Appraiser must be comfortable valuing a property in 5-15 minutes using pictures… Fast, Faster and Really Fast… Take a look at the ad for an in-house appraiser in the Atlanta area. How many of your are good enough to apply for this job? Job description We are looking for Real Estate Appraisers (licensed in GA) to work remotely on an independent contractor basis.. Appraiser will primarily be responsible for valuing properties which are on foreclosure list. Appraiser must be comfortable valuing a property in 5-15 minutes using pictures from field report. The ideal candidate will have experience with valuing distressed...
Have Appraiser Loft executives screwed over appraisers again? VaCAP has been tipped off that the investors at Clarocity have uncovered some truly unbelievable facts within Clarocity Corporation. VaCAP was aware many of the Appraiser Loft Executives had landed at Clarocity and had previously shared this information with advise to be careful. According to comments on the Investor Bull Board, Clarocity has pulled off an Appraiser Loft like scam on appraisers and investors. Take a look for yourself here. By the way yesterday, Columbus Day 2018 was the 7 year anniversary of the Appraiser Loft heist! See the HousingWire article here. Clarocity is...
The AMC model does not work & these companies are in serious financial trouble… Stand Your Ground: A few weeks ago VaCAP reminded everyone to pay attention to the financial and economic side of your business. The article was titled “Stand Your Ground”. Since that time, we have learned of the following: A VaCAP member shared a retro desktop appraisal request in a rural area. The AMC was paying $75. An appraiser posted on AppraisersBlogs’ repost of our article about being owed thousands of dollars by the same company. See the comment here. Also take a look at the stock...
I doubt that appraisers would be as excited if a cap were placed on appraisers… Recently, I noticed many appraisers were excited about a new bill that was introduced in Virginia. This bill initially sounded favorable to me, but as I examined it more closely, I quickly became concerned with the excitement that was building up around it in the appraiser community. Laws in general are typically difficult to understand, and they can look better at first glance than they actually are. It is important for us to analyze new laws carefully before we advocate for them. Senate Bill 655...
Property inspectors suing ServiceLink to obtain minimum wage… Peter Christensen wrote another article on LinkedIn about wages being paid by lenders and AMCs. This one should get your attention as it is from Independent Contractors suing an AMC. This will set a precedent and start a chain reaction. In a nut shell, property inspectors are suing ServiceLink for work performed to obtain minimum wage. Yes, you read that correctly, minimum wage. According to the article, property inspectors receive between $3 and $5 for each assignment. The article does not specify the specific service the property inspectors perform, but think bifurcated or...
Why does a hybrid appraisal work better? What are the benefits? Who benefits? Who pays? A hybrid appraisal, as it has been proposed, separates the field work from the desk work. The assumption is that an appraiser is good at filling out the forms, while another “cheaper faster” person can do the property inspection. Also, we presume that the client would be the one to select the field inspector. For this post, we also assume that the property inspector is a real estate agent. This is the third post considering “hybrid appraisal”. I had intended it to be no more...
Appraiser Overtime Lawsuits Continue to Hit Banks and AMCs – and Now Commercial Appraisers Against a National Commercial Appraisal Firm In May, I wrote a short piece (posted here) about the legal threat posed to AMCs, appraisal firms and other employers of appraisers in relation to classification of appraisers as exempt from overtime. I included a warning that the threat was spreading to commercial firms. It’s time for an update. In August, another bank – U.S. Bank – was sued for unpaid overtime by a potential class of appraisers. Also named as a defendant to the class action is U.S....
Solidifi User Agreement… all Indemnity Clauses are not created equal… This is a response to the article that Dave Towne wrote regarding Indemnity Clauses and that they are common in today’s world and appraisers better get used to it. It is also true that all Indemnity Clauses are not created equal and the devil is in the details. This topic came up because of the agreement that Solidifi requires that all appraisers that receive assignments from them must agree to. Let’s delve into the Indemnity Clause which is in that agreement. First the agreement is between Solidifi and the appraiser...
Many states have laws in place that allow citizens to protect themselves and their property without prosecution. In the appraisal profession, you must also stand your ground to protect their business. Social Media is a quick and easy way to communicate. Recently there have been numerous appraisers reaching out and sharing trouble getting paid from some Appraisal Management Companies. Some are claiming they are long time clients with no issues in the past. This is wake up call for all appraisers to pay attention to the economic and financial side of your business. Volume is slowing as school starts and the...
It’s been an interesting ride down the fearfulness side of many appraisers since last week’s essay I wrote about Indemnity Clauses. But I’ve also received praise from some of the best well-known people in this industry who understood the position I took, and complemented me for presenting the info. That means far more than the diatribes I get from folks who shake in their boots and don’t bother to fully read what is presented. As I wrote to someone last week, what I should have included in my essay, and will do so now is that if you can’t (or...
