Category: Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

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....

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

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...

ACI / AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

Who Is Responsible for Appraisers' Payments? Planet of Deadbeat AMCs! 34

Planet of Deadbeat AMCs!

So who is really responsible for payments to appraisers?… Where to start with this? Do I have to refer you back to my past articles like What’s Not in Your Wallet or Appraisers Outraged? Where do we even begin… We begin here. Another story of an Appraisal Management Company going out of business, owing tons of money to appraisers for services they provided. Coester VMS, once one of the biggest players in the game, closed its doors recently. They closed them leaving appraisers with thousands of unpaid invoices for services that who knows if they will ever be paid for....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Coester VMS

Outraged Appraisers Owed Money! End The Appraiser Payment Issue! 30

Outraged Appraisers Owed Money by AMCs!

“I am owed $20,000”. “I am owed $2000”. “I am owed $500”. “I am owed $1500”. These are just some of the quotes pulled from various groups, message boards and forums from appraisers all over the country that are owed money for the appraisal services they provided. Services they provided for a Lender, Mortgage Company or Bank through an Appraisal Management Company or AMC as they are known. What’s an Appraisal Management Company you ask? Well for those that do not know, AMCs have been around a long time. Appraisal management companies (AMCs) are business entities that administer networks of independent...

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

The Proposed Bifurcation of the Appraisal Process. Who Benefits & Why? 15

Shifting Narrative of Appraisal Modernization

…the reasoning for changing the appraisal process has shifted… Is there are Crisis? Rahm Emanuel eloquently stated “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” There has been a narrative that there is a shortage of appraisers. Interestingly, this is not coming from lenders that engage appraisers directly. This is coming from Appraisal Management Companies otherwise known as “Middlemen” and the lenders that employ the Middlemen. These Middlemen will shop an appraisal assignment by blast emails to as many appraisers...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Technology

AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal - It is Time to Call out the Liars 40

AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal

We object to the proposal to increase the de minimis threshold at which no appraisal is required… Sirs: The American Guild of Appraisers (AGA), of the Office Professional Employees International Union (#44 OPEIU) of the AFL-CIO represents the members and extended family and retirees, taxpayer and consumer real estate appraisal interests of nearly Twelve and a half million citizens and voters. We object to the proposal to increase the de minimis threshold at which no appraisal is required from $250,000 to $400,000. Respectfully, if anything is done with it at all, lowering it to a range not to exceed $100,000...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

Quoting Fee/TT to AMCs - Lenders SLOWING DOWN the Loan Process 30

Quoting Fee/TT to AMCs

Appraisers, I had a revealing conversation with a clerk at an AMC last week. I actually received an email requesting Fee/TT, then awhile later a phone call about the same property, from a different clerk. I decided to call that clerk back after researching the property. Conversation went something like this: AMC clerk: Hi, this is James. Me: Hi James, I’m calling about the Timbucktoo property, which I can do for you. AMC: OK, I have that pulled up. Me: First of all, I don’t discount my fee for anyone, including your AMC. Second, I can do the assignment, probably...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees

Closed for Business, Sorry Folks! Appraisal Management Company Fiasco 62

Closed for Business, Sorry Folks!

For those who are not familiar with what an AMC is, it is short for Appraisal Management Company. They are not new, but since the adoption of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the number and the frequency of their use have increased. They are the order manager for the lender and ensure appraiser independence. If you have not already read “What’s Not in Your Wallet” or “Round and Round!”, go get a little more familiar before reading this. AMCs manage appraisal orders. They find the appraisers to give the orders to, and are supposed to provide quality control reviews...

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

Open Letter to Taxpayers... Afterall, Taxpayers Aren’t Stupid 32

Open Letter to Taxpayers

An Open Letter to Taxpayers Dear Ms; Mrs. & Mr. Taxpayer: In a recent article published by Housing Wire; authored by Ben Lane (November 20, 2018) it was reported that our federal “regulators” are at it again. “At what?” One might ask. Facilitation of increased LOAN FRAUD & consumer deception with Taxpayers yet again left holding the bag. Click here for the article Back in 1994 (actually it started in 1989-91 when FIRREA was being drafted) the Fed agreed that the loan threshold for banks when an appraisal of real estate would not be required was $250,000. That was roughly...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

Appraiser’s Response to MyAMC Panel Invitation - Appraisers Blogs 28

Appraiser’s Response to MyAMC

Thank you for your invitation to join your panel. I read all your details. They are addressed in the following: I find it unlikely you retain top appraisers nationwide if you think $350 is a reasonable fee in my area. Did you arrive at that by buying Corelogic’s purported ‘independent survey’? I don’t accept 30 day billing from any unproven clients with unspecified volume. Provide a copy of your current Dunn and Bradstreet rating along with a guarantee of a minimum of 25 orders per month, and I will consider deferred billing. Otherwise you would have to pay me by...

ACI / AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

xml sitemap
blank