https://www.reddit.com/r/appraisal/
Go forth my friend. And spread the word.

They’re all in on it, congratulating each other. Appraisers have no representation, only chair fillers whom answer the calls like lap dogs.

From the same valuation review site; Class valuation expanding it’s elite appraiser panel.

‘Priority placement in the assignment que.’

No conflicts of interest here. Send everything to the ‘elite’. That’s how consumer protection is supposed to work right?

Funny because per your article; ‘to help address appraisal capacity in underserved markets’

It’s the GD amc’s why nobody wants to be an appraiser anymore in the first place. Then these politicians and industry lap dogs come into play, imagining that new people they create artificially through grants and subsidies, will magically not be subjected to the exact same market forces which drive all the other more experienced appraisers out, and prohibit their economic ability to train new people. They could throw a billion dollars at the appraisal industry, and all that would happen is the amc industry gets a billion dollars richer. How far do they suppose the known $12b minimum fee rake amc’s have collectively taken from the appraisal industry, how many appraiser trainees do you suppose that would have supported ‘in under served markets’?

More like … Enquiring minds want to know. You know, like the old mental trash papers at the grocery store check out. Let’s just put the appraisals on social media and make it one big war!

https://www.valuationreview.com/vr/articlesvr/ai-applauds-senate-banking-committees-markup-conce-95140.aspx

Question; What’s the ratio of all appraisers caught up in settled and pending accusations combined, vs these two ‘winning’ cases? A thousand to one ratio? You’d think the appraisal trade groups would have stepped in and helped. Or the insurers would have helped more and refused to settle, to cut off additional repeat claims. They were too busy running cover for the amc’s.

The issue has become moot before these case settlements came in anyways. The gse side appraisal environment has been retooled towards that of internally controlled valuation systems, expanded third party services, automation instead. Expansion of waivers, foreign new forms and unfamiliar processes ripe with special interest associations of groups whom all will become enriched with the demise of the traditional full service appraisal.

From start to finish, special interests guided the valuation bias narrative and achieved their goals with ease. They checked every box while appraisers bleated on in defensive positions in fear of being labeled racist. Magically this was not recognized as appraiser intimidation or violation of AIR rules, as TAF and ASC leaders capitulated to the supposed legitimacy of the accusations of appraiser bias almost immediately. Musical chairs time but do you really want to play? The case resolution was too little too late. Even the courts made it clear, the independent appraiser has no redress.

I agree mostly ..I’m thinking that if someone wants to fight for the industry, if it’s not too late , the 2 examples of appraisers not losing in court could be evidence that bias is not rampant ..the Lanham case which was covered nationally, NYT, ABC and many others was Relman and Connolly’s CASE CLOSED claim ..Relman hung their hat on Connolly pushing a national narrative that the industry is racist..trust me ..they searched deep for a smoking gun but turned up nothing…Junia Howells final argument was lanhams value was correct but he used bias in coming to the correct valuation…the judge didn’t buy it and said her data was nothing more than nitpicking …if it was me or I’ll guess most people, Relman would have found at least a inkling of something they could have used negatively .. I said from the beginning , Shane is the most honest loving person you could possibly find ..Connolly and Relman picked the wrong target..

If realty agents had their bpo’s and cma’s run through the CU system… Wouldn’t that be something? Perhaps people are placing too much emphasis on some judges ruling here. The entire system has been retooled. The entire country lost. What does it really matter if one or two individual appraisers skated through. Good for them. The appraisal industry is ruined. If it takes four years and untold volumes of money including navigating complex legal representation, only to mount an individual defense of a single valuation opinion…

The valuation bias movement started with special interests seeking complete control. That’s where it ended as well.

https://www.cotality.com/resources/article/decoding-valuation-modernization

How long have they waited to say that…

Roughly ten years, ever since they went heavy on technology investment, captured the intellectual property data from every appraiser in this country in one form or another. Appraisers have been in the boiling pot for years, most were too distracted to notice. Appraisers whom think that ‘by simply not doing mortgage lending work’, they’ll be insulated should think twice. As these processes become permanent, will not be long before similar measures of stripping confidentiality are applied to all valuation services. Will not be long now before appraisers will be required to submit working logs, fill out additional forms, send all that to the state and other third party companies, even for private practice work. After all, at the heart of this movement; the public has a right to know.

https://www.valuationreview.com/vr/articlesvr/namb-applauds-georgia-senators-proposed-appraisal-95098.aspx

Thanks. Note how addenda clarification material is not included in disclosure, rather only known in form data. Obviously they drew the proposed regulation around the existing UAD data mapping, disregarding the larger underwriting process. Question; How might updated UAD data gathering fields further expose appraisers to additional liability?

Possibly the best appraiser commentary over the past five years on this matter; ‘They tortured the data until it confessed what they wanted to hear.’

I couldn’t agree more. He was harmed emotionally, in his career and financially. In awarding summary judgement, the judge clearly stated there was no case there however the same can’t be said for the damages done to the appraiser that is a matter of record. Dismissing his suit in a “not harm, no foul” gesture was wrong in so many ways. He should have been allowed to pursue his lawsuit and that would have put real teeth in the summary judgement. Looking for a quick settlement to enrich your life? You may want to think again.

We had nothing to do with redlining. That was a lender game and it was a long time ago. We don’t make the news, we report the news. Believing that we make the news is superstition. The reporter that reports on the trainwreck didn’t cause the trainwreck. The public schools haven’t done their job in six decades and the American public has reverted to belief in magic and superstition.

When someone argues for a point that they don’t believe for the purpose of affect some desired outcome, that is a bad faith argument. If you say the appraiser should have been at $1.4mm but you yourself would never pay a dollar over $1.1mm, that’s a bad faith argument. Sacrificing truth for truth is never the right solution.

You nailed it. The Appraisal Modernization Act getting its second reading is a big deal, and that searchable database of appraisals including USDA & VA is a serious overreach. It’s like handing out our work history with a spotlight and a magnifying glass.

I get the concern about AVMs and equity-based adjustments, but what’s missing from the conversation is how these tools are being positioned as “neutral” while quietly embedding bias through design. It’s not just about inflating values, it’s about who controls the algorithm and what outcomes they’re optimizing for. Appraisers are being sidelined not because we’re flawed, but because we’re inconvenient to a system that wants speed and pliability over scrutiny.

Baggott’s line about housing inflation being an unexamined byproduct? Couldn’t be more accurate. We’re already seeing the cracks. You can’t prop up a market forever if buyers stop showing up.

Appraisers used to be the guardrails for everyday lending. Now we’re watching the train speed up with no brakes, all because they pushed us out in favor of “modernization.” If this bubble pops, it won’t be because of us, it’ll be because they stopped listening when it actually mattered.

Ironically, the framing of this case may come across as more racially charged than the conduct it sought to condemn. Common sense suggests that appraisers are being singled out precisely because they represent one of the last objective checkpoints in a housing industry increasingly driven by ideology rather than data. Undermine the appraiser, and you remove a key safeguard—opening the door to unchecked valuation practices.

If the logic behind these accusations were sound, then similar scrutiny should apply to Realtors who list and sell properties, and to Assessors who determine taxable value. But that’s not the narrative being pushed. Fortunately, the judiciary appears to be cutting through the smoke and mirrors. It’s reassuring to see judges applying reason and rejecting baseless claims.

Meanwhile, public figures like Waters and Fudge, who have made inflammatory remarks without consequence, continue to stoke divisive narratives and exit quietly when scrutiny arises. That pattern is troubling.

I commend the appraiser for standing firm under immense pressure, and I extend appreciation to those in the profession who supported him. As for those who remained silent or withheld support—especially when even a modest contribution could have helped—this moment calls for reflection. The profession owes him a debt of gratitude.

Tech equity hackathon. Intimidating appraisers was only half the story. Those whom bankrolled the events got what they wanted, a new system without appraisers.

Proponents of valuation equity are full speed ahead, FHFA did nothing about it. The avm final rule stands. In laymens terms the ‘non discrimination quality control factor’ is an algorithmic adjustment applied to avm utility tools which effects value output based on race of borrower. NFHA may have lost it’s funding, their avm coding solutions may have remained in place. The ‘tech equity’ hackathon. This is what nobody wants to talk about, the back door to manipulate value output to make every deal work regardless of the effects this has on affordability or market inflation. ‘To prevent valuation bias.’

Article quote; ‘A largely unexamined byproduct of this has been today’s massive housing inflation.’ / It is becoming common knowledge among the professionals whom deal with real property that special interests have disrupted traditional process, inserted themselves upstream of regular citizens, has been granted special access by the twins that nobody else has. While the people scramble to mitigate fictitious claims of racism, including lawsuits to back, the methodology and standard procedures surrounding existing regulatory oversight and property conveyance safeguards were dismantled, new proprietary utilities installed in their place.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2322/text