Author: Jonathan Miller

Just say NO to Superfluous AMC Addenda Requests 30

Appraiserville – Just say NO

…Multiple Wall Street and other large financial institutions have approached my firm this year after they neutered their AMC vendors, requiring that they use our firm for high-end work. We are to be paid our fee and allowed to provide our reasonable turn times. I was told many horror stories by those institutions who came to realize we are not robots, nor are we widgets. By taking this step, they invested in risk management. However, their initial stream of new business was met with 3-4 addendum requests per assignment that had nothing to do with any requirements, repeated prior requests...

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Appraiserville – Fake Claim of An Appraisal Shortage 65

Appraiserville – Fake Claim of An Appraisal Shortage

Please provide feedback immediately to “two banking institutions have requested that the Appraisal Subcommittee temporarily waive the requirement for use of state licensed or certified appraisers” based on the fake claim of an appraisal shortage. I wrote about Tristar Bank in Appraiserville a few weeks ago. It is worth re-visiting since I translate the Tristar request into my interpretation of what they are really saying. It is recommended to send your responses ASAP to webmaster@asc.gov rather than to Jim Park directly although either way is fine. The Appraisal Foundation will be responding to this issue. Here is an email I just received on this issue:...

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AMC management fees exceeding the appraiser’s fee more frequently 40

AMC Fees Exceeding Appraiser’s Fee

AMC management fees exceeding the appraiser’s fee more frequently Over the past year, the AMC industry growth model – taken from the backs of residential appraisers – has been broken by a growing number of residential appraisers that won’t accept fees below the custom & reasonable rate. So in order for AMCs to grow revenue, appraisers are seeing their fees surpassed by the AMCs themselves. In other words, hiring the valuation expert – the whole point of getting an appraisal to begin with – to make less than the company that manages them. We hear the GSEs and lending industry...

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Coester - We Pay the Least & Get the Least Qualified Appraisers 20

We Pay the Least & Get the Least Qualified Appraisers

In 2013, Brian Coester of the Coester VMS AMC tweets “we pay the least and get the least qualified appraisers.” The graphic below was sent to me so I looked for it on twitter and the conversation is still there. A long dormant appraiser twitter account @insidevalues engaged in a conversation with AMC founder Brian Coester back in 2013. Brian responded 4 days after the question and then explained the “elite gold club” set up where appraisers would get more volume at a lower price point. I kept trying to apply sarcasm to Brian’s (he has blocked me even though I don’t recall ever engaging...

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No Appraiser Shortgage 0

Appraiserville – There Is No Appraisal Shortage

Appraiserville – A webinar and charts to end any doubt – there is no appraisal shortage. Several months ago, Housingwire hosted a controversial webinar that seemed to represent all that was wrong with the perception of appraisers and the patently false “appraiser shortage” narrative that was being pushed out by REVAA and AMCs across all mortgage related publications. Even the Appraisal Institute – long known for the reputation of being dismissive of its residential membership – talks about the shortage after forming their fact finding committee to address how to better represent residential appraisers in the organizations. Read more »

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Public Relations Firms 0

Appraiserville – We Need Public Relations Firm

The real estate appraiser industry needs a public relations firm. We have no advocates or if we do, they aren’t getting the job done. There was a very one-sided Bloomberg Businessweek article that predicted the real estate industry would be gone in 5 years. I like the author and have followed his writings since he was at WSJ. But like the Housingwire piece discussed here a few weeks ago, the story is being told in a one-sided way and the author needs an to understand the nuance. Interview a slew of companies that have everything to gain from removing appraisers...

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Corelogic Takes The Zillow Approach 0

Corelogic Takes The Zillow Approach

Appraiserville – FTC and Corelogic characterize the appraisal industry not as it actually is. Apparently, we learned that big data can tell you what the best color of paint is for maximum value of your bathroom – even if you believe that, it cannot tell you that the house was occupied by 200 cats. I was taken aback by the self-serving press release from Corelogic that basically said appraisals are questionable and automated valuations are better. That makes sense coming from a data firm with their own AVMs. The article lists a series of data that question the credibility of comp selection...

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