AGA - Appraisers Blogs

Honoring Jan Bellas, Our Greatest Advocate

Desiree Mehbod — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:30:43 +0000

Jan Bellas passed away on July 7, 2026, and those of us in the appraisal profession who knew her are grieving someone who was far more than a colleague. Jan wasn’t an appraiser, yet she carried the weight of our struggles as if they were her own. She understood the pressures, the unfair treatment, the isolation, the frustration, and the constant fight to be heard, and she absorbed all of it. She had a way of making appraisers feel lighter the moment they called her. You could pick up the phone in the middle of a crisis, whether it was...

John Dingeman Reinstated from Chase "Black List" American Guild of Appraisers Member John Dingeman Reinstated from Chase "Black List" NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After…
Round and Round! Round and Round, what comes around goes around & 10 years later it’s happening again. I’m a 43-year-old guy and…
Who Is Really on Your Side? The AGA wants to make that change. Do you? We have all seen the the commercials for Nationwide Insurance and…

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The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Michael Ford — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:30:53 +0000

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending…
How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted At the crossroads of it all is a campaign to weaken or eliminate valuations... The nonprofit is now exploring ways…
AVMs... Garbage In, Garbage Out Garbage data in means garbage results out every time! It's no secret that AVMs have been a thorn in the…

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The Scam of Racial Discrimination by Appraisers

Michael Ford — Wed, 10 May 2023 12:30:40 +0000

More and more appraisers are retiring every day. Aside from that more and more are changing to lower liability careers. Eventually, the opportunists who have been promoting the scam of racial discrimination by appraisers such as career politicians, and ‘anti-discrimination’ software hucksters like Black Knight will be shown to be what they truly are. Recently, a highly respected appraiser who is also a senior designated member of a well-known national professional peer association, wrote an article about a new proposed law in New York ostensibly targeting New York appraisers. Mr. Bagott’s article had an unusual amount of hyperbole within it...

Why is Only One Side of This Story Being Told? There are always two sides to every story; however, understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side, and the…
HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism ...white America (government) keeps trying to 'fix' Black People who are not broken in the first place! We’ve all heard…
Top DEI Bosses Have a Problem - Diversity The ranks of the new DEI bosses at the financial institutions are no more diverse than the appraisers their institutions…

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AMCs Take a Sizable Cut of the Appraisal Fee

Mark Skapinetz — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 12:30:29 +0000

It still proves my point: Appraisal Management Companies take a sizable Cut of the appraisal fee… It was March 28th, 2018 that I wrote my very first blog post entitled “What’s not in your wallet?” where I went into great detail about how Appraisal Management Companies or AMCs get paid and how the consumer is not aware of the fact that the AMC is taking much of the fee while finding the cheapest and fastest appraiser. In that blog post, I gave many examples of the abuse appraisers and consumers are absorbing by these Appraisal Management Companies. How one borrower...

The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
It’s Time to Take Out the Junk: AMC Practices Exposed Appraisers have spent years carrying the weight of broken AMC practices, and this article pulls every one of those practices…

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Proposed Rule to Eliminate C&R Fee Tabled

Mark Skapinetz — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 12:30:33 +0000

Yesterday morning, I attended the Georgia state appraisal board hearing on the proposed rule to eliminate the C&R fee law they have in place. You know, the one that is similar to the one in Dodd-Frank. The Georgia appraisal board apparently is being investigated by the FTC for their law. They thought that the FTC vs the Louisiana case was a ruling in favor of the FTC when in fact it was not, and wanted to avoid any sort of notion that they were price fixing or of anti trust. The board received letters from appraisers and others in the...

Is Georgia Going Rogue? VaCAP has learned the Georgia Real Estate Appraisal Board is considering rescinding rule 539-1-.23. This rule is the customary and…
Is a Horde of Deadbeat Borrowers Again Walking Among Us? There are signs of a new horde of deadbeat borrowers, but the foreclosure filings are being delayed and masked by…
Inflated Prices, Taxed to Death Freddie, Fannie Have Unwittingly Stoked Property Tax Firestorm. Inflated home values, engineered by Fannie and Freddie’s appraisal waivers and algorithmic…

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How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession

Mark Skapinetz — Mon, 16 May 2022 12:30:42 +0000

Anytime the government gets involved in an issue, it tends to have more adverse effects than positive ones. It makes things worse when they only have their plan in mind and NOT the FACTS from the people they are about to hurt. This is especially true in the Real Estate Appraisal profession and the newly introduced H.R. Bill entitled: Fair Appraisal and Inequity Reform Act of 2022. It’s essential to bring some information that not one person in the government or the people they are getting information from is talking about. First let’s step into my time machine and go...

Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…

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Dear ASC: Details… Why They Matter

Mark Skapinetz — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 12:30:09 +0000

DETAILS… NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR BIG NEED TO BE PRESENTED. If not, you failed. ASC, today you failed us all. Over the past several days, the Real Estate Appraisal Industry has been the subject of scrutiny with the release of the PAVE Report that the Interagency Task Force developed on Property Appraisal And Valuation Equity set forth by the Biden Administration. On March 23, 2022, there was a public meeting to unveil the Pave Task Force report on Racial Bias in the Real Estate Appraisal Profession. You can watch the press conference below as well as read the entire...

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
DEAR HUD… What’s Your End Game? Dear HUD, recently, within the past year or so, you have been on a crusade to prove discrimination and racism…
How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession Anytime the government gets involved in an issue, it tends to have more adverse effects than positive ones. It makes…

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NAR and Representation of Appraisers

Guest Author — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:30:19 +0000

As Real Estate Appraisers, we are encountering an assault on our profession from the GSE’s with the hybrid appraisal reports, the rollout of the new desktop product and with appraisal waivers. These junk reports and the waivers continue to undermine the public trust in our industry and leave the appraisers exposed to great risk and the consumers left holding the bag if their mortgage goes south. This impacts not just us, but the Real Estate profession as a whole, because if the public loses trust in the industry, we will all lose, not just the appraisers. As appraisers, we need...

USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…

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Fraud Facilitating Misleading GSE Products

Michael Ford — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 13:30:03 +0000

I can and will decline to do any of these Catch-22 Fraud facilitating misleading products promoted by a GSE… There are many legitimate times and reasons a desktop appraisal may be performed. In every single one of them, it is assignment specific based on the assignment specific needs of the client with a mutually agreed upon scope of work between the client and the appraiser. They also include a scope of work decided upon and explained in the appraiser’s own words. Any relevant extraordinary assumptions and limiting conditions dictated by the nature and use of the assignment are able to...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Fannie Mae Fraud and Abuse Exposed History of waste, fraud & abuse at this rogue organization... Fannie Mae reported this week it had fired more than…
Fannie Wants to Script Conclusions of Outside… Government-sponsored mortgage giant Fannie Mae is essentially forcing banks to repurchase any loan it wants if [the appraiser] refuses to…

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Desktop Appraisals: Has The Devil Infiltrated The Public Trust?

Mark Skapinetz — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 13:30:41 +0000

Are desktop appraisals with third-party inspectors protecting the public, or are these products about to destroy the very profession I love so much. The Uniform Standards Professional of Appraisal Practice (USPAP) are the key to maintaining public trust in real estate transactions. USPAP is pretty much the equivalent to the Bible, but it MUST be followed for appraisers. Created by the Appraisal Foundation, USPAP set forth the guidelines for how appraisers should perform their work. By following these standards, appraisers ensure that they act in a professional and unbiased manner. To expand, even more, USPAP states, “While USPAP does not...

Desktop Appraisals Soon to Be the New Purchase Wrinkle The desktop appraisals are not necessarily more reliable, which could become an adverse issue for appraisers in the future... Appraisers,…
Desktop Appraisals, Panaceas for Faster Reports ...I’ve discovered a potential anomaly in Desktop reports (and Hybrids also) which might shock some appraisers... Desktop Appraisals, Panaceas for…
Train Us and Trust Us The most weighted technique in most automated valuation programs comes down to one over-simplified formula, based on a guesstimation from…

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HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism

Michael Ford — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 13:30:59 +0000

…white America (government) keeps trying to ‘fix’ Black People who are not broken in the first place! We’ve all heard of redlining. No one doubts it existed and MAY still exist, among private lenders. It’s hard to accept major national banking corps would risk it but it IS possible. Having said that, there is ZERO percentage or benefit for any appraiser to engage in it. None. Another appraiser in Los Angeles, who is a great researcher, posted addresses of the properties involved in half a dozen complaints alleging racism by appraisers and so-called ‘white washing’ of the houses producing subsequent...

Racial Bias: Redlining in the Modern Era ...are they behind this modern day redlining?... The broad definition of an algorithm according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is “a…
USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…

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Why Appraisers Say NO to Hybrids

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 12:30:52 +0000

Could this be another reason why so many real estate appraisers refuse to do bifurcated hybrid appraisals? Recently, a Mueller Services ‘inspector’ posted a comment on the article titled “Mueller Sample Report. You Decide!“. Could this be another reason why so many real estate appraisers refuse to do bifurcated hybrid appraisals? It goes without saying that bifurcated hybrid appraisals are uniformly performed by very low paid, with third grade level writing skills, untrained property ‘inspectors’ using a checklist – but with no appraisal training and skill. Tbhiitsch: Ah yes, Ive worked for Mueller services. It’s an easy job kind of,...

Who’s REALLY Completing Hybrids? Who’s REALLY completing bifurcated/hybrid appraisal reports? This essay has been “rattlin’ around my cranium” for a few months from the…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…

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DEAR HUD… What’s Your End Game?

Mark Skapinetz — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 12:30:25 +0000

Dear HUD, recently, within the past year or so, you have been on a crusade to prove discrimination and racism in the appraisal process. Your actions haven’t gone unnoticed by many within the appraisal profession as well as outside it. It’s become clear that you are the go to organization for complaints. Ok. Please read this in its entirety and see my thoughts at the end before making a judgement. The reason I am writing you this letter is for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I am writing this letter to ask you what your TRUE intentions are...

Why is Only One Side of This Story Being Told? There are always two sides to every story; however, understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side, and the…
Racial Bias in Real Estate: Is it the Appraisers’ Fault? In the past year, the appraisal industry has been under attack from various academics who claim “racial bias” on the…
Secret HUD Meeting on 'Appraiser Bias' The exclusion of the appraisal profession from events looking at valuation bias sends the message – intentional or not –…

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Relationships… The Lost Art

Mark Skapinetz — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 12:30:51 +0000

Relationships. It’s a lost art of business when it comes to the appraiser profession… I have been an appraiser since 2003, when I started my career path. Since then, the appraiser profession has gone through many changes, none more impactful than creating the Home Valuation Code of Conduct or HVCC law that was put into effect after the crash. HVCC created the new normal for the profession where Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) were installed as the firewall or third party between the appraiser and the lender. Overnight on May 1st, 2009, appraisers all over the country lost every relationship they...

Reconciling the Erosion Within My Profession The continued reliance of unregulated aggregators and bifurcated products continues to erode the public trust at the expense of discarding…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
Look in the Mirror The phrase “take a look in the mirror” is a common idiom used to encourage self-reflection and introspection. It is…

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Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

Michael Ford — Fri, 28 May 2021 12:30:37 +0000

In virtually every single case of alleged racism to hit the media recently, admitted staged events were in play. One could argue staging was necessary to identify if a valuation difference resulted from perceptions of what race the occupants are. Fair enough. Provided that the staging itself does not alter the value scenarios. Provided that the results are being honestly reported. I’m skeptical. I’ve researched each case as far as can reasonably be done from the information provided. The American Guild of Appraisers has also offered (repeatedly) to conduct thorough reviews of each and every appraisal involved in the reported...

Racial Bias by Appraisers Is Uncommon & Not Systemic Intentional and unintentional racial bias by appraisers on refinance loans is uncommon and not systemic... On January 4, 2021, the…
The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…
Diatribes Against Appraisers What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any…

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Let’s Talk Waivers, Racism, Fees & Trainees

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 19 May 2021 12:30:01 +0000

Frank Garay with National Real Estate Post interviewed Mark Skapinetz on Monday May 17, 2021. They discussed racism, entry into the appraisal field, appraisal fees and appraisal waivers. Frank intends on having Mark back to discuss other issues at hand within the appraisal industry. Kudos to NREP for using their platform to allow boots on the ground appraisers explain the current state of affairs with regards to the appraisal profession. On racism and racial bias allegations, Mark explains What we don’t know is the other side of it. We don’t know the appraiser side of it. We haven’t seen any...

Dear ASC: Details... Why They Matter DETAILS... NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR BIG NEED TO BE PRESENTED. If not, you failed. ASC, today you failed us…
The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…
Promoting False "Racist Appraiser" Narrative Some Lenders promoting false "racist appraiser" narrative to optimize profits via AVMs Like most businesses lenders want to optimize their…

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REDFIN How Dare You!

Michael Ford — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:30:26 +0000

The following Redfin article is exceptionally offensive to everyone in the real estate business and related sectors, who actually know what they are talking about, to people that are not racists, and who are offended at being falsely called racists directly or by inference. Redfin Study: Homes in Black Neighborhoods Are Undervalued by an Average of $46,000 | Redfin Press Center REDFIN executives ought to know better than to permit their name to be associated with such levels of reckless dishonesty, deception, and misinformation. Hopefully, the marketplace will ‘reward’ them appropriately. Pay attention to the statements “after adjusting” for all...

Racial Bias by Appraisers Is Uncommon & Not Systemic Intentional and unintentional racial bias by appraisers on refinance loans is uncommon and not systemic... On January 4, 2021, the…
Security Bars Removal Law Debunks Alleged Racial… Complainant stated appraiser told them they should remove security bars from windows. Complainant stated this is evidence of "racist discrimination"...…
Promoting False "Racist Appraiser" Narrative Some Lenders promoting false "racist appraiser" narrative to optimize profits via AVMs Like most businesses lenders want to optimize their…

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ASC, End the Foolishness Now

Michael Ford — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 13:30:31 +0000

End the constant ‘busy work’ USPAP updates. End the catering to lenders or ‘advisory’ councils. Appraisers are NOT supposed to be any of the things being demanded of us today EXCEPT good appraisers!… Return to a USPAP version (any version) that actually protected the Public Trust. That would be any version PRIOR to the revision of the terms appraisers and appraisals to “valuation & evaluators” (a term used only or at least primarily by the accounting profession historically). Dissolve The Appraisal Foundation (TAF). They effectively achieved the congressional objective mandated in ’89 long ago. Everything since has been the administrative...

Professional Opinions Can Never Be Replaced Professional OPINIONS have value that can never, repeat NEVER be replaced by automation... Earlier this week, George Dell's article titled…
TAF / ASB Challenge USPAP 30 days after implementation of the last changes, ASB/TAF is already admitting they think the current USPAP is inadequate and…
TAF Counting on Appraisers to Foot the Bill From October 30, 2020 TAFAC meeting, TAF president Dave Bunton said: “Earlier this week the Foundation notified the ASC that…

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Jan Bellas Needs Our Help

Mark Skapinetz — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 13:30:59 +0000

As most are well aware Jan Bellas is a very important executive member of the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA). She works tirelessly for our members to help get them the results they need without a great deal of compensation for her efforts. Recently Jan suffered the loss of her husband due to COVID and cancer. With that loss, comes the financial burden associated with it as well as having to take time off from performing her duties at the AGA for all members. I am starting this fundraiser in the hopes that we all can give back and help...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
First the Borrower Fee. Now the Appraiser… Two lawsuits place Class Valuation’s fee transparency and staff-appraiser compensation practices under federal scrutiny. Most appraisal disputes examine only one…
Honoring Jan Bellas, Our Greatest Advocate Jan Bellas passed away on July 7, 2026, and those of us in the appraisal profession who knew her are…

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Professional Opinions Can Never Be Replaced

Michael Ford — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 12:30:13 +0000

Professional OPINIONS have value that can never, repeat NEVER be replaced by automation… Earlier this week, George Dell‘s article titled “Why is Residential Appraisal in Trouble?” was published on AppraisersBlogs. Respectfully, George misses or misinterprets a few items. There has been zero evidence that an AVM produces credible approximations of MARKET VALUE consistently or with even an acceptable degree of variance. None. Like George indicates, an AVM is NOT an appraisal. By definition, it is not an appraisal. FIRREA required appraisal standards; NOT banking industry and TAF proposed alternatives. TAF is very far out of line giving AVMs any imprimatur...

The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
County Assessors' Standards | AVM Final Rule Guidance County Assessors have the advantage of being able to calibrate their models specifically for one market, allowing for a more…

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AGA - Appraisers Blogs

Honoring Jan Bellas, Our Greatest Advocate

Related Posts:

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

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The Scam of Racial Discrimination by Appraisers

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AMCs Take a Sizable Cut of the Appraisal Fee

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Proposed Rule to Eliminate C&R Fee Tabled

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How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession

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Dear ASC: Details… Why They Matter

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NAR and Representation of Appraisers

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Fraud Facilitating Misleading GSE Products

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Desktop Appraisals: Has The Devil Infiltrated The Public Trust?

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HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism

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Why Appraisers Say NO to Hybrids

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DEAR HUD… What’s Your End Game?

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Relationships… The Lost Art

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Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

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Let’s Talk Waivers, Racism, Fees & Trainees

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REDFIN How Dare You!

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ASC, End the Foolishness Now

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Jan Bellas Needs Our Help

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Professional Opinions Can Never Be Replaced

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