@Chase — Exactly. 🙂

Guest Author is a regular poster here. The letter above is well thought out and factually correct. Can you cite one inaccurate statement in the article?

Who is hiding? Who is afraid? I write many articles using a pen name; have been for years. Look at my bio and educate yourself. Google pen names and who uses them and why.

It is truly sad that you have nothing constructive to add to the conversation, yet you feel the need to criticize others. If you truly disagree with what I wrote, please feel free to respectfully share your thoughts. This blog encourages opposing views. Perhaps you are unable to add anything constructive because you know I wrote the truth.

Let’s recall… Keyword; Blacklist. The issue persists today. The force of corrupt amc companies only added a new level of danger for appraisers, these companies did not fulfill their intended purpose of protecting the appraiser industry from corruption and improper influence. These amc’s accomplished the exact opposite and now seek to rebrand their business purpose as some vital administerial bureaucratic interlink between lenders and appraisers. Did not need them then. Still do not need them now.

https://appraisalnewsonline.typepad.com/appraisal_news_for_real_e/blacklisting_exclusion_lists/

sure thing mr. anonymous. since everything is so rosey in your world and you don’t do any AMC work why hide? what are you afraid of? be proud of what you think and write, because if you aren’t it doesn’t mean squat.

Ken,

I do not do any amc work. I own a professional appraisal business that does not advertise. All my clients are referrals and repeat business. I have personally built this business and my reputation speaks for itself. The only grapes I have are turned into wine. Sorry to disappoint.

I have been an active contributor to this blog for a long time. My writings and guidance speak for themselves. Clearly you are not a regular on appraisersblogs and post irrelevant and useless words because you can not accept the truth.

What’s your fee and turn time? Troll me.

You won’t believe how great the standard compensation is with this new one I landed. Here, take a look. If I can do it so can anyone. Just keep marketing and signaling to lenders you are available, as long as an amc is not involved.

Thanks. Unnecessary layers of redundant amc management from the individual appraisers perspective equates to more work, less pay, no tangible benefit to the appraiser. They do a great job of dressing it up, in the end, the appraiser gets a negative value return if an amc is involved. Lenders may be unaware they may be getting a negative value return if using amc’s, which is why this writer has a refreshing take.

Just acquire a list of lenders whom operate in your state, market down the line, eventually you’ll hit some leads with non amc’s. Roughly 20% of the lending industry does not use amc’s, that figure is obscured and not verifiable. A shifting target, have to remain nimble. If given the choice, the majority of appraisers would not work with amc companies. After more than a decade of trying to reign in these companies with regulatory efforts it should be obvious that the solution lies not in government, but rather our own abilities to sell our own product. If you’re good enough to be a legitimate appraiser, you don’t need the help of an amc to sell your services. What kind of negotiator reaches for the price dive every time? The notion that the appraiser whom price slashes the most is the most competent person for the specific task of analyzing value, defies logic.

Landing direct assignment clients means you don’t have to continue to sell, or continue to bid. Things move along at a more routine predictable pace, stability and reliability for income stream and time management. If every appraiser whom wanted to escape amc’s kept up with lender based solicitations, the illusion would be revealed. Lenders would have a better understanding there is no shortage of appraisers, but rather, merely a shortage of appraisers willing to work with amc’s. FNMA CU systems white paper which sought to analyze quality differences between amc vs non amc appraisal work, eluded to 3 out of 4 appraisers who’s reports ran through CU, not even taking amc work in the first place. While amc appraisers enjoy roughly twice the normal volume of non amc appraisers.

You know what they say, all it takes to be a successful independent appraiser, is one good reliable client. Stable upfront fees for all panel appraisers. Nobody undercuts anyone else, distribution is fair and balanced. The way it’s supposed to be. The way it was before amc’s monopolized the market with collusive price controls which drove consumer fees up, and appraisers fees down. Almost everyone here who is an appraiser wants to grind the same axe. Appraisers are a market force unto ourselves. The overwhelming flood of predatory amc’s pushed us back but we are regaining ground.

says the AMC troll lurking anonymously as ken

Good stuff! You should write a guest post on how to dump AMCs effectively work directly with lenders.

Sounds like comments from someone who owns or works for an AMC…

You went a whole post about amc’s without mentioning the coach! Oh no, I just said it. I said it again. I said it again! We shall say Ni!! again to you, if you do not appease us. Pepsi challenge if amc appraisers could recreate the volume without the financial incentive they constantly provide to the amc companies. They’re getting desperate, I’m getting amc invites and bid emails daily again. I’ve spent more time trying to get off of lists and avoid these relentless predatory companies, than I ever regrettably spent applying or working with them. If they find out an appraiser is still alive, they add and retain without question. The qualification illusion fell flat years ago, but some appraisers still fall for it.

I got tired of always having to educate my never endingly new ‘manager’ on the most basic principals of valuation theory and real estate process. The csr turnover is incredibly high with amc’s. INDIVIDUAL APPRAISER LICENSING REQUIREMENTS for everyone whom distributes appraisal orders. At least the individual mortgage banker was someone we could hold accountable. Even many direct assignment lenders purposefully hire appraisal desk managers whom are not licensed, or have lost their license in the past. The last reasonable ML safe haven for appraisers are direct assignment lenders whom hire a qualified experienced licensed appraiser to administer the panel. The amc retainment of a licensed appraiser is nowhere near equivalent.

The three direct assignment lenders I work with currently, all hire a fair volume of actively licensed appraisers whom are peppered throughout their various appraisal desk related positions. When I call in to talk about an order, ask for more work, or just anything, I almost always speak to another actively licensed appraiser, or persons with reasonably commensurate industry experience. Not mysteriously, this client swap took revisions from predictable to very rare, doubled my income, and provided entirely better liability shielding. Simply pull up a top lenders list for your state, market down the line, keep careful notes and client folders, answer all amc redirects with the response that you do not work for amc’s but please keep your contact information. Two of the three companies I mentioned, I had solicited that way years ago and they used to be amc subscribers. My newest one pays better than VA rate, without the VA rules. I was shocked and what a turn around. For a lender things are easier to manage with direct assignment. A lender can distribute twice the orders in half the time for half the cost compared to the overhead requirements of the amc, the appraiser still gets the full fee. That final point aligns with Mr Fords point, because you are entirely more likely to deal with aggressive lending if you are working with amc’s, there is no way around this critical point.

Still waiting on Corelogic company to figure out how to code a simple checkbox for appraisers in the Mercury and Scope system, if the appraiser accepts amc work or not. Now because amc’s tanked every email server they ever used, as most appraisers set their emails to spam, the amc’s have learned that they can send an infinite amount of blind bids through scope or mercury. Appraisers will be powerless to stop the transmission, lest they lose their direct assignment emails alongside or shut the doors to all possible new clients in the future. This amc abuse trend is ramping up swiftly, suggest you write in and complain every single time until this obvious abuse stops. Scope is more tricky, emails appear as coming from somewhere independent, but really it’s just another Scope generated message. If you spam one, you lose all the others, even though they have different @thisorthatplace landing, because all are originated from the same sending server. You’ll need to call scope and ask them to verify you have an active email which is not set in their spam category which may explain if you lost all direct assignment order emails if you also simultaneously buck off amc’s. They mismanage it so badly on purpose, to try and direct these lenders to their partner amc’s so they can double dip the transmission fee. Everyone whom claims amc experience or gain, has attained that at someone elses expense.

Thank You Xpert!

Stop putting profits before principles! If you have a profitable business with non-AMC clients, stop being coached into expanding your business by way of abandoning your morals and choosing to work with AMC’s. If you work with AMC’s, have a plan to get off their dependence. Stop listening to the Podcasts from those who drink the AMC coached Kool-Aid that say it’s okay to work with “the good ones”.

Seek the truth, and make the decisions for the mortgage lenders by saying NO to long term AMC work.

Extensive ‘policies’ or special requirements are drafted that attempt to cover all contingencies…from the AMC side-NOT the appraisers.

Ten or twenty page policy statements for each order ignores the REQUIREMENT that federal regulators require the LENDER (not the AMC) to determine appraiser competence in advance.

That means they need to know & communicate exactly what type of property is to be appraised, AND the ownership interest. Most AMCs (& far too many appraisers) don’t know what this means, or why it is critically important.

Policies that only pay minimal trip fees to appraisers for assignments which their policies preclude completion of are unfair. Appraisers research and drive out to a property; measure it and inspect it before determining via extended or repetitive discussion with an occupant that the property has permit issues. They have already invested more than a few hours.

Similarly they may be told it is an owner-occupied SFR only to learn its an SFR with ADU and both are rented. More than agreed upon SOW is required. Again hours of time have already been invested.

Fees are present by the lenders. Thats called price fixing and protestations to the contrary, it is illegal! Lenders need to switch to a cost plus system immediately. AMCs get only a fixed rate (disclosed to the client) & the complexity of the assignment will be determined and bid by the appraiser.

None of the problems are new. We’ve had these issues since HVCC came into effect, and both before and after CU systems were implemented.

Make no mistake. Lenders and AMCs do not want to fix these issues. Lenders knowingly select AMCs based on how well they can expect them to ‘play ball’ when a value reconsideration is sought rather than on any specific appraisal or even order management expertise.