Category: AMC

Appraisers Wronged Again & Defrauded by Clarocity Now Called Zaio 10

Clarocity Now Called Zaio Rips Off Appraisers

Clarocity changed back to Zaio…screwing over every outstanding appraiser payment… Last week VaCAP shared information on Clarocity Corporation and how the main investor StableView Assets was seizing the shares and foreclosing on the working assets, which includes Clarocity Valuation Services. StableView in turn had an agreement to sell Clarocity Valuation Services to iLOOKABOUT. We warned to proceed with caution or do not proceed at all. We described the situation as a “soap opera.” We continue to monitor them and have learned many things. We debated on sharing this information with everyone, however we feel obligated to keep our members informed. First of concern...

What Will Happen to Clarocity Valuation Services? Clarocity Soap Opera 34

Clarocity Soap Opera

…so what will happen to Clarocity Valuation Services? VaCAP has been following the Clarocity Corporation Soap Opera since one of our members had trouble getting paid from them back in November of 2017. After doing a bit more research on them, we issued a warning to our members in December 2017 to pay attention as Clarocity was in financial trouble. We kept watching and alerted our members that many of the AppraiserLoft Executives were now at Clarocity. We shared Clarocity was borrowing money at a bought down rate of 24% and repaying in stock shares in lieu of cash; all...

Jan Bellas of AGA Breaches Solidifi's Intransigence. Thank You SOLIDIFI 8

Thank you SOLIDIFI

Jan Bellas breached their past wall of intransigence… Thank you SOLIDIFI Wow. That was more painful than I thought it would be. It’s no secret that I have been an extreme critic of Solidifi in the past. It’s also possible I will be so again in the future. I have not ‘sold out’ or traded my integrity or standards. What happened is that Jan Bellas of the American Guild of Appraisers, V.P. of Member Services has with great effort (and very little suggestion) breached their past wall of intransigence. With Solidifi’s Sr. Executives (Mr. “P” in particular) the very first...

Price-Fixing, Who's Shocked? CoesterVMS Wrap-Up, Free FNMA/Freddie 9

Price-Fixing, Who’s Shocked?

…criminal investigation into price-fixing… The State of Pennsylvania has filed a class action law suit against some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the country. The claim is these companies conspired to fix the prices on almost $500 billion in bonds issued by Fannie and Freddie over a mere 5 year period from 2009-2014. The named defendants are: Bank of America – Barclays Capital – BNP Paribas – Citigroup – Credit Suisse – Deutsche Bank & Deutsche Bank Securities – First Tennessee Bank & FTN Financial Securities – Goldman Sachs – JP  Morgan Chase – Merrill Lynch –...

Loan Officer' Letter Instructing Borrower to Push Appraiser for Value 38

A Little Push Can’t Hurt Right? Wrong!!

…forget the risky position foisted on the consumer by the loan officer… Well, here we go again. In my previous blog posts titled “Round and Round” and “Pressure My Story”, I spoke to examples of how lenders and/or AMCs have been pushing and pressuring appraisers to hit certain values on transactions. If an appraiser did not hit these numbers, or make changes to make the transaction work in the lender’s favor, the appraiser would be threatened with non-payment, removal from appraiser panels, and/or blacklisted. If you haven’t read those blog posts, feel free to go back and have a look....

Another Huckster Enters the Appraisal Arena 20

Another Huckster Enters the Appraisal Arena

Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. It’s that time again! Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. Apparently motivated by pure altruism. We identified a need in the marketplace to address a common problem that lenders are regularly challenged with in providing accurate appraisal quotes and then ensuring pricing on the Loan Estimate is consistent and compliant,” stated Vladimir Bien-Aime, president and CEO at Global DMS. (I LOVE this guy, he writes like me!) Global DMS Launches SnapVal to Provide Instant, Accurate, Guaranteed...

USPAP or Not Mueller REO report 36

Mueller REO Hybrid Appraisal Report

Another Mueller Report has surfaced. The report is a Mueller REO Hybrid Appraisal Report and it was given to an appraiser as a sample. This one raises more questions than the last one! The photos from the property inspection do not tell the appraiser one thing. The photos are dark and the repairs the inspector states are needed, simply are not seen in the photos. It begs the question, does the appraiser have adequate information to complete a credible appraisal? Now take a look at the Mueller REO Hybrid Appraisal report. Pull up the report and follow along. Some things have...

The Truth is Hybrid Hucksters Don't Hire Professionals! 8

The Truth is They Don’t Hire Professionals!

Hybrid hucksters always argue “Why can’t trained professionals like brokers or insurance inspectors” perform the appraiser’s field inspection. The answer is because ‘trained professionals’ like those noted don’t work for $25 an inspection; are unwilling to give up their day jobs for a chance at a single $25 inspection one or two days a week, AND if they are truly trained professionals, to begin with, they are unwilling to work for part-time income of $0 to $25 a day in vain hope of having a periodic 8 or 16 inspection day (assumes all 16 are side by side since there’d...

$599 Appraisal Waiver to Save the Borrower Money? - Appraisers Blogs 16

$599 Waiver to Save the Borrower Money?

The consumer is being fed yet another lie! Remember when we heard an appraisal waiver will save the borrower money? Do you recall all those videos from loan officers and mortgage companies encouraging borrowers to obtain an appraisal waiver to save them money? News flash – they lied! But you already knew that. Well, fellow appraiser and blogger Krystal Schware of Paragon Appraisal Services has a story for you: “The Danger of Saying Yes to an Appraisal Waiver”. “For only $599, we will grant you an appraisal waiver to help you avoid having an appraisal that ‘comes in short’.” **...

Cyber Threats Are Real Risks to Appraisal Firms. Corelogic's Data Hacked 17

Cyber Attacks on Corelogic

Recent Cyber Attacks on CoreLogic and a Large Appraisal Firm Expose a Real Business Risk to Valuation Firms and Companies. As two recent attacks show, cyber crimes pose a real risk – legally and economically – to appraisal firms, management companies and other businesses involved in property analytics. If an operation like CoreLogic can be victimized by criminal hackers seeking property information, as it was in an attack earlier this month, any valuation firm or property analytics company is at risk. And, more seriously, the losses suffered by an appraisal firm in the separate cyber attack discussed below demonstrate how...

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