Category: AMC

Clarocity May Have Gone Dark.... Have AMCs Gone Dark? 34

Have AMCs Gone Dark?

Clarocity May Have Gone Dark… VaCAP has learned from one of our members the Appraisal Management Company, Clarocity Valuation Services, may have gone dark. The VaCAP member has invoices for their services over 30 days old and Clarocity has been unresponsive to numerous emails and phone calls over the past several weeks. Additionally, new orders are being assigned through their portal, Appraisal Scope. Virginia passed a 30 day prompt payment law that went into effect July 1, 2017. The statute is very clear that an AMC must pay an appraiser within 30 days from the initial delivery of the report....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

Third Party Services Prohibited - Prohibition is Back! 24

Prohibition is Back!

AMC strictly prohibits the use of third party services. A recent review of an engagement letter from a large national appraisal management company revealed something pretty peculiar… “An appraiser is prohibited from using any third party services.“ Wait, What? No third party services? I am no attorney, and certainly do not know all the aspects of law, but it seems that the definition of third party services is pretty self-explanatory. To be sure I am not mistaken; I researched the definition of third party. FreeDictionary.com: “A person who is not a party to a contract or a transaction, but has...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Who doesn't like a good BRAWL 4

Who doesn’t like a good BRAWL?

So who doesn’t like a good BRAWL? Brokers Rallying Against Whole-Tail Lenders (BRAWL) is a network of independent mortgage brokers who have joined together against unethical practices by wholesale lenders. The group has created the term “Whole-tail”, a combination of wholesale and retail for those lenders who close both wholesale and retail mortgages. The group claims that some bad wholesale lenders are using the brokers to obtain client information to solicit clients directly through the lenders own retail divisions and affiliates. “Mortgage brokers are beyond tired of various wholesale lenders acting like they’re on our team, when they’re actually just...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

Subject Inspection for Hybrid Appraisals & USPAP Compliance 62

USPAP Compliance & Hybrid Appraisals

WHO does the SUBJECT INSPECTION? Appraisers, Some appraisers have questioned the name ‘Hybrid Appraisal’ because the requesting client WON’T USE THAT NAME for the product. When they call or email you, they’ll say something like “We have a really fast appraisal for you to do that you can do on your desktop without leaving your office.”, or “Can you do an exterior appraisal for us?” or they might identify it by the ‘name’ that client uses for the product. The FIRST question you need to ask is simple: WHO does the SUBJECT INSPECTION? If they say ‘someone else does that’…...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models

Reliable Is the Ugly Lie of Hybrid Appraisals Scope of Work 11

Lies, Damn Lies and More Lies

These so-called accurate and ‘reliable’ data sources are factually wrong… I was reading the Scope of Work contained in a sample Hybrid Appraisal, one of now dozens being promoted by multiple AMC’s, lenders, software developers, etc., which seem to be sweeping the secondary lending arena these days. It says… Identified and verified subject characteristics from a reliable data source such as MLS, County/City records, GIS, and online data sources. – Researched comparable sales and listings from reliable data source such as MLS, County/City records, etc.” “Reliable” is the ugly lie and supposed truth promoted by very naive or unaware people...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

Palm Beach AMC Solicitation Blast & Appraiser's Response 16

Appraiser’s Response to Palm Beach AMC

Palm Beach AMC, thank you for your blind/bulk solicitation. Just out of curiosity, why do you think I would share that kind of personal & confidential professional information with a firm I never heard of? I don’t even know what kind of fee schedule you are used to paying? You offer no references of any kind, yet you expect I will extend credit to you for thirty days? Without exception, THAT means that you will use MY fee to pay YOUR overhead for thirty days before you even consider sending MY fee to me. Firms that do not segregate appraiser...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Greedy Players Engaged in Illegal Activities, Lie-Ability & Tax Payers 30

Lie – Ability

Tax payers should not be LIE-ABLE for the actions of greedy bad players! Michael Simmons, Principal and founding Director of AXIS Appraisal Management Solutions, a national AMC had an article published in Appraisal Buzz titled  “What If?” on October 2, 2017. The article, which I believe was intended to spark interest and membership in the Collateral Risk Network (CRN), is an epic failure. Thank you Appraisal Buzz for shedding some light on the garbage being discussed at a CRN meeting! Of course no independent appraiser even remotely gives any credibility to this group. We all know who and what they are. First, let...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter

Hybrid Appraisals Survey Results 26

Hybrid Appraisals Survey Results

Appraisers, about 1.5 weeks ago, I asked Washington State appraisers to respond to a survey I designed, having to do with HYBRID appraisals. The tabulated results of that survey are displayed below in the embedded PDF, with ‘quick’ responses below. Of the surveys distributed to nearly 400 appraisers, the response was better than other types of market surveys, meaning the results are statistically acceptable… and could be transferred ‘by inference’ to the appraiser population across the US. A HYBRID appraisal is a ‘desktop assignment’ where the subject property inspection and photos is done by a non-appraiser, and that info/data is turned...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Reviewer Following AMC Instructions May Be Violating State Laws 42

Knowledge is Everything

Conversation with an AMC Reviewer The following was sent to VaCAP from a member. We thought it was important to share as it demonstrates how important it is for each appraiser to be knowledgeable of the statutes and regulations we all must follow. It may help make your interactions go a little more smoothly. “I completed an appraisal for a purchase transaction in a rural area and the opinion of value was below the contract price. The report included five comparable sales, three of which were within 2 miles and had equivalent gross living area. The other two sales were...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

Site Size Correction Notices From AMC Amateurs 12

Site Size Correction Notices

AMC’s who demand you change site size in reports are amateurs… Appraisers, Yesterday, an appraiser ‘pen pal’ sent me the query below, asking what I would do. My response follows. I admit to having a very low tolerance level for stupidity and demands from others who don’t possess all the facts, and most often are not appraisers. The query: “Over the past year with more AMCs going to automated checker software, I have been getting “correction notices” about the site size I reported, almost for every report. So, I changed how I did it so it would stop coming back, but...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

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