I like to think that I was a Highbred appraiser. When I measured myself against others; sometimes I felt good, some times I screwed up. I still believe that the screw ups did more for my breeding. One of my competitors bragged that he was also proud of his work ” he would only fake the third comp, as it was only supportive.

Yes.

Tim, largely agree.

Personally, I only give my bank account information to people I trust. I’m more trusting of individuals than I am of corporations. ACH & many other forms of ePayments can be reversed. Not saying they would be, but that they could be. It’s a business decision.

Class is on a corporate growth buying binge right now. Other AMCs and data master and a host of services as if they too want to become the next Ocwen or CoreLogic competitor.

More power to them. On the other hand, the marketing associated with it (latest acquisition) such as “empowering appraisers” (re data master) is pure puffery.

It’s also an indicator of how little reliance they place on the accuracy of the information and the time (or money) to assure that accuracy. It’s a step toward more hybrid appraising, and THAT is something I vehemently oppose.

Unless Congress comes right out and says “We no longer care about standards. We drank the FHFA Koolaid and it is good”, I will continue to oppose bad appraisal practices; and TAF’s SOW Rule vs the old Departure Provision which was far more honest.

I’ll continue to oppose phony processes dressed up to mislead one into thinking USPAP compliance is being delivered when it isn’t. That includes all bifurcated hybrids and AVMs. No exceptions.

Outside of these things Im sure Class employs many wonderful people

Divided and Confuse!?

Ha ha ha. Love it.

Mark Skapinetz, considering Dustin Harris has your podcast rated number one over the past 5 years, your sensitivity to his feelings now makes more sense. It’s okay, I’m not judging who you spend your private time with (your secret is safe).

It could be a rumor, but I heard his 1st podcast in year 6 is about how one should never have the same password for say your AMC login and your email.

Too soon?

Seek the truth.

If you’re still on an amc’s mailing list even though you don’t respond to the neverending abuse and ignorance of the bid blast process, you’re still a major part of the problem. That same company will advertise to lenders that you are on their panel, part of a larger number. And if a lender ever asks specifically, you’ll be on the list and they’ll be able to show you’re on board.

As long as fees remain improperly co mingled, there is no answer to amc’s except to relinquish ethics in billing, or remove yourself completely. I spent more time removing myself from amc lists than I ever spent getting on them… Amc’s are telemarketers with a limited list which is recycled to infinity. Every single order comes with a non disclosure clause in the scope of work. It defies logic that appraisers ever made any headway against these companies in court while simultaneously colluding with them to help the amc defraud homeowners.

How to get amc work: Provide a greater thing of value in the billing process than the next guy.

It’s a good thing that amc lady already proclaimed her last post in this thread.

She as well as every other abusive amc out there knows they can not effectively answer my questions within the parameters of traditional ethical expectations regarding fair billing, honest transparent process, and an equal playing field for vendors. These sorts of questions remain unanswered over 12 years later.

Julie. When Class action attains an appraisal vendor for a lower service fee than expected, does your company return cost savings to the consumer, or do you pocket the difference thereby creating a financial incentive to drive the consumers fee up and the appraisers fee down?

If a licensed mortgage banker did that it would be considered fraud. Individual licenses, ethics, accountability who needs that?

I don’t care how long these companies take to pay me. What is important is they are not gaming me against other appraisers and the homeowner alike. If appraisal management companies don’t know what a fair C&R fee is by now, and they are unable to present that up front, I can’t help them.

Answering a never ending slue of bids, is for the birds.

Definition of profiteering: the act or activity of making an unreasonable profit on the sale of essential goods especially during times of emergency

“Amc’s”. I’ve identified your problem.

One chooses to be part of the solution, or abides continuation of the problem.

Hey, whatever it takes to get a leg up on the competition right? Ethics, who needs it?

Have you guys given any thought to the moral implications of being complicit in both defrauding homeowners with concealed junk and improperly co mingled unearned fees, as well as willingly supporting companies whom are known to crush appraisers futures nationwide? Asking for a friend.

The funny thing A. Brown is that if the appraiser accepts the order within a 20 minute window of assignment (lowest bidder), calls within 24 hours to schedule, updates the AMC portal regarding the process, and gets the report back within 24 to 48 hours post inspection, he becomes a YES man and moves to the top of the list for future work.

There are those who ask me “what have I done other than to complain”, but here’s something we all can do and should have been doing for the past 10+ years (HVCC). If in one day say 50,000 appraisers do 50,000 residential loans and each of us meets one individual (owner, agent, buyer, tenant, etc.), and time (5, 10 minutes ?) is spent exposing the evil underbelly of this profession (AMC’s, split fees, C&R, appraisal waivers, etc.), how long would it take us to spread the truth? In 10 years time, the spreading of the truth could have reached 182 million people.

Unfortunately for many, the goal to churn out 4 to 9 appraisals a day supersedes ones in my opinion obligation to protect the public by exposing the fact that their $600 appraisal fee is most often not for the appraiser.

Seek the truth.

One of the Yelp reviewers located in Florida posted:

“So this group gets tasked to do a “drive by” evaluation of a home that has already been appraised by a certified appraiser…and in this drive by, they supposedly can verify the value of a home without even stepping in it. This particular home has a 200k pool and is worth over $500k, yet these guys are so good they can see that from their car…and make claim the actual appraiser was way off on value.

Run away from this place as fast as you can.”

Most of the reviews complain about low appraisals, rude customer service & appraisers, appraisers not showing up to appointments, and one posted that she paid for the appraisal before she even knew what the charge was for, & another one was charged 4 times for one appraisal.

Here is another one:

“Very poor experience with the appraiser. He was arrogant, rude, and has a negative personality. No “please”, “thank you”, or any eye-contact; he was very short with my wife. The appraiser is the only point of contact we as consumers get to interact with, and this appraiser has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not that I would have any choice in choosing an appraiser, but should I have a choice I will definitely not use Class Valuation again. Class Valuation, choose your appraisers carefully, as they represent your brand.”

& 2 more:

“Already off to a bad start with Class Appraisals. They’ve ran my card 4 times for the same amount of $480! You can be sure I’ll be disputing these charges with my credit card company and I’ll be using another organization. See photo of charges attached above. Who’s running this place!? A bunch of monkeys!?”

“This company was used for my appraisal. Best advice I can give you is either request a different company to do your appraisal or make sure you do all the leg work looking up all the sales for the appraiser that comes to your house, because apparently the appraisers aren’t competent enough to look in your own neighborhood for the sales, and when they get it wrong they don’t seem to care. I was even told by the appraiser that he got the value wrong but there was nothing more that he could do, it ended up costing me additional closing costs. The value was not missed by a little bit but by quite a lot. When you get this company on the phone they act like they’re all about customer service but there is absolutely no follow through.

The message below asking me to send them a PM????? They haven’t responded to anything………What.A.Joke.”

No Steve, just complaining about an AMC email somehow brushes past how we got here and almost says what they have done over the past decade is okay. The email is just the rust on the guillotine blade, but the real issue has been the systematic building of the apparatus for us innocent parties.

Seek the truth.

Julie Jones,

“Conducive to positive change” now that is downright hilarious. Neither you nor Class Valuation has a clue on what is positive. Class Valuation has done nothing but further deteriorate the profession.

It sounds like Ms. Jones is hanging out with the wrong crowds.

Is the public being served in their best interests when they have no say in how their appraisal fee gets spent? How is the consumer being protected when the appraisal has been turned into an alternate profit stream? Why is it okay to for them to keep the spread instead of offering a return/refund to the borrower?

Seek the truth.

The turnover is so big at those companies and with the lack of sleep they get from trying to remember their own lies, burnout is usually in +/-12 months.

For the record SB, there are many on this site who don’t like the spreading of the truth (Their BBB rating / reviews), and thus perhaps you to will become a target.

Keep up the fight, and seek the truth.

Lets keep it simple Mark so I don’t offend you for running my mouth. I’ve boycotted AMC’s as clients, have you? Calling me the problem while you are aiding and abetting and profiting with the enemy would be funny if it wasn’t s so true and devastating to the industry.

Not picking a fight Mark, but why argue with the messenger when the village is being burned and plundered by so many?

Mark, seek the truth or don’t, but either way its still the truth.