I too was put on the VA list. Greatest thing EVER to happen. I have NEVER been more respected. Fees are fair and so is the attitude of the VA personal.

THEY should have followed the VA process. Simple !!!

But hey, the government gave these banks 100 billion a year off of our backs. Can you say it was for national security as the Gov. want our banks to be stronger the China.

The other thinging was how do you clean up a profession that 50% of the appraisers out there, and still out there do not have a clue how to actually appraise.

Fraud is still going on, appraisers are still be banged for being dopes, over appraising, comps to far etc…extreme lying about actual condition, no mention of busy roads…etc….the lsit goes on and on and one.

They want more computer values……why….cause they still do not trust us appraisers to do our jobs. Protect the public trust. End of story we are here to protect EVERYONE, so the houses can be resold if the owners die in a car crash a week after settlement.

SAD….I see some of my peers black listed…..why….cause they caved into lender/AMC pressure to survive….whats changed in over 20 years…..NOTHING!

Only the best will survive…that’s their plan, those that do survive will get the money to train again…..that;s what THEY planned years ago going back to 2005.

5 year I did reviews……So bad a monkey could see the errors and fraud…..We got what are peers did to us….none of us turned any appraiser in the STATE for what they did. we just rewrote the reports and the lenders still used those appraisers for the deals that would pass with piss poor appraisals. No one turned anyone in….NO ONE. The Funders did not even black list cause, as I was told, They liked their clients and didn’t want to lose them cause only a few reports were bad….

They got what they deserved as well ! Out of business.

Stick to your guns, do the job, pull your hair out writing bastard deals for $250.00, it will get better sooner or later in your area…..They don’t want dummies who barely passed high school, taught by their parents or friends, becoming appraisers.

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2016/03/09/realtor-university-earns-accreditation?om_rid=AAVBp$&om_mid=_BW4JJaB9LmXwxw&om_ntype=RMODaily

At least the courses have SOMETHING to do with Real Estate!

Here are 20 more reasons for considering an internet business over appraising Evan:

You can generate income 24 hours a day every day of the year.

Rather than having a market of a few counties you have a market of 3.17 billion people

You can run most internet companies from anywhere.  Need a 4 week vacation?  No problem

The cost of entry is 20 times less than appraising

Your yearly overhead is about 15 times cheaper than appaising

No license required

No MLS required

No continuing education courses

No E & O Insurance

No college degree required (Lynda.com, YouTube.com & CodeAcademy.com are cheap cheap)

No working 2,500 to 3,000 hours under another appraiser for beans.

Depending your creativity your potential income is:  Google: Mark Zuckerberg & Jeff Bezos.

Your liability is nearly zilch compared to appraising and it certainly doesn’t carry over until you die.

Your ability to earn won’t be tied to the interest rate roller coaster like appraising.

You won’t be forced to abide by 12 new regulations every year.

Nobody is going to force you to turn over 1/2 of your income in exchange for work each month.

The government will never force you to give up every client overnight like they did with HVCC.

You can market your services to anyone on damn well please (including mortgage companies).

It’s a scalable business

You can work it in retirement or sell it

Evan, RA and I are not usually completely on the same page, but he just gave you good advice. The influence of self serving, underhanded interests controlling our profession is leading to its INTENTIONAL eventual demise. There is a constant battle against ever creeping intrusion by Mortgage Bankers; Bankers; Investment Bankers, Federal  Regulators and even some professional appraiser peer groups that are in bed with FNMA and other GSEs.

Even the software designers are setting us up for eventual elimination. The ONE exception I would offer is Business Valuation. Look into ASA BV training and designation as well as NACVA. You could earn a VERY good living but the entry fees are steep. THEN in between if you want to dabble in Residential or commercial appraisal you could do so and be quite marketable.

The reason none of us that like t think of ourselves as ethical appraisers take on trainees is because the clients do not accept reports co signed by supervisors if the supervisors have not also inspected the interior of the property you inspect. we don’t mind that until WE feel you are trained, but the business model does not work if we have to do that for 90 days or so.

We’d have to pay you FAR LESS than you need to survive in order for US to continue to survive. I don’t believe in paying a trainee less than $25 an hour for the first month (time actually worked; NOT x 40 hours). The economic model is closer to around $10 and hour x 40 and that just does not make for a great professional peer relationship.

You also need a degree. Four year.

Long term outlook? As a few respected friends remind me, 125 yeas ago buggy whip makers had a thriving specialty business. By the 1920’s though they were pretty much washed up.

Many would say our outlook is not quite that positive. By the way, WHILE you are being paid peanuts and asked to eat manure, you are required to uphold the highest standards of integrity, even when you know there are people out there cheating AND the regulators are indirectly encouraging it.

If all that does not dissuade you the jump right on in! IF you are close to L.A. you WILL be able to find trainers but it wont be easy and they may not be quite the ‘best’ (appraisal sweatshops). You will need a part time job to help you survive.

If you are thinking about obtaining a residential appraisal license you are in need of SERIOUS COUNSELING. I doubt that the strongest advocate for this “profession” would advise you to follow through with your current dream. As for me…not only do I say RUN…but “RUN LIKE L” as fast and as far as your legs will carry you. This has not been a career since 2009 but rather a JOB… and a subminimum wage paying JOB for the majority after everything is taken into account.. At this point I don’t even recommend it for part time gravy money because of the perpetual liability that you obtain along with your license.

I encourage disgruntled appraisers and wannabes to consider web based businesses. As I mentioned to the owner of this blog yesterday, the commercially viable web that we know today is a mere 20 years old. People don’t realize that opportunity still lies everywhere with regard to the internet.

Example: http://www.ThisIsWhyImBroke.com a simple concept but also voted one of the most addictive websites on the web. A similar site can be built using WordPress (free) and a $75 theme. The owner now makes around $250,000 per year from affiliate marketing because he doesn’t like advertising. Worthofweb.com puts a $2,480,000 valuation on the domain (a horrendous domain choice) because of the web traffic generated. In short, Adam Freedman (the founder) is throwing away a ton of money by ignoring advertising dollars. Google Adam Freedman or check out YouTube and you can see how he did something that any of us could have done and could still do.

When comparing the world wide web to the telephone business the web is now the equivalent of the phone companies in 1897. When comparing it to the Wild West the web we’re up to the year 1869 (establishment of the transcontinental railroad). Would you have invested in the telephone business in 1897 or the railroad in 1869? To be blunt, what you are considering would be the equivalent of starting a buggy whip company in the year 1920.

Why waste you time chasing after a profession with an ugly and predetermined ending (a brick wall) when you can do something remarkable with your life? If you are going to enter a business…plan on owning a business. If you are going to build a business build one that can be sold. Anything else is a foolish waste of your time and money.

Bottom Line: At least 90% of the appraisers that I’ve spoken with over the last 7 years want out badly. The remaining 10% are so diversified or set for life through other means that they’re fine with it. Residential appraising accounts for about 10% of the income for those who are willing to hold tight.

Check out the chart below if you want to know just how far the internet has advanced in comparison to a 20 year old telephone industry (see 1897).

http://www.vcalc.net/images2/Telephone-1105×737.jpg

James that is one of the nicest compliments any appraiser could ever have from one of his or her  peers. Thank you.

…Now about that membership in the appraisers guild *g*. Seriously, If I could get HALF the people that post here officially involved in developing specific strategies for our regulators, we could already have effected changes!

I’ve spoken before TAF twice in the past year (the only time before that was something like 15 years ago). On one of those occasions we DID actually effect a change (killed AB624). I’ll try to get before TAF in Arizona in April as well but since we don’t use ANY Guild dues for this it will depend on my personal finances and time availability.

In the most recent meeting, one of the residential members of the APB reached out to ALL of us and has asked for our input in the area of whether or not APB should be offering guidance on supporting sales comparison adjustments; and if so-what that guidance should entail.

Her name is Lisa Desmarais and her email is lappraisal@comcast.net . While the other individual that gave me their email and promise to address our concerns or at least see that they get to where they are supposed to has NOT responded once to my emails; Ms Desmarais has replied to evere single one. I urge all who read this to think about what they are asking, and to respond through her direct.

Now, for those that woke up this morning and realized you really DO need to join the American Guild of Appraisers ( http://www.appraisersguild.org ) you can still do so through Jan Bellas at (301) 220-4100 or http://www.appraisersguild.org .

Officially our dues discount ended December 31. New dues are supposed to be $325.00 HOWEVER I am told several people citing my prior blog posts for the $225 rate have had that rate honored. I suspect THAT wont last forever.

Hi Mike,

I disagree with the licensing with the exception of the Trainee. In my opinion there should be one license for Appraisers. Then follow uspap, that is what its for. As to degrees, there are three. A bull shit, a more shit, and a piled high and deep. Also, I do not believe there is a shortage of appraisers, only a shortage of appraisers willing to work for 1990 fees.

no need to worry about any of that Baggs. the appraisal degree will never happen, at least in our life times it wont.

first, the idea would have to be over-analyzed to death by all the egghead leaders. this alone would take many years, and probably a decade or two just to come to a decision.

then, the whole thing would have to be implemented. can you imagine this happening? it would take a decade or two just to agree on the idea. ironing out the details of an appraisal degree would take another entire generation of appraisers for people to agree to and figure out all those fine details.

now we all know why they just say “get a degree in something”. its so much easier isnt it?

the bleeding continues . . . . .

Perhaps you should outsource that duty?  HA!  This industry has become a joke, with all this outsourcing, automated underwriting, and so on and so forth.  I might just move to underwriting.  The pay is twice that of appraisers on average, and they don’t even have to think.  They just run reports through XML review, and click and go to long list of stips, without ever cracking open the pdf report for actual report review.  XML based underwriting has turned into the biggest ailment for appraisers, as if we thought it could not get worse than amc’s.

When I took the test for certification here in CA, there were 4 other licensed appraisers there to take the same test. All 4 of these other appraisers held a 4 year degree, and were on their 2nd attempt(atleast) to pass the certification test. I don’t know how they did this time around, however, I passed on the first try with flying colors. Sadly, I do not hold a 4 year degree.

Mike, I’ve been reading through your blog and commentary, and I have to admit that I find you very impressive and inspiring.  Take good care of yourself, we need people like you around forever!

Chris, thank you for the volunteered explanation which helps the rest of us to put your views re education into context. If I felt my state’s testing and oversight procedures were flawed, I might feel the  same way.

My state’s tests have been tough from day one and have remained so. I have friends and associates that have had to take upgrade tests up to three times before they passed (oddly enough, everyone of them a college grad).

Some people simply don’t test well. They ‘choke’ during three to four hour morning and then similar time afternoon testing sessions. I DO feel bad for those that fell victims to the state’s own failure to oversee proper testing.

Good luck to you and your nephew.

Chris, having regulations is not the same as enforcing those regulations. THAT has been a problem since FIRREA was created in 1989. If you want a perfect example, look at Dodd Frank. It is the LAW that lenders and amcs MUST PAY C&R fees. Its even spelled out HOW those fees are to be determined. It is also a fact that industry activists / lobbyists or MBA, and AMCs such as REVAA are out there deliberately circumventing C&R.

LACK OF ENFORCEMENT is and always has been the weak link in the chain. I’ve posted where Chase and WAMU USED to be great companies to do work for…before they abandoned their QC requirements. I had WAMU try to push me into an outright falsehood regarding site description and size for over a month before they accepted that I was right and their title data was wrong. I had Chase try to push me into saying a 100% gutted kitchen didn’t disqualify a house from being “habitable”. Chris, we have a lot of problems in our profession. Dealing with them effectively is more important that the ‘window dressing’ of “professionalism” that a degree is supposed to convey. IF a degree is such a guarantee of professionalism, then why do we have so many dishonest attorneys? Accountants?…and of course, Bankers?

Morality & professional integrity is not taught at most colleges. In fact, just the opposite seems to be the lesson. That morality is somehow optional.

Sorry Chris but how do you know that the majority of bad appraisals you reviewed were not done by a college graduate?

Many bad appraisals were occurring years before 2005.  I reviewed thousands of appraisals over many years and I find it to be one of the most ungratifying jobs ever.  I will never review another report in my life.

I was certified many years ago and I thought the process was too easy at the time and by 2009 the feds agreed. There were about 150 appraisers in Ohio who had their certified status taken away because Ohio failed to properly administer it.  Most of these appraisers have either retired or upgraded again. Frankly, I have been too busy ever since to file my experience log and take the test – but I will soon follow through since my nephew wants to become an appraiser under my management.

If we had such meaningful regulation since 1991 why was the appraisal industry so full of very bad appraisers who allowed so many bad loans to happen?  The appraisal industry was a major villain in the collapse of the mortgage industry.  And as I stated until something better is proposed then a college degree is a symbol of professionalism and hard work.

Charter One created a mortgage company and started to buy large quantities of mortgages from around the country. We reviewed rooms full of terrible appraisals and if they did not pass our review the bank did not buy the mortgages.

Bad Countrywide mortgages kept we swamped with hundreds of REO appraisals in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

LOL! No worries we corrected the typo in your name.

Pierce, I wondered about the license level too, BUT he also had a big time gap and maybe he got caught up in state changes related to how recent his experience was. Anyway no hint of disciplinary actions or suspensions reported, so lets assume he’s a “good guy” OK?

Absolutely concur regarding lack of reviews. Primarily field reviews; AND secondarily decent ‘informal visual’ “reviews” by lender staff appraisers that used to generate inquisitive calls about “why”; and also formal desk reviews.

It’s now ‘left up to the AMCs’ who take their walking orders for the lenders and GSEs. IF the “client bank” wont pay for a field review, no AMC is going to do one as a matter of routine. I periodically do QC reviews for a “friendly appraiser owned AMC.” It KILLS me to let some of the stuff ‘pass’ but as they keep reminding me, further review or even educational suggestions to the appraisers is NOT within the QC scope. You’d be AMAZED how cursory it is. I’d sure as heck never do it if it required a signature!