Staff Reductions at AMCs
Making massive staff reductions in the appraisal management department, including the Chief Appraiser and the Administrative Manager, who both are licensed appraisers.
Appraisers, it’s not ‘just us’ who have taken the slowdown in lending “in the shorts.”
I have confirmed changes at THREE different AMCs:
CoreLogic is laying off all W-2 ‘staff’ appraisers, and most of the staff administering those folks. Corelogic may continue placing assignments with 1099 vendor appraisers. My suspicion is that many of the W-2 appraisers will continue to work with Corelogic as 1099 vendors, especially in the urban areas.
Clear Capital is making massive staff reductions in the appraisal management department, including the Chief Appraiser and the Administrative Manager, who both are licensed appraisers.
Aloft is a start-up ‘appraisal company’ and a licensed AMC in Washington. Most ‘staff’ appraisers have been jettisoned, along with the licensed Trainees they had hired to work under the Certified Appraisers. That’s too bad for trainees, as this was a decent way to accumulate hours toward their licensing.
There are probably other AMCs around the US with similar activity. If you have absolute confirmation knowledge of AMC staff reductions, closing doors or selling out, let me know. Provide as much detail that you know about similar to the above. I might want to compile a list and distribute it one day in the future.
More layoffs at Reno-based Clear Capital amid ‘seismic shift’ in housing market
Clear Capital executed another round of layoffs… with the real estate appraisal and technology firm blaming a challenging market.
The layoffs involve 250 employees or about a quarter of the company’s staff. The restructuring will impact Clear Capital’s global workforce, including employees in Reno.
“We are seeing a seismic shift in the housing market, but more specifically in the appraisal and valuation industry,” said Clear Capital CEO Duane Andrews.
Dave Towne on e-AppraisersDirectory.com
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I don’t want to ever see anyone lose their job…even those whose purpose we don’t agree with. Because that results in a human being without a source of income. But I know a couple of chief appraisers who should lose their jobs due to incompetence, not economic downturns.
Unlike Kimberly, I would dance in the streets if every AMC employee lost their job and every AMC.owner ended up in prison.
Layoffs at the AMC level were inevitable regardless in the slowdown in lending, most if not all this work can be or is done off-shore or by AI/computers. The sales staff at these places as well as in the mortgage spaces will likely be ramped up. AMCs will have to sell on turn times and fees which will just bring more of the same to the appraisers, the brokers can’t really sell on rates any more, many are getting a lot of heat for misrepresenting the rates they initially offer, it will be customer service that wins the day. Same with us appraisers, be professional, and try you best to be nice, we might be able to get a new client or two, or keep the an old one
And the Feds keep raising the interest rates due to the unemployment rate being lower than its’ been in decades??? Where are all these people working? (Likely at McDonalds). If the Feds would cut the rates a bit it would help out the entire Real Estate Industry, which is the largest slice of the US Economy pie.
Helping Americans is not the goal of the current administration. McDonalds is closing stores in high crime urban areas, adding POS machines, and many have not reopened their dining rooms and are take out only. Good Luck to everyone in these challenging times.
I have seen a few downturns since 1986, and this one proves one of my original thoughts about the origin of AMC’s. This time the AMC’s are taking the place of the banks with respect to cutting appraisers. It’s like the AMC’s are employers without the overhead. Appraisers are like employees without the safety net.
Now the banks have transferred the overhead to the AMC. The bank executives love the AMC that save them tons of money.
AMC’s never die, they just layoff the cubicle dwellers, make a withdrawal from their Cayman deposits and change their name or merge with another. Dudd-Fwank needs a few revisions….. then turn times wouldn’t be your problem !
Tough luck. These amc companies cost the appraiser community quite literally a hundred thousand jobs if not more over the past decade, while simultaneously bragging about record setting business growth to the same community of workers they were siphoning the income from and putting out of business. In the fever pitch for record setting growth the amc industry disregarded the important roles appraisers do play. All the amc industry cared about was market share and expansion, they never cared about consumer safety or well being of those they worked with, which is why nobody will miss them. All at once, a thousand ceo’s just lit up a fine cigar, kicked the alligator skin boots onto rainforest wood desks, leaned back a little too far, and tumbled backwards out a high rise window.
This guy has a running list of mortgage lay offs. Does not seem as bad as last time though, wait and see. Take a second to also read the bottom of the comments list, which are the most recent. All the big names, nobody is insulated. I’ve reviewed several corporate sellers like OpenDoor take quite a few losses too lately. They bought on anticipation and then liquidated for losses. Who would have thought that selling your home to a company like Open Door, in early 2022 could have netted you +$50k more than the next guy, and a comparative +$100k or more in effective additional purchasing power today. Remarkable. With what’s coming, people may look back a few years from now and say you know what, 6% was not all that bad.
https://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/a-list-of-recent-mortgage-closures-mergers-and-layoffs/
I’ve been an appraiser for only 18 years and do a lot of lender work through the AMC’s; it’s like me needing a plumber and calling the “plumbing management company”, paying them a fee and they in turn try to locate the cheapest, fastest plumber without giving a rats tush about quality or customer satisfaction, AMC’s are no different but appraisers have nobody in their corner. The Appraisal Institute sits back and says there has to be more diversity in appraisers, they update the ridiculous USPAP that no one except us has to abide by, they never address the real issue, that is, FannieMae, FreddieMac are desperately trying to get rid of us in any way they can. We are too expensive, too slow and we “kill” deals that probably are overpriced anyway. If loans default, point a finger at the appraiser, foreclose and pass the loss onto the taxpayer. Nothing has changed since 2008 except more appraisal waivers, desktops, hybrids and other methods of getting around a real person looking at what is being mortgaged.
Well said.
Remember the names of the AMC’s that donated against appraisers, hopefully a few of them will be gone soon.
We need to realize that the Appraisal Institute is the ENEMY of appraisers and the industry. They say they advocate for appraisers but ultimately, they do whatever Fannie and Freddie say….bought, sold, and empowered by NAR and MBA Lobbyists. Also, don’t believe the theater between the ASC and AI, its all for show.
You hit the nail on the head Joseph! I’ve always said make attorneys go through an Attorney Management Company to receive work and see how long it takes them to lobby for that to change. They have a little more power than we lowly appraisers. I love appraising, but am so discouraged with what has become of our profession. Been doing this for 37 years and am counting the days until I hang up my clip board and camera.
I still can’t comprehend how retaining “staff appraisers” isn’t a massive conflict of interests on the AMC side.
I wonder how many signed a Non-Compete?
I wouldn’t take a non -compete unless they are paying me during that non-compete period for enough money, which there is no way they would do.
In some states non competes are not even enforceable, can be illegal. It’s especially difficult to enforce non compete clauses to 1099 workers. It is even more difficult to enforce for specialty licensed services. Non compete approaches are on the way out, FTC is currently proposing a national ban on these practices, there is actually an open letter writing period which is probably still open on this matter right now.
I hate to see any of our Citizens of this Great Nation get laid off from a job. These Corelogic employees should immediately go down to their State Unemployment office and file. This may qualify many of them for food stamps, new job training. Its not great money but its something…while they scramble to sign up with the hundreds of AMC’s out there. The Current available job market in the USA is very good. So my guess is many of the Appraisers and trainees will just throw up their hands and say ” No Mas!”
Here we go again
Hey everybody! Here’s an idea:
Lender needs appraisal. Lender calls appraiser . Appraiser performs assignment.
Can we get back to this and stop all the nonsense already!!!
Separation from loan production read well on paper. In practical application it’s a total failure. This did nothing to protect appraisers from lender pressure, but it sure did make pressuring appraisers easy, as we’re unable to respond to the people issuing so many daily edicts. It’s like a wives tale, and I’ve personally caught panel managers outright lying to the mortgage department and borrowers about my performance, covering their own buns while selling me down the river. The Guaranteed Rate non-licensed appraisal panel manager did that to me, just outright lied, threw a baby temper tantrum on the phone repeatedly. I swapped them out for a better client with a qualified licensed panel manager within the week, smooth sailing ever since.
I got very busy last week and have 2 AMC orders due today- I told them it would be Monday and they are freaking “WHY are you late?? The due date is today!!!!” My response was to both “I took several AMC orders last week and now I’m out of time due to responding to constant status requests. Sorry. Report by 5pm Monday I hope.”
The name of the appraisal management game is whipping the appraisers into shape. You are a virtual employee, less most actual employee benefits. Here is your continuing education 15% coupon from McKissock, great job. Take the time to track your actual time commitment to amc quoting and other time draining tasks. Personally I found that in busy times I was investing 2-4 hours a day on this. Ever since I refused amc engagement in general, I’ve had consistently higher per order compensation, as well as less stress and better time efficiency per order. When I receive notice of an order, it is mine and mine alone, allowing for better efficiency. Amc’s really do destroy appraisers efficient process efforts with their bidding methods. Even direct is this way though, deadline focused, people get heated because pressure flows downhill, the appraiser is the end of the line position. Sometimes you have to be willing to watch them float by with a longer turn time estimate. The appraisal industry is a very time demanding position because we come at the end of the line after all these other efforts are already set in place. A better quoting method for amc’s is to provide static fees and turn times. $xxx fee & 1 week from the date of assignment. It’s the old addage in real estate, first one to say a number loses. In this case, landing with a specific due date. ‘From the date of assignment.’ Then you can skip the wasted resources of honestly reviewing all these orders, and just quick respond a standard fee and turn time. If you run into something complex, you negotiate again. What ends up happening though is with amc’s you’ll only get complex work and will get underbid on the bread and butter more simple work you need to sustain the business. With lender direct it’s a mix of easy and tough, and you just take them all at a standard fee. A better position to be in.
Hope it continues where AMCS are a one person shop, then lenders send a blast email out for bulk assignments for an area , then they never hear from them.
What many appraisers may not realize, is lenders already do this, often shopping orders to multiple amc’s at once, who then shop them out to untold numbers of appraisers. Absolutely lowest number gets it.