Category: Errors & Omissions

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CoStar Suing Appraisers for Copyright Violations

CoStar accuses the “John Does” of violating CoStar’s copyrights by contributing photos or other information obtained from CoStar to the CompStak database… In the last week, CoStar Realty Information has filed several lawsuits against commercial appraisers and real estate brokers for intentional copyright violations and fraud relating to the alleged use of CoStar property data and photos without proper registration/payment. If you use CoStar, be sure you are doing so properly and within the terms of your license agreement. Examples of the types of alleged situations that have led to CoStar’s recent and past copyright lawsuits are: (1) sharing IDs/passwords, (2) obtaining an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs 5

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

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

Blacklist Computers judging Appraisers 6

Blacklist: Appraisers Judged by Computers

Blacklist of Appraisers – the End Is/Must Be Near: Advancements in the Art of Blacklisting If you are a real estate professional, please read this, especially if you fear your own business is being damaged by all of the new regulations designed to “help” the real estate industry recover. Imagine you, a hardworking, law abiding taxpayer, are sitting at home one evening watching television when there is a knock at your door. Somewhat surprised by the late hour of the visit, you get up and open the door and three IRS agents barge into your home and declare, “We are...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

Big Banks Blacklisting Appraisers 4

Big Banks Blacklisting Appraiser

Both Fannie and Freddie will now have their own blacklists and if you think getting off a bank’s blacklist is tough, you have no idea what you will have to do to get off one of their lists.

As one industry expert observed, “if you get on the do not use list for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you’d better find another job because your days of being an appraiser just ended.”

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

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Blacklisted? How to Get Reinstated

There is a high cost of being blacklisted. When a lending institution loses confidence in an appraiser’s work, the bank or AMC will put them on a “do not use” list, also known as a blacklist. In some cases, this means an appraiser has made a costly mistake. However, some banks are taking blacklisting to an extreme by treating appraisers as guilty until proven innocent without cause or reason why. If unchallenged, this practice can be devastating because being blacklisted even once can have permanent detrimental effects on an appraiser’s career, income, and reputation. By engaging in blacklisting lenders are...

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

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“Fake” Appraiser E&O Insurance and Shady Things from AMCs Too

Outright Fake E&O For many appraisers and also some AMCs (appraisal management companies), the only reason they purchase professional liability insurance (E&O) is because a client requires them to show coverage in order to receive work.  The fact that some appraisers and AMCs only look at insurance as an “E&O ticket” leads to some unfortunate examples of fraud, which appraisers, firms, AMCs and clients should be aware of. Before I get to the fakery, however, I’ll explain that our purpose in providing E&O, and also the reason that most of our insureds purchase it, is because E&O first serves the insured by providing...

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

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Difference Between an Employee, a Subcontractor, & an Independent Contractor

What is the Difference Between an Employee, a Subcontractor, and an Independent Contractor? In helping real estate professionals find the right professional liability (E&O) insurance policy, one of the most common issues we come across is whether someone you hire to help with your intermittent workload is an employee, a subcontractor, or an independent contractor. The IRS perspective vs. the insurance perspective This is often confusing because what you intended to do may not be what you actually end up doing. There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost is the fact the IRS will view this...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

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What You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You

Does this sound familiar? If so, I hope it’s because you watch a lot of shows like Law & Oder on television and not for any other reason. If this doesn’t sound familiar, it is one part of the Miranda warning police must give to criminal suspects before questioning them. How does that apply to you? Well, it can have equally negative consequences in a civil case (insurance claim) also. To see if you need to read any further, take this short quiz. If you answer “yes” to any one of these questions, you’d better read it all. Do you...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

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Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against BPO and AMC Firms for Allegedly Unpaid Fees

Unpaid BPO Fees Class Action On December 2, 2013, three law firms in Florida, Washington and Colorado teamed together to file a class action complaint on behalf of real estate agents and others allegedly owed unpaid fees for broker price opinions ordered by BrokerPriceOpinion.com. The complaint also names three-related companies First Valuation, LLC, First Valuation Services, LLC, and First Valuation Technology, LLC as defendants on the basis that they are “alter egos” of BrokerPriceOpinion.com and do not have true corporate separateness in their operation. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Colorado, where the defendants are based. The named plaintiff in...

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

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Subpoenas and Other Things That Go Bump in the Night

First, it is gratifying to know you are actually reading what we write and release. We know this is true because a little over a year ago, we received very few questions about subpoenas and today, after writing a little warning piece on the now infamous FDIC subpoenas being issued to appraisers by a private law firm, we get lots of questions. In fact, we get so many we decided to put together a short follow-up piece on different kinds of subpoenas and how to handle them. These are presented in ascending order of concern with the final one being...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions / FDIC

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