Tagged: fees

February 14, 2019

Planet of Deadbeat AMCs!

So who is really responsible for payments to appraisers?… Where to start with this? Do I have to refer you back to my past articles like What’s Not in Your Wallet or Appraisers Outraged? Where do we even begin… We begin here. Another story of an Appraisal Management Company going out of business, owing tons of money to appraisers for services they provided. Coester VMS, once one of the biggest players in the game, closed its doors recently. They closed them leaving appraisers with thousands of unpaid invoices for services that who knows if they will ever be paid for....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Coester VMS

The Proposed Bifurcation of the Appraisal Process. Who Benefits & Why?

January 23, 2019

Shifting Narrative of Appraisal Modernization

…the reasoning for changing the appraisal process has shifted… Is there are Crisis? Rahm Emanuel eloquently stated “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” There has been a narrative that there is a shortage of appraisers. Interestingly, this is not coming from lenders that engage appraisers directly. This is coming from Appraisal Management Companies otherwise known as “Middlemen” and the lenders that employ the Middlemen. These Middlemen will shop an appraisal assignment by blast emails to as many appraisers...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Technology

Mortgage Industry Expert Wants to “Eliminate” Appraisers – A Response

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January 7, 2019

Expert Wants to “Eliminate” Appraisers

Mortgage Industry Expert Wants to “Eliminate” Appraisers – A Response The National Mortgage News website just published an interview with an industry expert who openly stated she wants to “eliminate” the appraisal profession. No subtlety, no nuance — she wants us gone! Given the name of the website, I didn’t expect to find too many pro-appraiser viewpoints. I ran a search for the term “appraiser” on the website’s internal search engine and many of the articles that came up were about eliminating the profession or the current state of appraisal waivers.…to “eliminate” the appraisal profession… Rather than read the article...

AMC / American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Skeptics, traditional, vocational or advanced appraiser. What kind are you?

January 4, 2019

What Kind of Appraiser Are You?

Skeptical skeptics are a rare breed. But growing in number… Different appraisers have different attitudes! Some have a lot of experience, others a lot of education. Others emphasize the ‘art’, while others consider themselves ‘quants’. Let’s put aside the ‘art’ versus ‘science’ discussion, where the artists say: “No computer will ever replace the appraiser”, or “No amount of education will ever replace experience”. The other side seems a bit confused. There are traditionalists. And there are the “advanced” appraisers. And there are the “vocational” appraisers, who don’t seem to care much about all of this. They just want to push through as many reports as possible. The skeptics tend to doubt...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

December 26, 2018

Quoting Fee/TT to AMCs

Appraisers, I had a revealing conversation with a clerk at an AMC last week. I actually received an email requesting Fee/TT, then awhile later a phone call about the same property, from a different clerk. I decided to call that clerk back after researching the property. Conversation went something like this: AMC clerk: Hi, this is James. Me: Hi James, I’m calling about the Timbucktoo property, which I can do for you. AMC: OK, I have that pulled up. Me: First of all, I don’t discount my fee for anyone, including your AMC. Second, I can do the assignment, probably...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees

December 14, 2018

Closed for Business, Sorry Folks!

For those who are not familiar with what an AMC is, it is short for Appraisal Management Company. They are not new, but since the adoption of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the number and the frequency of their use have increased. They are the order manager for the lender and ensure appraiser independence. If you have not already read “What’s Not in Your Wallet” or “Round and Round!”, go get a little more familiar before reading this. AMCs manage appraisal orders. They find the appraisers to give the orders to, and are supposed to provide quality control reviews...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / AppraiserLoft / Appraisers News

December 12, 2018

CoesterVMS in Bankruptcy?

…all payments on orders completed prior to 11/15/2018 cannot be paid… Appraisers, there is a body of evidence being disseminated via various sources that CoesterVMS, the AMC based in Maryland started by appraiser Brian Coester, is in bankruptcy. This message from CoesterVMS was circulated last week: “Due to financial difficulties all payments on orders completed prior to 11/15/2018 cannot be paid at this time, our BK attorneys will be in contact with all creditors. Coester can guarantee payment next day on all orders completed on or after 11/16/2018. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Does it make any logical sense to...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Coester VMS

November 15, 2018

Adjustments: Now What?

So, what are these methods and techniques? We’re told to “support” our adjustments. We hear words like “prove” your adjustments… as if there were some magic formula which can give an exact, correct, and absolutely true number. It used to be so easy… Our trainer gave us a sheet with the “right” adjustments. Simple. USPAP Standards Rule 1-1 says we must be aware of, understand, and correctly employ recognized methods and techniques. What are they? Who recognizes them? How do I apply them? So, what are these methods and techniques? Let’s look. In The Appraisal of Real Estate (ARE) p.46, it says: “Qualitative analysis techniques may also be...

AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

November 1, 2018

Appraiser’s Response to MyAMC

Thank you for your invitation to join your panel. I read all your details. They are addressed in the following: I find it unlikely you retain top appraisers nationwide if you think $350 is a reasonable fee in my area. Did you arrive at that by buying Corelogic’s purported ‘independent survey’? I don’t accept 30 day billing from any unproven clients with unspecified volume. Provide a copy of your current Dunn and Bradstreet rating along with a guarantee of a minimum of 25 orders per month, and I will consider deferred billing. Otherwise you would have to pay me by...

ACI / AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

October 19, 2018

Theft of Appraisers’ Data

…they charge appraisers an upload fee for the privilege of having their data stolen… I would never allow my data to be used for or by a service that specifically uses to create, modify or enhance products designed to compete with my professional services to the detriment of my business and profession. THAT is something that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals identified when they found that CoreLogic’s subsidiary FNC STOLE appraisers data after promising them data security. FNC stole data. We now know FNMA also stole data. Alamode is delving into individuals own personal databases in order to even...

a la mode / AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Software