In 2015, Dave Biggers of a la mode stated: I’ll wrap up by wishing you a happy new year, in spite of all the recent fear mongering, and by thanking you for supporting us with your business. I’m confident that in 2015 you’ll see even more reasons for that loyalty, especially in terms of us continuing in our long-standing role as the independent appraiser’s staunchest advocate, and in being the most innovative, reliable, and accessible technology provider. We look forward to working with — and for — all of you this year. Time and time again, we were assured that...
Shouldn’t consumers know where their money is going to? Before the housing collapse, when applying for a loan, you would go to your bank or mortgage broker and apply. Upon approval, they would explain the property would be appraised by a real estate appraiser and as the borrower, the cost of the appraisal was to the borrower (even though the appraisal is for the lender). The appraiser would either bill the lender the cost of the appraisal or coordinate payment when the appraiser was at the house. Sometimes, the lender would pay for it and roll it into your mortgage...
Appraisal Lock… a Safe and Secure Way of Getting Paid Deliver your .pdf, .xml and .env files to your clients and get paid instantly! The Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professional’s Exclusive Announcement April 1, 2018 is a security overlay attached to your appraisal report locking your report from opening until payment is made. Here is how it works: After installing our program, simply choose the Appraisal Lock® Print option. Fill out the client’s information and the amount of your invoice. Appraisal Lock® delivers your report securely locked until payment is made. Payment is deposited directly into your bank account. We have...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released a working paper “Are Appraisal Management Companies Value-Adding? – Stylized Facts from AMC and Non-AMC Appraisals” We have not had a chance to review the report in great detail, however, a quick glance has some very interesting analysis. This is a must read for every appraiser! See the “Are AMCs Value-Adding?” paper here or below. Excerpt: Are Appraisal Management Companies Value-Adding? – Stylized Facts from AMC and Non-AMC Appraisals In this paper, we study whether there are any systematic quality differences between appraisals associated and unassociated with appraisal management companies (AMCs). We find...
Please introduce me to "undisclosed-recipients." I would like to pick his or her brain to find out how he or she is getting all these orders. Now I don’t consider myself to be the most intelligent person out there, but do consider myself a fairly intelligent individual. Periodically I receive an email with an order request from different AMCs. These are unsolicited emails from amcs I do not do business with. Why I am receiving these requests is a concern and a question for another day. The emails I receive are addressed to the person who sent the email, undisclosed-recipients;...
Call to action to oppose Senate Bill 2155, also opposed by an overwhelming majority of Americans… Appraisers, We are placing an immediate nationwide call to action to oppose Senate Bill 2155 currently in the United States Senate. Senate Bill 2155 has a provision, (sec 103) which allows a bank to waive an appraisal in rural communities. This will be detrimental for homeowners and communities in rural areas. A loss of income will also occur for appraisers who cover rural counties. To see the text of S.2155, click here. The Independent Community Bank Association has been hard at work promoting this bill....
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,...
FTC "Price Fixing" Allegations Hearing Update On Thursday, Feb 22, 2018 there were oral arguments presented in the Federal Trade Commission building at 2 pm. The meeting adjourned just before 3:30 pm. There were 55 to 65 people in attendance, which we were told is an extraordinarily larger crowd than typical. This is a very unique case. On the FTC side there were two lawyers – one male, one female. On the Louisiana side there were four males at the head counsel table and three or four other attorneys. I have never attended one of these hearings, so I really did...
…it will be the appraisal management companies that are going to be held to the fire, not the appraiser… In the spring of 2002 my wife and I bought our third house; an older cape cod in a great school system where our son would start kindergarten in the fall and his sister the year after. This house literally was 1970 inside. It had deep red shag carpet in the family room and sculptured avocado green carpet upstairs. Not to worry, it blended well with the sunshine yellow stove, bright orange counter top and turquoise and pink bathrooms. After 3...
Many of you have filed formal complaints against AMC abuses with State appraisal boards… The place was a small subdivision developed with coastal style homes on the Ocean side of route 12 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The bank was Bank of America. The AMC was LandSafe and the time was just before Corelogic purchase of Landsafe for $122 million. I was asked by this AMC to appraise a home for a purchase transaction. My comparable sales consisted of one recent sale of the next door neighbor, one on the same street, and two closed sales in the...
