece of land or a commercial building and it’s neighborhood (may I say “neighborhood”? prob not). In short, you have a vast array of skills honed through blood and sweat, heat and cold, abuse, lies, gaslighting, threats, exploitation, people screaming at you, etc., etc., etc. Those skills can be applied in many places, situations and jobs. You ain’t dead yet!
I have nothing but good things to say about the local chapter management. These men and women devote large chunks of their time trying to improve the lot of the local appraisers. Having said that, I have only disdain for the management of AI. The education is top notch in my opinion and experience but the organization has worked against the interests of the residential appraisers for the last decade or more. Now that AMCs are cutting into the commercial and private work AI can be considered to be working against the entire profession. AI no longer has the impact on any outside the membership that it once did and I have been a full time appraiser for 40 years.
Now that AMCs are cutting into the commercial and private work
Please provide examples where this comes from. Because gse appraisers have been warning everyone they’re next, that simply getting away from gse lending work rather than tackling the amc issue head on, will not save anyone. Amc’s don’t want a piece of the appraisal industry, they want it all.
CG here – bigger firm, mostly lending work. I love a couple of our AMCs, the ones run by former fee appraisers we have good relationships with. More complex review questions are usually settled with a phone call and they are always quick to advocate for us with the client when we have done our job.
That said, fee and timing are both down around 30% for me since Q421. More assignments going to out-of-market appraisers who underbid us. We saw some summary appraisals bid at $1k and 1 week when it was super dry in 2022-23.
This info comes from conversations at a recent CE session. I will track down the source and pass it along.
Thanks for the work you do. As you know we are a maverick bunch so your voice is appreciated and has serious impact.
Thank you John. I don’t understand why the appraisal industry is continually framed and staged as a dog eat dog everyone for themselves type of industry. It never used to be this way.
Seriously, what’s wrong with a more fairly equalized distribution of work at a more consistent pace, at a more consistent fee, to a broader range of licensed professionals? We used to say all it takes is one or two good lender clients and you’re set.
Just about every amc out there follows them same model; rake off the top, appease commission based interests, sub out and prefer sub par appraisers whom utilize outsourcing and pencil the most deals. The same lenders whom use rotational assignment in the VA system also prefer amc’s when not constrained in a similar manner. Because they know that amc’s pressure appraisers which results in higher closing ratios, with a bonus junk fee on the side. Illustrating how veterans have reasonably fair consumer protection, but nobody else does.
How nobody is enforcing appraiser independence rules, nor respecting why those rules were ever set in place. The regulatory structure around appraisal is nonsensical. Amc’s should be regulated at the federal level by the SEC and OCC just like lenders, or at least be completely separated from appraiser licensing boards. At the state level, amc’s being agents of the lender, in direct service as an agent to a mortgage lender, should be overseen by mortgage lender boards not appraiser boards. Amc’s were put in place to provide separation from loan production. But today; amc’s are loan production. Regulatory structure needs revisited immediately.
Probably a good time to revisit the fact that big corporations, fintechs, investment firms, venture capitalists, all the power players, viewed an industry rife for exploitation and monopolization, swept in like vultures to dismantle the entire thing, restructure everything, capture substantial monetary flow for themselves, co opt management at the highest levels, call it ‘appraisal modernization’. In the name of ‘valuation equity.’
The entire thing came straight from the top. Carefully crafted and implemented over more than a decade and a half. And even though there has been management restructuring, nothing is getting corrected. As the end of the line not only draws near, but has came and went for many independent small businesses, hence the accelerating attrition count of licensed appraisers and limited new entrants.
The AQB had it’s final day to post responses to their ‘alternative pathways to licensing’ just the other day. Here is an excerpt of an anonymous and quite lengthy set of responses. Sort of a chop up here, I skipped quite a bit but copied a few key portions of just one question. The entire thing was ten pages long. If I’m on the way out, lecture the bureaucrats at the door.
And as predicted, here comes the rush for artificial intelligence and other automated service substitutes. They’re feverishly claiming this technology will be more independent than independent humans. Conveniently and consistently ignoring the basics of software programing that nothing exists in cyber space without a human programming and directive behind it. That a machine is not constrained by consequences to actions and law like a human would be. AI learning based modeling. Input = output. All they’ll have to do is flip a switch and enter a new prioritized peramiter to manipulate results. Avm programmers have been effecting outcomes of their systems since the start. That’s how they gain market share and beat out the competition to sell their software instead of the next guy. By providing the avm users more of what they want; numbers either high or low which fits their specific business interests at the time. That is not free market capitalism, sound regulatory decisions, or the concept of the invisible hand. Who’s still buying this? Policies that effect the entire country, have built up a massive housing bubble and led to wide spread economic instability. And nobody ever got to vote on the matter. ‘Stake holder interests’.
________________
Q: What portion of the total required experience hours (e.g., a percentage or specific number of hours) do you think should be allowed to count as ‘Foundational Knowledge’ experience, and why? Please explain your reasoning, considering how this balance might affect competency, public trust, and accessibility to the appraisal profession.
/
A: You can’t form a long term workable solution without addressing the root cause of the problem. Appraisal management companies. An incredible reduction in appraisal demand due to the stake holder interests whom want independent checks and balances gone, so they can run the entire country into a debt trap and play housing like the stock market.
/
Newsflash there is no public trust in the real estate profession hardly at all anymore. Because of all the wokeness and DEI nonsense. The trust is broken. The public hates appraisers. The appraisal trade groups has done nothing to help and only made the problem exponentially worse. So instead of recognizing your own failures, you’re trying to create artificially trained appraisers like they will somehow imaginarily not be subjected to the same market forces which is currently forcing out thousands or more appraisers a year and they’re not being replaced.
/
The same market forces that have been decimating most gse appraisers opportunity and working structure since around 2010. Every day working appraisers often do not earn enough to afford to hire or train an apprentice because nobody in the appraisal trade groups works to expand our service reach and service demand, but rather constantly does everything in their power to diminish the independent appraiser position for the largest client set in the world; the GSE’s. You know; ‘stake holders’.
/
Then on top of that, per the ARCC, the amc’s have siphoned off at least 12 billion dollars worth of fees which would otherwise have gone to appraisers.
/
Which is why the amc’s also support the avm final rule, parea for more pliable less independent workers, and have consciously driven the majority of the best and brightest appraisers out of the gse servicing section. How many trainees do you think twelve billion dollars would buy?
/
If there is anyone to blame for the lack of diversity or lack of new people and demand to be an appraiser or the ability for appraisers to hire and train, look no further than the mirror. Appraisal trade groups caused this failure by their inability to be independent, their constant reactive positioning to ‘stake holder interests’, and utter disregard for the protection and viability needed for independent 1099 sole proprietor small business appraisers to exist in this current lopsided improperly balanced constantly decreasing demand for our services climate.
______________
That is all. Carry on and thank you for participating.
why would someone pass a test taker who couldn’t pass the test..it sounds like the public education system..the first thing that pops is they want the system to fail..is AI in cahoots with auto value companies to make the appraisal industry look inept..and what happens to the test takers who go out and give a value that someone doesn’t like for good reason, and gets the hell sued out of them..what a mess !!
Non profit tax return time. Oh yes. Because as half of all licensed appraisers face going out of business, somewhere north of thirty thousand GSE focused small businesses soon to be gone. AI execs are raking in the cash hand over fist and having closed door meetings with amc bosses. That’s fitting.
2022 / propublica
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/363739643/202313199349316611/full
APPRAISAL INSTITUTE
EIN: 36-3739643
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
Is there a special reason these returns are delayed for public viewing several years?
Great article. Totally agree. AI will have to make some huge changes or the end may be near for AI as we know it. Maybe they’ll reorganize and spin off into a for profit education and book biz.
Craig Steinley should be forced to resign as VP and Incoming President. William Barnes, SRA
If the allegations are true, I believe Cindy Chance, the members and affiliates of the Appraisal Institute have been given a raw deal. WHY would the Appraisal Institute even support REVVA? Is there a monetary reward in the mix for Steinley or the AI? This is very disturbing for an organization that requires its members to take Business Ethics every five years.
I’m beginning to wonder if bags of cash are being dropped off in the middle of the night on the doorsteps of some appraisal leaders.
More likely that comes in the form of revolving door opportunities and fast tracked approval for insiders at the big amc’s. Just take a look at their executive and management boards. There was a disclosure piece on this website several years back which showed an internal document that with one amc, a set of two appraisers received millions of dollars worth of orders each year while all other appraisers in the location were sidelined except for occasional part time requests. They’re all that way. If the amc industry was ever given a complete top down audit…
The amc is an agent of the lender. The same lender companies are forced under VA rules to use rotational appraiser panels. Then with HUD Freddie and Fannie they adamantly insist on using amc’s in a completely different approach. Because they have the proof positive data that using amc’s increases mortgage production rates. Meaning the same safeguards applied to VA borrowers are being circumvented for the general public. There is no ‘separation from loan production’ with many amc’s. Amc’s are loan production.
Play the ‘amc’s management skills cut up game’.
https://appraisersblogs.com/class-valuation-brags-about-maximizing-rov-conversion-rates/#comment-44718
The state of Colorado accidentally stumbled across one of these insider appraisers while hunting appraisal bias phantoms.
https://appraisersblogs.com/appraisal-management-companies-deceptive-fee-skimming-exposed-in-lawsuit/#comment-44699
Here is a concept; The avm final rule; ‘shall adjust valuation output to correct disparate valuation outcomes across racial and ethnic lines.’ This is out in the open discrimination and is coded into the avm systems. This creates an open door for financial predation and is already being exploited on a ground level by institutional investors. They just reach into the avm systems and adjust values higher or lower whenever they feel like it or such changes suits their business interests. Lenders using avm waivers is the exact opposite of consumer protection. The avm final rule is the end product of the PAVE task force and NFHA’s tech equity hackathons. To fundamentally alter the way avm’s may operate. The program was specifically stated on NFHA’s publicly available non profit tax returns. Shortly after, financial regulators approved the avm final rule, stating it’s mandatory for lenders to use avm’s. FHFA ramped up the pressure for gse’s to eliminate independent appraisers, conditioning executive compensation on their ability to meet ongoing goals for fewer and fewer independent mortgage lending appraisers in the process. Fannie pushed the 98% ltv waiver allowance shortly there after.
The story coming together yet?
No suprises here..
Cindy Chance is a hero.
🔥 Follow-Up Blog Post
(My CASE was illegal from the Start and never should have been opened-Double Jeopardy- the VA cleared me)
Title: “When HUD Freezes Your Case to Cover Their Tracks: Naming Names, Exposing the Playbook”
By Kenneth J. Mullinix
Fee Panel Appraiser | ADA-Protected Federal Contractor
In my last post, I described how HUD weaponized the PAVE Task Force to target appraisers without due process, how it bypassed jurisdiction, and how it ignored the findings of the Department of Veterans Affairs when clearing me of wrongdoing.
Now it’s time to name names.
Because the pattern is undeniable. And the facts are no longer hidden — HUD hid them from me.
🔒 Locked Out of TEAPOTS — The Digital Cover-Up
After two years of defending myself and sending over 50,000 words of legal and factual documentation, I was recently locked out of HUD’s TEAPOTS system — the very platform where I had previously accessed case updates and submitted rebuttal materials.
No warning. No reason. No explanation.
The supervisor behind this?
Sally Y. Pai, Enforcement Branch Chief of HUD Region IX.
She did not assign a new investigator. She did not respond to my inquiries. Instead, she froze the case, cut off access, and blocked my ability to submit any further rebuttals or ADA-related hardship documentation.
That’s not just unprofessional — that’s illegal.
📘 Handbook and Civil Rights Violations
HUD’s own internal FHEO Handbook 8024.1 requires:
That complainants and respondents be treated with transparency and fairness;
That investigators document, notify, and update parties about material changes;
And that closing a case without proper process is a violation of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act.
My case wasn’t closed.
It was buried.
What Ms. Pai did amounts to:
Obstruction of process
Suppression of ADA-protected disclosures
Misuse of federal systems to block legal participation
Deprivation of rights under color of law
And yes — that last one is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 242.
❌ No HR Record, No Paper Trail – Just Silence
After the original HUD investigator, Theresa Noreen Muley, was removed (or reassigned — HUD refuses to clarify), I was told to stop contacting her. When I asked who my investigator was now, I received no answer.
Even worse: HUD at one point falsely claimed I had legal representation, which I did not — and they used that as an excuse to cut off direct communication.
HUD used my own rights against me.
Then, when caught, Pai sealed the vault and iced the case.
🔍 We’re Not Letting Them Bury It
This week, I submitted a second formal FOIA request demanding:
The internal logs of case freezing and TEAPOTS access suspension;
All communications involving Pai and Muley regarding my case;
And HUD’s internal justification for keeping the case open for 722 days with no findings and no closure.
We’re also requesting records showing how many other appraisers have been locked out of the system or left in legal limbo for over a year — and how many of those were VA panel members with no HUD jurisdiction.
💡 Appraisers: This is How You Fight Back
This isn’t about just me anymore. This is about every appraiser who’s:
Been accused without evidence
Investigated for years without resolution
Forced to prove a negative in a hostile system
Targeted not for what they did — but for what ZIP code they worked in
We’re blowing this case wide open because it’s time.
If HUD, through Pai and others, thought they could intimidate me into silence, they miscalculated.
My case is becoming the test case. And if you’re an appraiser who’s gone through the same thing, it might be time to add your name to it.
Stay tuned.
The FOIA documents are coming — and they won’t be able to hide the truth much longer.
Kenneth J. Mullinix
HUD Respondent, Appraiser Advocate,
Federal Contractor Under the ADA
Please make this a separate blog post so that it can generate replies specific to this case.
🚨 HUD CAUGHT FREEZING FEDERAL CASE TO SILENCE WHISTLEBLOWING APPRAISER
By Kenneth J. Mullinix
Fee Panel Appraiser | ADA-Protected Federal Contractor | Appraiser Advocate
________________________________________
What happens when a federal agency is caught violating civil rights, ignoring due process, and misusing investigative authority?
At HUD, they just shut the system off and pretend the case doesn’t exist.
That’s exactly what happened to me 2 weeks ago.
________________________________________
🔒 They Locked Me Out — To Bury the Evidence
After more than 27 month of fighting for transparency, submitting rebuttal evidence, and enduring one of the longest unresolved appraisal racial/ discrimination investigations in HUD history (10 Months investigation with the VA), I was recently locked out of the TEAPOTS system — HUD’s official case management portal for active investigations.
The action wasn’t random.
It was carried out without notice, without a finding, and without legal justification.
I was still under investigation. The case was active. There was no written closure letter.
So why was I cut off?
Because I uncovered the truth: HUD never had jurisdiction, and they knew it.
________________________________________
🧩 Meet the Players: Sally Pai and Theresa Muley
My ordeal began after I completed an appraisal for a VA loan in 2021. A single complaint was filed. The VA launched a full investigation and cleared me of bias after 266 days. Case closed.
But then, HUD — “Without Jurisdiction” — reopened the case under the PAVE Task Force banner. They assigned it to Theresa Noreen Muley, a HUD investigator who:
• Would not tape phone calls or use Zoom
• Would not consider evidence of my innocence
• Did not investigate possible perjury by the homeowner since the VA just cleared me then he went and filed a mirror claim with HUD
• Misrepresented my legal representation status
Shortly after, HUD Enforcement Branch Chief Sally Y. Pai intervened.
She removed Muley from the case (with no HR paperwork), refused to assign a new investigator, and ultimately froze the case entirely.
Then she blocked my access to TEAPOTS.
No closure. No contact.
Just silence — and a sealed vault of federal misconduct.
________________________________________
⚖️ Violations, Obstruction, and Civil Rights Abuse
Let me be clear:
This isn’t just bad management — this is illegal.
HUD’s own FHEO Handbook requires:
• Timely communication with parties under investigation
• Transparency around investigator changes
• Fair access to procedural tools and rebuttal channels
Additionally, their conduct violated:
• My ADA rights (I am a documented stroke survivor with PTSD and protected status)
• Federal whistleblower protections
• Due process obligations under the Fair Housing Act
And now, by cutting off my access to TEAPOTS and halting the case without explanation, HUD is actively obstructing justice and concealing its own wrongdoing.
________________________________________
🔎 I Fought Back — And Now They’re Cornered
Rather than backing down, I escalated the case:
• I’ve filed multiple FOIA requests targeting Pai, Muley, and HUD Region IX
• I’ve demanded the system logs showing who ordered my access revoked
• I’ve requested case duration records proving this multi-year delay is part of a pattern
• And I’m preparing congressional outreach and possible litigation
What we are uncovering appears to be a systemic abuse of power under the PAVE Task Force, driven more by politics and PR optics than evidence.
________________________________________
📣 To My Fellow Appraisers: This Is the Moment to Speak Out
If this can happen to me — a VA-cleared appraiser, with medical hardship protections, and hundreds of pages of rebuttals submitted — it can happen to anyone.
How many of you are:
• Still waiting for answers?
• Still under investigation after a year or more?
• Denied your right to respond?
• Told nothing, while your career stalls?
The time to be silent is over.
If HUD thought they could freeze my case and make it disappear, they made a mistake. Because now, it’s not just a complaint — it’s a cover-up.
And I’m exposing it.
________________________________________
Kenneth Mullinix
Appraiser Advocate | HUD Respondent | ADA-Protected Federal Contractor
Contact me at: kjmull@aol.com