AMCs Deceptive Fee Skimming Exposed in Lawsuit
The class action lawsuit, Timmins v. Clear Capital, et al., filed on November 1 in the Superior Court of California, County of Stanislaus, sheds light on the deceptive and unfair business practices allegedly perpetrated by ClearCapital.com, Inc., Core Valuation Management, Inc., and Rocket Mortgage, LLC in relation to the appraisal fees charged to borrowers in home mortgage transactions.
The complaint asserts that these defendants engaged in a deliberate scheme to misrepresent and inflate appraisal fees, which were significantly higher than the actual cost of the appraisal services rendered. This allowed the appraisal management company (AMC) middlemen to line their pockets at the expense of unsuspecting consumers. According to the lawsuit, Rocket Mortgage mandates appraisals before closing on home mortgage transactions and employs AMCs like Clear Capital and Core Valuation to hire appraisers. However, while Rocket Mortgage determines the “appraisal fee” that borrowers are required to pay at closing, the AMCs retain a substantial portion of this fee for themselves – often an astounding 60-80% or more based on recent research – despite providing no tangible benefits or services to the borrower. The appraisers who actually perform the labor-intensive appraisal work, which includes visiting the property, conducting thorough market analysis, and preparing the detailed appraisal report, receive a mere pittance of the appraisal fee paid by the borrower.
The lawsuit further highlights the lack of transparency. Rocket Mortgage and the AMCs actively conceal this fee skimming from borrowers, never disclosing the proportion of the “appraisal fee” that is pocketed by the AMC rather than being paid to the appraiser. The lawsuit cites damning research submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in August 2024 by the Appraisal Regulation Compliance Council (ARCC), which exposed this egregious practice of misallocating significant portions of appraisal fees across numerous states, including in California. In some particularly outrageous cases, Clear Capital and Core Valuation Management retained as much as 84% of the appraisal fees paid by borrowers, despite providing no discernible added value. To compound the impropriety, the complaint asserts that AMCs actively prevent appraisers from disclosing their actual professional fees, deliberately keeping borrowers in the dark about the extent to which they are being fleeced. This legal action seeks not only restitution for the wronged borrowers but also injunctive relief to put an end to these deceptive and unjust practices perpetuated by the defendants.
- NFHA Funding Dries Up - March 19, 2025
- HUD Investigation Leads to Illegal Break-In & Evidence Tampering - February 26, 2025
- AMCs Deceptive Fee Skimming Exposed in Lawsuit - February 25, 2025
Prayers that we can survive until something is actually done to stop this theft of our time and resources. What will replace the CFPB or will it be revamped to actually work for consumers and not just sue large corps in the attempt to gain headlines? Time will tell but we are running on fumes.
Rut Roh!!!
Additional exposure!
Has this contributed to the pending legislation in Oklahoma?
Will it spur further pushback by the states?
Oooohhhhh, get your AG’s attention?
Where is the Appraisal Institute in Oklahoma ?
They support Appraisers so much?!?!?
Shrugs shoulders, walks away, works on breaking addiction to this pathological drama otherwise known as appraising real estate, might even reclaim some self-respect before being six feet under.
Will the dismantling of the CFPB hurt this case and hurt appraisers in the future?
I seem to recall that Josh Tucker had CFPB investigating.
I almost find it funny that the angle is consumers are getting screwed when we all know with inflation that appraisers should be getting the full amount charged to the borrower. In an open market, and if lenders charged the borrower for regulation costs (AMC fees, technology fees, upload fees, etc.) the consumer would be paying hundreds more per transaction.
Seek the truth.
While I agree with your sentiment, if an AMC is being used, they deserve to be paid … BUT CERTAINLY NOT 80%. How about +/-20% at the most? I suspect most appraisers have no idea what their value to the process actually is, and most appraisers are not greedy people that would charge what they consider to be exorbitant fees. I suspect the reason the suit is focusing on “consumers” as a whole, is that this is a much broader base that more people can sympathize with. Let’s face it, most folks could give a rip about the few of us still out there that are appraisers. That being said, if the suit is successful, it would be nice for the appraisers who do AMC work to see some relief back. Personally, I stopped working with AMC’s +/-10 years ago.
It is utterly amazing, that an AMC can get paid hundreds of dollars to send a couple emails.
Matthew Ellis that’s why I got out of the industry. The liability just wasn’t worth the money they were paying us.
I am still in the industry since 1980 to the present. It’s tough having to exist on one appraiser income with mls, licensing, eo and overhead costs. If you combine appraising with real estate brokerage and mortgage loan origination you can survive in any market condition.
Completing a simple 21 hour MLO course and you can have a second stream of income making loans. People still need loans and when interest rates come down there will be lots of opportunity in a refi market to use the appraiser knowledge but apply it to making loans.
In sports, always change a losing game when what ever you are doing is not working.
I cannot even afford some of the classes for MLO, Insurance License, etc., as my income is so low I cannot even afford my car insurance. I’ve been checking into everything I can.
Likewise.
Yes….it’s about time.
I’m hoping that this becomes a “Class Action Lawsuit”. I/we worked for years getting fleeced. I could use 150,000
I could use $50 and getting back my business that I lost in 2009 to Dudd-Fwank BS
The restraint of trade argument. Each appraiser whom never gamed the amc system for the lions share, over the past two decades, has lost out on approximately one million to two million dollars of income potential which never materialized due to the destructive forces of amc’s. The amc companies and lenders whom worked with them racketeered and conspired for a very long time to exclude three out of four appraisers from being in service to American consumers whom were seeking federally regulated transaction mortgage loans.
Every single dollar the amc industry took in managing appraisals, or substituting appraisals for lessor products, all those dollars would otherwise have gone to the licensed appraisers. It’s anyone’s guess but fair to speculate that a hundred thousand individually licensed appraisers never materialized, as all that potential energy went to amc’s business and profit growth, and they were hiring, investing, and expanding instead. The appraisal industries reward? A near total elimination of meaningful service requests.
We were getting $150-$250 for no value PIR’s twenty years ago and with good clients that income stream alone was enough to afford appraiser trainees. FHA mandated a minimum $400 fee nationwide before amc’s over two and a half to three decades ago. Standard 1004 full appraisal orders were routinely $400-$650 for standard work. Jumbos’ over 1m routinely ran $750-$1.5k service fees. Rental and income forms were common tag ons for +$150 per form or more. Final inspections were constantly $150-$250 or more. And there was fair rotational distribution of work requests. If an appraiser was on a lenders approval list, those appraisers would get a fair share of the total work assignments. There was no special selection or preferential assignment trends. There was no cover for discriminatory imbalanced engagements, as has become the mainstay of all amc and technically focused automated assignment systems.
The free market for appraisal services has been suppressed across the board in other sectors as a result. However there is consistent obvious indication that fair compensation suppression exists. VA appraisals pay substantially more often twice as much, because no amc is involved. Other government and legal work often pays twice or three times as much, because no amc is involved. Most appraisers have to this day been unable to wrestle back standard fee rates from the late 1990’s from amc companies. Now REVAA is claiming amc’s have had a solid place in lending since the 1960’s. Liars and thieves. For appraisers whom worked or continue to work with amc’s, think twice about celebrating these class action lawsuits. You may have personally indemnified the amc companies with your working agreements from any and all losses and claims.
____________________________________
Let’s talk about Rocket Mortgage for a minute… Their appraisal management companies reliability, service levels, and attention to detail.
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-rocket-mortgage-appraisal-management-company-and-appraiser-race
https://dre.colorado.gov/division-notifications/news-release-revocation-of-both-a-colorado-appraiser-license-and-colorado
In part, the investigation revealed that the licensee ran an appraisal firm that improperly retained the services of unlicensed individuals located outside of the United States to complete appraisal assignments and then affixed the signatures of credentialled appraisers to the reports, often without their knowledge. This business model was not only misleading to the clients, but also to his credentialled appraisers on staff.
In a second complaint investigation, Mykhailyna, conducted substantially similar violations of license law, notably, by failing to supervise both licensed and unlicensed assistants and by submitting, and aiding and abetting the submission of appraisals that contained signatures from appraisers who did not author the appraisals.
Hugh….. Wow…. It’s almost as if the amc knew what was happening all along, and still preferred the appraisal firm whom flipped the most volume in the least amount of time for the lowest fee. They looked the other way that entire time. Your top appraisal vendor in one of the hottest and most difficult markets in the country. Oh his firm is turning in 10 appraisals a day. That Mykhailyna, what a guy. We don’t know how he does it but he does. Send him even more orders and cut all the single appraisers right out, they simply don’t have as ‘competitive fee and turn times.’ ALL THE AMC’s OPERATE THIS WAY. THEY INCENTIVIZE FRAUD AND UNETHICAL PRACTICE.
The question DORA the Division of Regulatory Agencies never asked, or if they did, was not highlighted;
What appraisal fulfillment services was this appraiser using to complete that many reports? And how many other appraisers use the same service? Is anyone else possibly doing the same thing?
Search this term online: appraisal typing services
There are dozens and dozens of companies offering these services. This type of service was not present pre amc dominance. Because real world appraiser trainees did that work instead under direct supervision of their training appraisers. Does anyone honestly think Mykhailyna is the only appraiser using these outsourced services to cheat the system for more work volume and increased income? His primary mistake and how this was forced to be acknowledged was copying signatures, rather than spreading his own signature across multiple amc’s, all of whom are to this day standing by soliciting appraisers that if they can provide lower fees and faster turn times than the next appraiser, they could get the majority share of assignments from that amc instead.
Now let’s ask the most important question of them all; Why did the CU system fail to identify these trends of disproportionate fulfillment? Dare to look at the biggest appraisal firms in this country. That lady from AI Cindy, she looked, albeit accidentally. Stumbled across the industries open secret and was promptly removed. Like every other independent appraiser whom has ever dared to challenge the amc industry. You have to pay if you want to play. What’s your fee and turn time?
Years ago I was getting 100 to 300 fee and turn time requests every single day. I spent more time demanding to be removed from amc panels then I ever spent signing up or even working with them. Wished I’d have kept more of the emails now but out of necessity to have free email storage space had deleted most of that. Here is but a small example, I have pages but don’t want to show addresses which most contained.
The incredible inefficiency as nearly four fifths of all lending assignments requiring appraisals were sent out for ‘fee and turn time quotes’ instead of simply paying stable market rates and doling out orders fairly to approved panel appraisers. They all do it. The near entirety of the amc industry adopted these methods. The smart ones concealed the activity with grading and tiered approvals, sorting internally rather than open sending. But they’re all the same. They way they maximize junk fee raking is by having special preference to send disproportionate amount of assignments to the lowest bidders and appraisers whom pencil the highest ratio of deals. The rewarded appraisers reciprocate by utilizing outsourced services to flip more volume and colluding to keep their fees secret from consumers.
I hope something gets better soon, the low fees I’m getting along with the lack of work are problematic. It is about time something is done about this deceptive practice. I’m ‘down” for a class action suit!
Something has already been done at the GSE level. They’re called waivers, pdc allowances, hybrids, the avm final rule. Sustainable gse workload is never coming back. Amc lawsuits will now relieve the lenders from associated long term liability. Racketeering and restriction of trade practices for two decades. Where is the class action for appraisers whom boycotted the amc’s in defense of consumers? The three out of four appraisers whom refuse to work with amc’s and lost billions of collective income, work, and training opportunity to the amc model? A skeleton crew remains to mop up whats left.
https://appraisersblogs.com/data-cancer-infecting-the-real-estate-market/#comment-44444
(the post with the grave marker)
Baggins, I have to agree with you. My “work” has dwindled to 1-2 per month – no way to sustain the business expenses that go along with being in this profession. As a 24 year appraiser, I am saddened that I am now faced with finding a new career at over 60. I will bid on AMC work, but rarely get one – I will not bid less than what I made 20 years ago. I love appraising, frustrated with the commentary/disclaimers on reports now required, and hate most of the companies associated with getting an order. Most of the crap I get back for “revisions” is a joke – especially when it has already been addressed on the addendum. I’ve gotten back reports because the word “illegal” is present – even though it’s referring to zoning, or cost/value comparisons on stainless vs “white” appliances. It’s gone beyond rediculous. It does appear that reasonable GSE work is not coming back – at least not until the market crashes again, for which the appraisers will likely be blamed, again. By the way, the latest fee I’ve seen for VA appraisers is $800…a far cry from the $350-400 from places like Class. The VA appraiser did not even have to do as much on the report as I would have to for an FHA – $450 bid was turned down. I’ve been looking for another job for over a year – age discrimination is present, but always as “accepted another candidate”.
Enter a ramped up corporate exploitation to dissect what’s left of tens of thousands of struggling small 1099 residential appraiser businesses. Taglines such as; It’s easier for lenders to manage all the valuation process from one place under one roof. And valuations can be either manual or automated. Was reading through the REVAA and CC sites, there was a mention of using brokers to fill BPO’s, as a tool to validate appraisals. I’ve heard of the blind leading the stupid, the amc industry is next level.
When your own government actively sanctions the elimination of and assists in dismantling your independent non governmental small business you…… Might be a residential real estate appraiser.
Thinking of Clear Capital, made a special meme to celebrate their stellar influence on the valuation services industry. Kicked out a special reference to REVAA as well. Image attached.
I remember trying to obtain work after HVCC started..that $225 fee was from 2010 – that actually was a little better than what I received from 1 group (can’t remember the name). $200 for a 175 mile trip to Guffey from Colorado Springs, FHA manufactured on 35 acres. I remember it because it ended being one of those nightmare ones, no decent comps, etc., and nearly an all day trip to get the comp photos with the inspection. I’ve bid as low as $350 (what we were getting in CO before HVCC (350-400) on some of these and still do not get them. Fees have just increased again for uploading reports, and I have no idea how some appraisers can stay in business with the fees they seem to be accepting. They must have a 2nd income, or no mortgage, etc. Clear Cap, Class Value, etc., are all owned by Core Logic – they were the lowest paying group back in 2007-2010, and have now taken over much of the market – MLS systems, management companies, etc., after making all their money off our backs.
And……I ask, who on earth has ever dealt with the orders from CC, and the fees that are absolute bottom barrel that they offer, and are surprised by this. We are not respected, not by just CC, this is universal among all AMC’s. Do I accept the orders from them? Yes, I do, when I counter with my fee and they take it. They aren’t awful to deal with beyond the fees and ridiculous due dates that give us 1-2 days to get a valuation completed. Which I refuse to deal with as well. I just accept an order, for a conventional refi (not from CC), and then when I opened the LOE, it was 65 pages. Tell me, what client has any business with a 65-page LOE, or demands and restrictions for a basic Conventional refi Appraisal??? That is totally over the top. But that’s where we stand with AMC’s. I canceled the order immediately. Was it a simple one? Yes, it sure was. Do I care? No. I’m at a point in my career where I know how this order will end, and certainly do not need the work, harassment, and poor treatment from phone monkeys that will accompany this order, not even a little bit. We are seen as nothing more than pond scum by AMC’s. We are not valued, we are not respected, we are not treated as actual professionals or even humans at this point. Sadly, CC isn’t anywhere near the worst to deal with. If they accept my counter fee and due dates, they can be rather pleasant. I find it shame that they feel like screwing other Appraisers so much. They really do have some, not all, but most, people that are decent working there. They do need no management, and to restructure how they get paid and what they pay us though.
Yep, that’s how I have dealt with these AMC’s for the past 20 years. When I get an email for an appraisal order that is a blast order, first to respond with the low fees gets the order, I delete it. The only appraisals I did for Rocket Mortgage was when the called me and asked me if I could do it. I gave them my fee and due date and they always accepted. Was the report sometimes difficult? Yes but that was why I charged twice my normal fee to them.
Maybe it is a 6.5 page ( 6 and one half page) LOE which is common with some large Mtmg companies. Seriously, if the LOE was 65 pages almost more or similar to the report in number of pages? I think someone forgot the decimal point between the 6 and the 5 numerals. Complex properties LOE on beach properties facing the ocean are still in the 6 page LOE range.
No that’s a real thing, excessively long scope of work documents. Some of them basically copy every relevant portion of the selling guides, as well as individual lender requirements.
Oh the fond memories of working with amc’s. The fun part was talking to the non licensed staff and quizzing them on basic appraisal principals. Asserting professional standing is however not a great way to get on their good sides. Ask basic questions, instantly identify their incompetence, no easy way back to a professional engagement.
What is your fee and turn time? I don’t know, what’s yours? First one to say a number loses. What was the consumer charged? I remember back in the day when you actually had to do something unethical or incompetent to be placed on do not use lists. Not these days, all you have to do is ask honest questions and you are instantly persona non grata.
Ask any question. For instance, which of the five properties with the same address and same owner name, but five different tax ID’s do I appraise? All? One? Two-four? Deafening silence. Order cancelled.
As a real estate appraiser, I can’t say I’m shocked by the allegations in the Timmins v. Clear Capital case, but it’s definitely frustrating. It’s like paying for a luxury car and getting a scooter instead – the borrower pays a hefty fee, but we appraisers often see just a tiny slice of it. AMCs seem to pocket a huge chunk, doing little more than acting as middlemen. Meanwhile, we’re out there in the rain and snow, actually valuing the property!
It’s high time for some transparency. Borrowers deserve to know where their money goes, and appraisers deserve more than pocket change for the work we do. Let’s hope this lawsuit helps steer things in the right direction – maybe toward fairness, or at least a bigger slice of the pie for the people actually doing the work!
Sacramento Real Estate Appraisers
This cant be true! The AMC were started to STOP fraud. Isnt that what they do? You mean to tell me the AMC thing was just another way to scam people out of money in a new way??
Found this image clip in the archives the other day. The amc industry has known all along, even switched out their spokesperson many years back when he started writing papers about the amc industries immediate need to switch to cost plus billing programs for ethical and fair business dealing reasons. They’ve all known all along, so have lenders that continued to use them.
You’d be surprised how many “reconsiderations of value” I’ve received from management companies. So, they still do the same things under a different name.
I include 12 statistical charts and graphs with an attached mls CMA in each report for the last 4 years and now a chart to show timelines and the use of time adjustments. I don’t hear back one peep about a reconsideration of value. If I do , I will charge extra bucks for my time or if I receive continuous requests for ROV, I will drop the client like a hot potato. That’s why 99% of my time and effort is non lender clients.
Hard to believe, huh? Smirk, smirk, smirk …
The AMC’s need to be governed just like we are. Customary and reasonable fee means just that. If VA pays $675, isn’t that customary and reasonable. I agree….Blast emails just gets the appraiser that accepts the lowest fee. I am sick of the fee’s going down when they should be double. Realtors make a commission based on price. Property values doubled in the last few years. Mortgage originated are also making a lot more. I wish we could unionize. I love appraising when dealing with decent clients. Upload fee? Why do we have to pay to upload a product that was ordered by them? Frustrating…..
Don’t work with them. It’s very effective. I don’t accept blast orders. I wait until they email or call me. I charge $500 minimum.
I don’t do their work either. I have pretty good clients. My son got Certified about six months ago. No one will add them to their panel since it is so slow. He has only received one order. He has been bidding pretty low just so he can get some work. He doesn’t get the order because these amc’s use their regulars. Thanks for the comment John!
The latest VA fee I saw in CO was $800 – a far cry from what the management companies offer.
Again!
I ask where is the Appraisal Institute?
Begging for more members that they misrepresent?
AMC I’ve been working with for a few years started lying to me today. Imagine that, huh? They’ve always sucked, but this is a trust breaker. Just imagine what would happen if you intentionally lied to an AMC …
My moment was a time this lady was crying, desperate to avoid foreclosure. I told her look, it’s not a big deal, I’ll give you a steep discount on the service and you’re going to be o.k. I felt bad, so offered a discount service. Called the amc company up, explained the situation. They agreed it would be o.k. for me to reduce my fee and they would charge the lady less. Come to find out a month later they increased her charge, and accepted my discount, pocketed the difference.
‘We let vendors set their own fees’. Back in the day lenders would ask for appraisers to fill out the same fee lists. Then the lender would take the most common fee, and apply that across the board to every appraiser, and work would be distributed equally to all panel appraisers. The set ‘market rate’ fee was the middle number, not the lowest, and not the highest. It was the number the majority of appraisers were willing to work for.
As a result the original HVCC regulation included a provision that if a lender removed an appraiser from active rotation, they needed to inform the appraiser of this in writing, documenting why. Because it was widely recognized that if an appraiser gained panel approval, it was unethical and quite dangerous to the lending and banking system as a whole, to simply dismiss the appraiser and provide preference for lenders interests with no regard for the valuable contribution appraisers provided. There was an industry standard, only a few forms which worked and worked well, and all appraisers were tasked with an essentially similar task. The system was well functioning with many safeguards. Nearly everything a lender did which related to originating a loan on real property in America required a live human licensed appraisers incorporated participation.
Here is a new question? What happens to the multitude of appraisers whom are employed at these amc companies because of this lawsuit? Fines, suspensions, revocations, penalties? Who’s the controlling appraiser that was supposed to be in place to prevent unethical activity? What do these lawsuits mean for amc representatives whom sit on state appraisal boards, conflicts of interests? Inquiring minds want to know.
When the amc regulations were initially formed, there was a fixed requirement they needed at least one ‘controlling appraiser’. Because that appraiser, in the interest of keeping their license, complying with various state rules, would demand the amc company behave in an ethical manner or protect their license by submitting evidence the amc company was in professional practice violation to the state boards or other federal oversight authority. The rule pretends that as an appraiser takes this position, accepts pay, bonus, and benefit, they will remain as an independent entity prioritizing ethics and consumer safety over company interests. Played out quite differently.
Now I’m getting cancellations of orders that were never ordered. I guess this is the way the AMC lies to the lenders about what happened to the order. “Dang, we ordered it from that appraiser, but he never inspected it.” This AMC screws around so much looking for the cheapest/fastest, that the appraisal could have been done by the time they finally order it from someone. This is the way of corporate leftists, I guess. Who cares if it gets done expeditiously as long as we save five dollars? Personally, I think this is a disservice to the lender, even though the lender is causing it, and to the buyer, seller and real estate broker.
The status is… I would have been finished 3 days ago if you idgits would leave me alone 😉
Mr or Ms Pray Hard, We can do without the baseless “leftist” and “rightists” adjectives, OK? It belittles your argument. This is all about corporate greed. That being said, corporate greed is usually attributed to “rightists” … just sayin’.
Counter that with DOGE man. The scale of the pilfering and profiteering is truly epic. I think it’s safe to put the left right narrative to bed. What we’re observing has almost no relation with classical democrat or republican party structure. With any luck thousands upon thousands of fancy pants white collar thieves will be tossed out by the ears and have their wealth stripped. And maybe, dare to dream, we’ll pay less taxes.
We have corrupt “gold diggers” from both sides of the political parties, but as a conservative, I hope there are fewer on the right, lol. Perhaps or perhaps not, but I have no problem with DOGE weeding them all out. I would, however, like to see some arrests or consequences – from either party. I wish they’d come to CO and clean house.
Real men don’t refer to themselves as “Mr.”. If you can’t see the overriding leftist influence in the real estate industry and destroying the appraisal industry, that’s your problem. The very fact that you’d make a controlling statement about what you can do without defines you as such. If you don’t like my comments, don’t read them. This is reportedly still America and free speech is part of that. Tell Joe Biden “hello” for me.
Mr. or Mrs. Pray Hard, A lot to unpack there … mostly I feel sorry for you to a certain extent … but not much, as it is clear you are part of the problem / cult. But just to answer your question, the reason I put “Mr.” in front of my name, is that there are many women that share the same first name … sort of like “Chris” or “Baily”, etc. I simply add this (Mr.) for clarification purposes. I’m sorry you are so miserable. Have a beer and relax … as long as you are not an angry drunk … which I suspect you are.
Mr. or Mrs. Pray Hard, As the old saying goes … winning an argument with a smart person is hard. Wining an argument with a stupid person is damn near impossible.
The fun part happens when you take the time to track down sales, find the listings, call the listing agent, tell them all about it. Rather than admit the amc and separation from mortgage production rules are a failure, they’re dismantling the appraisal industry whom focus on mortgage lending almost entirely. Destroying forty thousand American small businesses. As the goal has been to bypass the independent check and balance system all along. To have a stronger capture rate of mortgage customers, build a larger investment portfolio for downstream monetization.
‘Appraisal management’… These companies were never meant to help consumers. Legalized fee skimming. Ways to bypass federal guidelines on acceptable practices, avoid effective oversight or account auditing. At this point, amc’s are likely sending more work to realtors then they are appraisers. ‘Appraisal modernization.’
Pray hard said; Who cares as long as we save five dollars. Correction. The amc is earning five dollars more. Because cost savings of reduced cost appraisal services are not returned to consumers. If the amc has to make the agents and mb’s wait to earn that money, they will make them wait. Then they’ll blame the appraiser for the delays on the back end after they’ve all had to run amend extends addendums, recalculate with a new rate if they missed the lock expiration deadline. Just another day on the job working with amc’s.
Also saying; Cancellation notices of orders that were never ordered from you. You’re off the top tier list of receiving preferential assignments ahead of other appraisers, but they’re still sorting out removing you from the separate assignment notifications system. You were never participating in a fair assignment system in the first place. The amc provided you with the illusion you were though.
They all operate this way. Turn through enough of them and you’ll see the same pattern playing out over and over again. The entire business model is based around deception and racketeering. What’s not to love? Refer to the REVAA list, call the next one…
“Who cares about the buyer, broker, seller, etc., as long as we don’t have to pay that appraiser five dollars that we can snatch” …
Is that a little better?
I’ve had so many “cancellation” notices, I’ve lost count. AMCs are just a crooked racket, IMO. Another note is the number of agents/homeowners who state – you mean they’ve just now ordered it? It was requested 2-3 weeks ago. Puts a lot of pressure on us then – low fee plus “rush” jobs.
Has your business gotten better, the more politically correct/DEI/etc., America has become? What are AMC’s, but socialism? They are the definition of it. It seems that some of us see what’s going on, but are too afraid to call it what it is and most don’t even see what’s going on. I think that maybe Nikita was right.
Mr. or Mrs. Pray Hard, As the old saying goes … winning an argument with a smart person is hard. Wining an argument with a stupid person is damn near impossible. You fit the second scenario. Peace.
Get involved with ARCC!
AMC’s should not be allowed to utilize Mercury Network and or lenders should not be allowed to utilize Mercury Network to go through AMC’s to beat us down even further.
Mercury was originally designed by Dave Biggers whom at the time was the appraisal industries best advocate for fair process. He created Mercury as a way for lenders to avoid using amc’s. He published for one or two years a median fee survey report for local fees which did not include amc data. (prior to the cfpb C&R incorrect rule interpretation which gave amc’s a free pass.) Then Corelogic stepped in bought Mercury, then Alamode, then Scope, the Marshall & Swift, and many others. Mercury refuses to give simple options to appraisers such as do or do not accept amc orders for well over a decade now and instead promotes amc’s. They used to share lists of lenders whom used Mercury network but as a csr explained to me; those lenders were inundated with appraiser panel applicants whom hoped to avoid dealing with amc’s, and in unison demanded Mercury stopped sharing this data with appraisers, as they all had more appraiser panel members then they needed. Around that time even more appraisers refused GSE service as there was no simple way to avoid amc’s and marketing to lenders resulted in an over 85% rate of being redirected to amc’s. Eventually the systems meant to be of service for appraisers business success were all bought out or co opted by the amc industry.
Here is a fun game to play; Set your fees on Mercury and Scope to $1 for everything… See how many predatory amc companies suddenly add you to their approved appraiser panel list.
Here is a view of Mercury from the other side. Your performance ratings are shared with prospective clients whom have never worked with you before. So whenever an amc sacks your ratings, the Mercury program functions somewhat similar to a shared blacklist, and you’re less likely to get picked up by new or substitute clients. ‘Appraiser independence!’ One big restriction of trade racket. Play ball or get benched. My suspicion is that Mercury turns on additional vendor stats sharings such as turn times for premium Mercury VIP members. Allowing even better sorting out of appraisers whom are not discounting for amc volume.