Background checks & third party relationships Appraisers, One of the recent thorns in appraisers’ sides has been the issue of background checks. A key reason for this is the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC) bulletin, which outlines the management responsibility banks must take when dealing with ‘third parties. Third parties include the AMC’s banks use to ‘manage’ their appraisal orders, and vendor appraisers. The bulletin puts the fear of God into bank Board of Directors. Since water runs downhill, the banks are telling AMCs that they must improve how they ‘vet’ appraisers on their panels. Many AMC’s are...
House Bill 651: Appraisal Board Recordkeeping and Background Checks Raleigh, NC – Today Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) passed House Bill HB 651 – Appraisal Board Recordkeeping and Background Checks – which provides regulatory relief for the real estate appraisal industry. House Bill 651 eliminates the discovery rule for civil action related to real estate appraisals and establishes a five year statute of limitations, which puts North Carolina in line with the United States Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. This will reduce insurance and compliance costs for real estate appraisers, many of which are small businesses and independent contractors. The bill...
The info below from AI’s Appraiser News OnLine is about the action taken by the AQB at their recent meeting in Seattle, WA, which I was unable to attend. It’s still unclear if “existing license holders” must undergo a background check at the time of their license renewal. Apparently that’s determined by individual states. And it’s still difficult to get all the multiple clients appraisers deal with, to accept “one” background check performed in a state or by a separate organization. So appraisers are sometimes faced with having to spend money to provide different background checks to individual clients. Frankly,...
…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...
“I was just asked by an AMC to get a background check. Do I have to comply?” As risk management advisors for Appraisers and Inspectors, this is one of the questions we hear over and over again. Let’s face it — appraisal fees are lower than ever before. Essentially, AMCs are asking you to do the same amount of work for less pay. In some cases, they’re even asking you to do more work. Does it make sense then that you have to get a background check in order to work for a specific AMC? Unfortunately, the increased costs associated...
