Brian L. Trotier - Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Greed Takeover Coming Soon

Brian L. Trotrier — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 12:30:03 +0000

Basic greed and institutional memory I am amazed how many times in my lifetime I have seen the past repeat itself. Beginning in the 1970’s, I have witnessed one form of financial meltdown after another, each occurring almost precisely 10 years after the last. I once had a wonderful professor who explained that the seemingly inevitable repetition of the past was based on numerous, very different factors, but with two factors appearing in virtually every case. The two “alpha” factors are (1) basic greed and (2) institutional memory. Basic greed is when one group of people is willing to compromise...

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Why Would You Jeopardize Everything?

Brian L. Trotrier — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 12:30:08 +0000

AMC email solicitation asking appraisers to perform “Interior Properties Inspections” for $25-$30 Let me admit to one very important fact… I am old. At least I assume I am since I am over 60. In any event, much of what I know about the cyclical nature of real estate is not based on any scholarly papers I have researched and presented, but rather it is due to the fact that in my professional career I have seen four different downturns in real estate and from that I have gained what is known as real world experience. In other words, I...

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Observations of a Review Appraiser

Brian L. Trotrier — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 12:30:28 +0000

Adjustments appeared to come from some List or Automated… Recently I had the opportunity to work on a Class Action case. The case settled, and there are confidentiality agreements for both sides, so I cannot reveal any details. I will summarize the allegations and findings, as well as the scope of work performed. I should say also that before being hired, I was interviewed, and vetted. Every reference provided, was contacted, as well as a records check and background check. What they were looking for was a combination of a clean reputation for being unbiased, as well as depth of...

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Update on Llano’s Lawsuits Against Appraisers

Brian L. Trotrier — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:30:17 +0000

And the house came a tumbling down… case update… Most of you already know the background on Llano and its wave of appraiser litigation. So we won’t spend a lot of time repeating past details here. Let’s just say that karma appears to be alive and well in 2016. For those of you who are not aware of what Llano has been doing, we’d recommend you go to www.frea.com and search past blog posts for information on Heritage Pacific, Savant Claims Management, Llano, and the Ganter brothers. It won’t take time for you to get up to speed. Here are...

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Appraiser Engaged in Mortgage Fraud Remains Licensed with BREA

Brian L. Trotrier — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 13:30:31 +0000

…BREA thinks it is acceptable to let an appraiser who engaged in mortgage fraud remain licensed… The Inmates Must Be In Charge of This Asylum The California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers is sadly yet another example of a state agency that does not really understand what the taxpayers expect of it. The taxpayers probably assume the agency in charge of licensing appraisers in California would certainly not renew the license of an appraiser who not only is indicted in a multiparty, multi-million dollar mortgage fraud case, but actually pled guilty to at least one count of the crime. Unfortunately,...

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The Beginning of the End for Llano

Brian L. Trotrier — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:30:40 +0000

Llano on the losing end… We are happy to report that the walls are slowly tumbling down on Llano Financing and the Ganter brothers (Chris & Ben). If we sound biased it’s only because we are. When any entity like Llano is on the losing end of close to 100% of the cases in both state and federal court, it becomes very clear quickly to both the judiciary and the general public that something fishy is going on. Since our last update, here are some new pieces of information we have uncovered. We think you will find this very interesting...

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Ganter Brothers Versus Appraisers

Brian L. Trotrier — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:30:57 +0000

It’s been a few months since we issued our last update on our friends (and yours) the Ganter brothers (Chris and Ben). The Ganters have suffered what for most people would be a series of embarrassing setbacks in their blatant attempts to use the legal system to pressure appraisers and/or their E&O carriers into paying off what we view as frivolous claims to save the cost of litigating the underlying dispute. For those of you who are reading this for the first time, we have issued two other alerts about this in the past 18 months. Links to the earlier...

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Help I Got a Subpoena!

Brian L. Trotrier — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 12:30:26 +0000

If you are in business long enough, you will get subpoenaed by someone involved in a dispute that may not even involve you. A subpoena is technically a court order compelling you to appear and testify or to produce records or both. If you are actually involved in the dispute as the plaintiff or defendant, your duty to comply with the subpoena is generally very clear and mandatory. However, when you are not the plaintiff or defendant, complying blindly with a subpoena without asking any questions may not be in your best interest. As a non-party, a subpoena may be...

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Laxer Restrictions? Not Again!

Brian L. Trotrier — Fri, 29 May 2015 12:30:40 +0000

Skinning appraisers alive and blaming them for everything except the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa and now pushing for looser restrictions! With the overall economy improving and with unemployment dropping back to more manageable levels, it was only a matter of time before the residential real estate industry (builders, bankers, mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Wall Street) and its lobbying groups and trade associations popped up and asked for Congress and federal regulators to reduce or end many of the restrictions placed on the industry after it gorged itself on the U.S. economy and left the table with only...

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Mortgage Lending a Lot Like Musical Chairs

Brian L. Trotrier — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:30:47 +0000

Mortgage Lending – Déjà Vu…All Over Again Philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. In light of recent actions in the mortgage lending industry, we all may be able to experience the thrill ride of 2007-2009 all over again…soon. You may wonder what actions I am referring to so let me share a brief list of what I will call the top ten contributing factors to the downturn I see happening by July of 2017. By 2017 it will have been 10 years since the start of the last collapse in the...

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Down the Rabbit Hole with the Form 1004MC

Brian L. Trotrier — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:30:59 +0000

OK, I admit it. I am old school. I still think you need to understand how to do something manually before you throw caution to the wind and buy into new technology to replace a good, old-fashioned, hands-on process that has worked fine for years. I honestly believe the use of technology without a complete understanding of how to do the basic process manually just lets us make more frequent and more complicated mistakes faster. In other words, if you can’t drive a Chevy Nova very well, don’t buy a Maserati Ghibli and expect it to fix your driving problems....

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Are the Inmates in Charge of this Asylum?

Brian L. Trotrier — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:30:05 +0000

What really caused the real estate market to collapse? While much has been written about the multitude of complex reasons behind the collapse of the real estate market in 2007, it is the opinion of this writer that there is one primary reason for the collapse. Simply stated, banks loaned money to borrowers who lacked the ability to pay back the loan. That’s it, pure and simple. If you loan money to someone who has no resources to pay back your loan, you will lose money almost every time and it matters very little if you have any collateral for...

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Court of Appeal New Ruling on Appraisal Fraud

Brian L. Trotrier — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 12:30:03 +0000

New Ruling on Appraisal Fraud by California Court of Appeal On May 23, 2014, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, State of California, issued a very interesting decision on whether a plaintiff can successfully plead and argue fraud based on comments made about the concluded value of real estate that was appraised. The case is Graham V. Bank of America, N.A., et al. Although this ruling is unquestionably useful for an appraiser being accused of appraisal fraud, it probably is not the magic elixir many will proclaim it to be. This is because the appraiser...

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PADS – Appraisers Running for Exits

Brian L. Trotrier — Thu, 22 May 2014 12:30:20 +0000

We urge appraisers to review the PADS Model Current economic trends suggest your appraisal practice will not survive beyond 2015. Appraisers are running for the exits, with many moving into Ad Valorem, and some into cost estimating. Client accounts you thought were safe have been converted to ether and dispersed among a dark refinancing void. You’ve gone from completing six appraisals per week to camping by your email, in hopes of an AMC broadcast assignment appearing. Where you once had time to think about accepting the assignment, you now have less than 2 seconds to accept, because like you, ninety...

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Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

Brian L. Trotrier — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:30:10 +0000

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

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Blacklist: Appraisers Judged by Computers

Brian L. Trotrier — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:30:55 +0000

Blacklist of Appraisers – the End Is/Must Be Near: Advancements in the Art of Blacklisting If you are a real estate professional, please read this, especially if you fear your own business is being damaged by all of the new regulations designed to “help” the real estate industry recover. Imagine you, a hardworking, law abiding taxpayer, are sitting at home one evening watching television when there is a knock at your door. Somewhat surprised by the late hour of the visit, you get up and open the door and three IRS agents barge into your home and declare, “We are...

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Big Banks Blacklisting Appraiser

Brian L. Trotrier — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:30:24 +0000

Both Fannie and Freddie will now have their own blacklists and if you think getting off a bank’s blacklist is tough, you have no idea what you will have to do to get off one of their lists.

As one industry expert observed, “if you get on the do not use list for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you’d better find another job because your days of being an appraiser just ended.”

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Blacklisted? How to Get Reinstated

Brian L. Trotrier — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:30:41 +0000

There is a high cost of being blacklisted. When a lending institution loses confidence in an appraiser’s work, the bank or AMC will put them on a “do not use” list, also known as a blacklist. In some cases, this means an appraiser has made a costly mistake. However, some banks are taking blacklisting to an extreme by treating appraisers as guilty until proven innocent without cause or reason why. If unchallenged, this practice can be devastating because being blacklisted even once can have permanent detrimental effects on an appraiser’s career, income, and reputation. By engaging in blacklisting lenders are...

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Difference Between an Employee, a Subcontractor, & an Independent Contractor

Brian L. Trotrier — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:30:29 +0000

What is the Difference Between an Employee, a Subcontractor, and an Independent Contractor? In helping real estate professionals find the right professional liability (E&O) insurance policy, one of the most common issues we come across is whether someone you hire to help with your intermittent workload is an employee, a subcontractor, or an independent contractor. The IRS perspective vs. the insurance perspective This is often confusing because what you intended to do may not be what you actually end up doing. There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost is the fact the IRS will view this...

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What You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You

Brian L. Trotrier — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:30:43 +0000

Does this sound familiar? If so, I hope it’s because you watch a lot of shows like Law & Oder on television and not for any other reason. If this doesn’t sound familiar, it is one part of the Miranda warning police must give to criminal suspects before questioning them. How does that apply to you? Well, it can have equally negative consequences in a civil case (insurance claim) also. To see if you need to read any further, take this short quiz. If you answer “yes” to any one of these questions, you’d better read it all. Do you...

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