Klosterman’s Appraiser Shortage Claims
I understand that Mr. Klosterman gets paid to deceive & misrepresent on behalf of his principals who are promoting the meme of appraiser shortage…
Fellow Appraisers,
In a variety of posts here on AppraisersBlogs we have had the somewhat veiled or at least unclear perspective of a banking interest lobbyist being self-promoted (Bankers League?).
When I responded in a manner I felt was applicable based on his specific post he was offended. You be the judges, please.
Following are copies of his linkedIn communications to me.
Copied from Mr. Klosterman’s message post above for ease of reading:
“Nice timing Mike, being that we are on the Hill with a group of over 150 bankers and lobbyists this week, your comments about being intolerant to the hands that feed you will go over well. You assumed I was an AMC and was rude when I was merely asking for help for a local bank. I agreed all along there was/is no shortage of good appraisers, they are just located in the wrong spots and our new solutions to fix the issue will that into consideration.
7:35 AM”
My reply:
“When you communicate to this group of special interests and bankers be sure to let them know that it’s their own national price fixing efforts through AMCs and refusal to adopt cost-plus payment systems that causes these purported localized shortages. The only shortages are those of appraisers willing to work for chimp change; ClearVal Appraisal rates, or the going appraisal rate in Bangalore India.
A properly compensated appraiser can appraise anywhere in the state. In ‘out of the way’ or distant areas we simply have to take more time to do it properly. Time costs money.
As for the rest of your message, let’s take a look at it. You went to an established appraisers blog group specifically to ask for help for your one single bank client that was claiming a localized shortage, right? You didn’t go to ASC which is where they are supposed to seek help from. THAT would have created a public record of the request subject to verification and challenges like the ones from TN and OK.
You instead went to a group that has NO authority to change the rules to help your one single local bank. Kevin, there is a distinct credibility gap between your actual posts and what you claimed you are doing. I see a number of your claims were disputed by others aside from myself.
You chose to go directly a known appraisers group that opposes the lies and deception of banks and AMCs alike to troll, and when you were called on it your response is to whine. That about right?”
End of LinkedIn replies.
In looking for the specific post Mr. Klosterman thought to be offensive, I was surprised to see the following additional views of his:
Click here for Kevin Klosterman’s comments on “Appraisers Shortage? A Personal Story” article.
Click here and here for Kevin Klosterman’s comments on “Appraiserville – Fake Claim of An Appraisal Shortage” article.
Click here for Kevin Klosterman’s comments on “Solution for Alternative Reports” article
I want to assure Mr. Klosterman along with my fellow appraisers that post and read AppraisersBlogs. There is no personal animus in my posts to or about Mr. Klosterman.
I understand that he is a paid hack (or in D.C. terms a paid ‘flak’) for Banking interests. I further understand that he gets paid to deceive and misrepresent on behalf of his principals who are promoting the meme of appraiser shortage. Take a look at his blue dots map and the reply by one of our fellow appraisers.
Now I ask you, “is that a fair and accurate assessment of the appraisal situation on Ohio?” The one that federal regulators should be making decisions affecting taxpayers’ financial security on?
As I wrote to Mr. Klosterman, there is nothing personal in my rebuttals to his falsehoods.
Even as I write to point out that the whores and prostitutes of ancient Rome were more forthcoming about what it was they were selling than Mr. Klosterman is; there is still nothing personal in it.
After all if prostitution is the world’s oldest profession (albeit no degree required), then surely being a pimp is the world’s second-oldest ‘profession’.
PS: thank you for giving us the specific name of yet another group to watch out for (Bankers League). We’ll be sure to see which legislators, or their assistants met with that group, or that do so in the future.
Is there an ulterior motive behind Mr. Klosterman’s posts? One-stop Valuation Solution (many thanks to silent researcher for the link).
“Accurate ValueNet™ (industry-leading desktop appraisal suite)”
- The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” - May 15, 2023
- The Scam of Racial Discrimination by Appraisers - May 10, 2023
- What Is My Incentive? - September 20, 2022
It’s more of a shortage of appraisers who refuse to get in bidding wars and take the low fees some amcs offer!
THERE WILL NEVER BE A SHORTAGE OF APPRAISER’S WILLING TO WORK FOR SCRAPS OFFER BY AMC’S!
Thank you Michael Ford. Well said.
PS – Click or follow the Youtube links for valuenet; followed by a post from a desk top appraisal promoter in San Diego, in turn followed by a similar post by (wait for it) BRIAN COESTER! If my posts were tied even sequentially to Mr. Coester’s promotions I think I’d delete them rather than risk even an appearance of them being remotely related. “VALUENET” Valuenet.com and accurategroup.com …all names to keep in mid for the future.
This myth of “appraiser shortage”, Mr. Klosterman, banks, REVAA, AMCs and others are propagating is nothing more than a well organized plan to lessen the need for appraisers in the mortgage process.
Here is a screenshot of a discussion in a private forum between rural appraisers. I’ve blurred out the personally identifiable information.
Clearly, there is no shortage of rural appraisers…
A lot of info there. Usually there is a reason low fee appraisers are able to capture work beyond the fee itself. It’s never been a secret that some appraisers (even when prohibited from doing so by FNMA guidelines) would send either trainees or completely unlicensed appraisers out to do field inspections; while they sat back in the office bragging how they regularly do 2 or 3 full appraisals a day.
Eventually some of the more influential among the deceitful pond scum decided the pretense was simply too risky to continue; and that they could con others into believing their ‘methods’ (non appraiser picture taker; google and lts photos coupled with meaningless AVM/hybrid stats derived from an mls written up by a ‘trained chimp’ er forgive me-trained, obviously highly ethical, appraiser) could do the job just as well.
They lowered the bar so far that GSEs started thinking their systems were credible alternatives.
Following a logical progression, if American appraisers can do it all without ever seeing the property why can’t INDIAN sources do them even cheaper?
When the new forms are created you can bet all neighborhood data will simply give way to census/MSA data (which as always will still continue to provide racial compositions so that redlining can be secretly retained).
No more site data or highest and best use which will all be assumptive anyway. Legality of use? Who cares? Externalities? What are the percentages that the subject is affected by any? Condition of improvements? Does anyone really care?
Comparables? No longer necessary. CU will have replaced it all and automated any adjustments…or a least half will be automated and the other half simply not made.
Hurray for Big Data! Hurray for misapplied regression software!
Maybe we should all start looking forward to a career as an ice cream truck driver. Everyone likes them.
Great commentary.
Per the video posted, a lot of disinformation in there. The premise is false. Poor work quality is a direct result of amc’s biased and greed oriented selection trends.
Buddy of mine fielded an amc staff offer recently; $130K yearly, 40 turns a month. Given estimates of $550 or higher base to consumer, the amc had targeted him for about $260 per, keeping more on their side than they paid out. Prior to amc meddling, per the congressional report to congress on impact of valuation regulation, your average 3 person office made upward of $260K in yesterday’s money. Now that they have colluded in a systematic process of racketeering, restraint of trade, and price fixing approaches for about a decade, they’ve finally moved enough appraisers away to begin to answer the reduced servicing base they directly contributed to, with their own proprietary products instead.
In the absence of middle management, this industry would have flourished and grown, adopting new technologies which were more apt to be effective towards increased quality of work. As it stands now, if you can undercut your peers and take short cuts, you will get the majority of middle management assignment, so much you’ll field what is likely 2 to 10 new requests per day. The more you field, the more the amc profits, in clear violation of fdic rules on appraiser selection as well as junk fee rules which apparently do not apply to amc’s. Amc’s have sought to raise the deminimus because this also accelerates their goals to monopolize the market and scoot individual appraisers aside in favor of more pliable software where they have vastly more ability to control the valuation results. Because there is no individual licensing, there is no accountability. The 10K/20K dodd frank rule on C&R was supposed to stop them.
But seriously, let’s get to the most important point. What’s your fee and turn time?
sadly 100% accurate
I am just disgusted with AMC scabs feeding off of the backs of appraisers. What a scam
I’ve come to the realization that the Jack Wagon AMC’s (you all know who you are!). Paying $225 fees just want photos and someone to sign their name. They’ll never change, better to simply find better clients.