Hey Dan, I’m reading this post 4.5 years later (July, 2024). Just curious, have you been able to raise your fees yet due to Appraisers raising their fees? It would surprise me if you have. How is your “inch work effect” coming along?

I meant I left 10 years ago dealing with lenders. sorry type to fast

Hi i have a question, you seem to know a lot. I have been in this business fro 36 years, have left the last two years dealing with lender appraisals to invest in properties. I am looking to return to lender work, I get emails from some AMC’s but I don’t know who is worth dealing with. Any Suggesting so I don’t get burned. I hear service link don’t pay etc.. Thanks for any direction.

Then ask Skap why I was removed from the page and let me know.

OK-your mind is closed. Believe what you want. You are wrong.

One other thing thing to consider Kim, is that most appraisers are the business owners, meaning depending on the tax year in question, and the appraisers business practices, up to 50% of the appraisers gross fee (say $350 post appraisal management company split), will go to someone else (expenses). If the appraiser nets $175, and works 10 hours to complete the work (10 minutes for the inspection is irrelevant), then the appraiser nets $17.50 per hour. Considering entry level bank tellers might make a minimum wage of $20 per hour with full benefits (BOA), and in my area agents split $50,000 in commissions when the typical house is sold, the pay scale is not tilted to the appraiser.

Seek the truth.

Thank you for the information. Right now I have two jobs, hopefully just one in the near future. I work as an office manager for a real estate appraisal office as well as an appraiser trainee. I believe this has allowed me to hear what is on the mind of those who work with the lender and AMC companies and the appraisers we have in our office. I don’t know where the profession is going. The way I see it is that every part of the lending process has a negative view of appraisers to include appraisers! How can a solid foundation be made if its being attacked from everywhere including from within? We are the only part of this process where we have no “Skin in the game” when it’s concerning the value of the property. We provide an opinion of value and get paid for researching and stating that opinion. Everyone else has a desire to have the value placed as high as possible for a percentage cut, interest payments, ect. I look forward to researching the American Guild of Appraisers. Thanks for the information Mike!

Appraisers Have existed for years as Professional Bastards, blamable for the lender not making an loan. That’s not being a whipping boy that was most communally used by lenders to avoid insulting a potential customer. The Appraiser had no inkling of different values or discriminations the appraiser had only to contend with scheduling and timing verifying complexities of the property.
Manny of us with regular customers had cancellation fees, for which, when seeing something incompatible , like being in a seismic zone, improvement under a power line, access problems, extraordinary Personal Property, water rights, etc. We could bill and expect prompt payment.. If we received objections we could get an agreement on how to deal with the situation and a fair price.

BS

Only when posts are outside guidelines Eric. I’ve had my posts removed when admins (one of whom is a friend and AGA President) found it contrary to agreed-upon rules for being a member of the group. There’s a lot of leeway Eric. Its not like ANY post is prescreened for content. They aren’t. Censoring when it rarely occurs is always after the post was made; and always when it is contrary to guidelines. Politics is a forbidden topic there (for obvious reasons)-sometimes ‘we’ (members there) collectively cross into gray areas that are appraisal related but inextricably linked to politics. Thats why we ALL have options on where to post.

100% has been known to censor Appraisers also…

Baggs, re Last two paras. Billing disclosure is the single biggest thing appraisers can do to demonstrate the gap between our fee and the bank’s authorized AMC appraisal charge.

We do not need ANYONE permission to disclose it I the appraisal. AMCs and banks MAY NOT prohibit such disclosure by law (DFA).

This blog is still one of the most well-read sites by federal regulators. Blogs like 100% Group are closed to all except appraisers; and Watercooler, as well as others, tend to be appraiser-centric.

We all operate on the fringes of whichever party is in power at any given moment and THEIR priority agendas. Right now appraisers are a target. The government admitted systemic racism has existed for decades AFTER the Civil RIghts Act. IF that is so, then they need a whipping boy to blame for it OTHER than their own policies of the past 55+- years. We are it right now.

“Ditto” entire first paragraph Dan. I invite you to look into the American Guild of Appraisers or to contact janbellas@appraisersguild.org …We’ve been fighting for a variety of appraiser issues for some time. Especially C& R fees. That war was almost won back in 2015 until CoStar and others filed suit against Louisiana for enforcing their C&R fee laws. The short version is NO ONE enforced C&R during the FTC case against the state (which they, unfortunately, settled rather than litigating in an actual trial).

The BIGGEST issues today are false charges at the state level and most recently the racism bandwagon that was put in motion where HUD and DOJ are the investigators. No one should kid themselves that merely complying with USPAP is adequate protection as long as they look to “Disparate Outcome” or disparate impact in deciding if ‘systemic racism was a factor.

Your was exactly the kind of ‘soap box’ we need to see more of.

Hi Kim-I’m NOT defending ServiceLink by any stretch of the imagination (or any careless appraisers) but just wanted to explain a little about general background. If you paid SL $690 the actual appraiser didn’t collect anything near that. Not that fee matters once we accept an assignment from an AMC like ServiceLink. AMCs often look for the cheapest appraiser on their roster (but not always). They do that so they can pocket the difference between what a low fee appraiser will accept and what’s paid by you (quoted in advance by the lender as unofficial but apparently acceptable price fixing). If the appraiser told them he’d do it for $300-$350 then THAT was the deciding factor on his being ‘qualified’.

Some assignments don’t require much more than “10 minutes” at the property. (seriously). Most of the work is done by looking at comparable sales and at the desk. With a camera taking lots of pictures an awful lot can be seen in a short period. If the house is a square box it doesn’t take longer than that to measure it. VERY BAD FORM to do so though. No appraiser should spend less than 20 minutes in my opinion because owners will invariably feel like they were treated haphazardly. 30-45 is probably the norm; larger complex houses may take several hours.

Anytime an appraisal is believed to have come in low or have significant other issues of credibility, ALL borrowers have a right to appeal directly to the lender (keep in mid ServiceLink is merely an agent of the lender). The request for a Reconsideration of Value should be UNEMOTIONALLY stated.

You either have to identify a significant size error; or improper comparable selection (most likely). A local agent that works the area may be able to assist you in finding more similar comparable sales. DO NOT just select them on the basis of price! They need to be more similar in size, closer, or more recent than those used. If condition & quality were issues then they should be more similar to your property than those used.

There are other possible issues as well, but you aren’t likely to identify them without a formal appraisal review. Downside, is that costs more money.

Its also possible that despite the ‘quick’ site visit that the value just isn’t there. Im writing this to let you know thee are options for you if you choose to pursue them. Sometimes we DO make mistakes. It’s not common, but it does happen. Good luck.

Mike their are two Don’s, My self “don”, and Don#2.
I no longer have a license and am rapidly loosing liability due to ageing.

Don’t forget to VOTE

Talk to your state board. There are numerous states that require both

Again…these are not the fees paid to the appraiser…these are the fees paid to the AMC from the lender. The appraiser is free to set their own fees with their clients.

Thats absolutely NOT what the AMCs are getting paid. Keep in mind that the lenders have their own collateral review departments as well and LOVE to add on another fee of their own. It’s unfortunate but services work this way in MANY industries…we just aren’t a part of those systems. Think about the people who build a cabinet, vs the wholesales who sells the cabinet to someone like Home Depot…and then the price that Home Depot charges as a retailer. I used to work in retail. Whatever we paid from the wholesaler; that price was doubled on the price tag for what we sold it for in the store as retail price.