FTC - Appraisers Blogs

The Shadowy AMC Fees Draining Billions from Homebuyers

AppraisersBlogs — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:30:46 +0000

The hidden costs of appraisal management companies (AMCs) in the real estate industry have faced growing scrutiny, as highlighted by a recent Business Insider article titled “The Hidden Middleman who cost homebuyers $12 billion dollars and counting.” The article examines the opaque practices of AMCs, which frequently charge exorbitant fees that can exceed the amount paid to the appraiser. As highlighted by former Appraisal Institute CEO Cindy Chance, this issue has faced significant resistance from entrenched interests, mirroring the challenges faced in other industries such as the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector, which ultimately led to an FTC investigation. The...

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The New Con: Hybrids, Waivers & AMCs Threaten Public Trust

VaCAP Board — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:30:39 +0000

Hybrid Appraisals, Appraisal Waivers and Appraisal Management Companies are the new Con. Last month marked the 7-year anniversary of Appraiser Fest. The conference was truly like nothing that had been done before. It was organized by appraisers for appraisers. The agenda was more about bringing the profession together and protecting the public trust. Appraiser Fest was not about promoting the profit of others at the expense of appraisers; nor was it about hiding the unchecked facts of fraud and ill doings against consumers. It was about public awareness and trust. It all started with a renewed sense of energy with...

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Are the Courts a Remedy for Nation’s Financial Truth-Tellers?

Jeremy Bagott — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:30:55 +0000

Politicized boards and commissions with little accountability to the electorate want to deplatform these truth-tellers at every turn. This month, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Regulatory State. Financial analysts, fiduciaries, auditors and appraisers should take heart. Those targeted by a growing number of independent agencies, boards and commissions may now immediately challenge an agency’s constitutionality in federal court without having to submit to a drawn-out administrative process that frequently serves only the interests of the agency being challenged. The decision couldn’t have come soon enough, as an army of assorted technocrats, believers, grand viziers, cronies, hustlers...

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Proposed Rule to Eliminate C&R Fee Tabled

Mark Skapinetz — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 12:30:33 +0000

Yesterday morning, I attended the Georgia state appraisal board hearing on the proposed rule to eliminate the C&R fee law they have in place. You know, the one that is similar to the one in Dodd-Frank. The Georgia appraisal board apparently is being investigated by the FTC for their law. They thought that the FTC vs the Louisiana case was a ruling in favor of the FTC when in fact it was not, and wanted to avoid any sort of notion that they were price fixing or of anti trust. The board received letters from appraisers and others in the...

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TAF Is About To Get PAVEd

Jonathan Miller — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 12:30:33 +0000

The current administration is addressing the lack of diversity in housing valuation head-on with the formation of an interagency task force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE). Here are the details of the PAVE Task Force. They just had their first meeting and this is a serious effort unlike the silliness of TAF’s bureaucratic actions of the past year that were nothing more than window dressing to the lack of diversity problem within the appraisal industry. Incidentally, The Appraisal Foundation is not part of PAVE Task Force. Keep that in mind when you read their bat-shit crazy letter again and think about the fact that...

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FTC Has Cost the Appraisal Profession Dearly

VaCAP Board — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 12:30:10 +0000

The FTC has cost the appraisal profession dearly in their pursuit of the State of Louisiana. This entire episode has been entirely misguided… The FTC’s time SHOULD have been spent investigating the AMC trade group known as REVAA to find TRULY non-competitive practices… The FTC is asking for public comments on the consent decree by the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board. The time line to comment is short and ends on July 22, 2021. VaCAP asks each of you to take a few minutes and read the consent decree as well as the analysis provided by the FTC before commenting....

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Call to Comment; AMC Disciplinary Action

VaCAP Board — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 12:30:33 +0000

1. A Call to Comment has been issued. 2. VA is looking for Appraisers. 3. AMC Disciplinary Action Snowballs into Multiple States… A Call to Comment has been issued. The FTC is asking for public comments on the consent decree by the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board. The time line to comment is short and ends on July 22, 2021. VaCAP asks each of you to take a few minutes and read the consent decree as well as the analysis provided by the FTC before commenting. The link for the Federal Register that contains all the information can be found...

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Appraisal Fees Back in the Spot Light

VaCAP Board — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 12:30:51 +0000

FTC vs LREAB Update The Supreme Court has denied the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board’s petition to intervene in the administrative case for price fixing by the FTC. The FTC trial is scheduled to proceed on April 20, 2021. VaCAP is closely following this case and will update you as it proceeds. To view all the activity for this case, go to the FTC’s webpage here. Working RE Appraisal Survey Let your voice be heard on what is customary and reasonable fees for your services. Working RE is conducting the annual fee survey. We have been asked to help distribute...

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Price-Fixing Case May Reach Supreme Court

Peter Christensen — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 13:30:06 +0000

The first case about real estate appraisers to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in almost 60 years may concern the Federal Trade Commission’s price-fixing claims against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board. Would that be a good thing for appraisers? Well, maybe it’s not the best timing. Filed in 2017, the FTC’s administrative complaint asserts that the Louisiana appraiser board, “a state agency controlled by licensed real estate appraisers, has unreasonably restrained price competition for real estate appraisal services.” The FTC contends that the board carried out this price-fixing through its regulation of fees paid to appraisers by appraisal management...

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New Appellate Decision – LREAB v FTC

Peter Christensen — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 12:30:07 +0000

FTC’s price-fixing enforcement action against LREAB… A federal appellate court – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit – has issued a decision in the long-standing fight between the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about “customary and reasonable” appraisal fees. I’m venturing here to provide a short, understandable, unbiased summary of the litigation and what this latest court decision means. What did the Court of Appeals decide? Here’s the very short summary: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pursuing an administrative complaint it filed in 2017 against LREAB, contending that LREAB’s “customary and reasonable”...

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The Biggest Snow Job of Your Life

Guest Author — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 12:30:00 +0000

Remember the saying “Pick two: fast, cheap or good. You can only have two of them?” Well you see, amcs got impatient and stopped reading after fast and cheap… The concept is simple enough, a fire wall between the loan production staff and the appraiser to avoid any possible pressure, coercion or influence. It sounded like a good idea to many; hence the HVCC legislation passed and was enacted. This was a period of trial and error for so many and before anyone found their way, along came Mr. Dodd and Mr. Frank to give their official stamp of approval...

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The Power of No!

Guest Author — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 12:30:37 +0000

Appraisers always had the power to end the appraisal management pyramid scheme. All we had to do is say no. Low fees, headaches, and idiotic reviewers have reached maximum capacity. The imploding of appraisal management companies is forthcoming. Over the past few months, appraisers have been simply saying no to low paying, time wasting, headache giving appraisal management companies; problematic portals too. I even read recently an appraisal was unable to be uploaded to a portal because the opinion of value was below the contract price. This type of influence rises to a whole new level, not to mention the...

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LREAB Hit With an Antitrust Lawsuit

VaCAP Board — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 13:30:10 +0000

…everyone knows that iMortgage / Single Source is the “dollar bidding” company. They send out appraisal requests at $1.00 and ask everyone to provide their fee… The Louisiana Real Estate Appraiser Board has been hit with another legal battle. This time, iMortgage, operating under the name Single Source has filed suit against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board claiming a violation of antitrust laws. This suit mirrors that of the FTC, which is currently paused by the Fifth Circuit Court. In the suit, iMortgage claims rules created by the Louisiana Real Estate Board, which consists of market participants, set appraisal...

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Game Over ServiceLink

VaCAP Board — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 12:30:27 +0000

Now that ServiceLink fee schedule, indicating fees paid to appraisers and fees charged to the lenders, has been released to the public, there is absolutely no reason for in camera review… We are sure you have heard the old saying what goes around comes around, right. Well, here we are again; The FTC vs Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board case has been brought back into the spot-light. As you may recall, the LREAB filed a civil case against the FTC in attempt to stop the case against them. That case was denied due to lack of jurisdiction. Then the LREAB...

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AMCs Responsible for the Hybrid Inspection

VaCAP Board — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:30:01 +0000

It seems holding the appraisal management companies responsible for the hybrid inspection is the best option. The thinking was they choose, engage and pay the inspector. The Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board met for its quarterly meeting on July 30, 2019. We are happy to report CoesterVMS no longer has a license to operate in Virginia. The Board voted to accept the consent order accepting the voluntary surrender of his license. The Board also passed a motion to draft legislation to be introduced into the General Assembly giving the Board regulatory control over the hybrid inspection and those individuals that...

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DOJ Investigates Big Tech

VaCAP Board — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 12:30:19 +0000

The Department of Justice announced last week they have initiated a review of anti-trust concerns with Big Tech Companies. From the Wall Street Journal article, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice collaborated on who would take the lead on this investigation. Also pointed out in the article, both the FTC and DOJ are pursuing separate investigations of Big Tech Companies. Although CoreLogic was not named as an initial target, we suspect it is just a matter of time before they are included. Frank Garay and Brian Stevens did a short 6 minute video on the subject which...

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Lenders Allies AMC Negligent Conduct

VaCAP Board — Mon, 20 May 2019 12:30:41 +0000

Lenders Allies, LLC, an appraisal management company, has agreed to a consent order with the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB). On May 1, 2019 Lenders Allies agreed to a final order neither admitting guilt or denying guilt of violations of Texas law. The case revolved around the investigation of a complaint against an appraiser, which then lead them to Lenders Allies. The appraiser completed 59 appraisals for Lenders Allies over a period of two years as an employee and at no time was the appraiser on Lenders Allies appraiser panel maintained by the TALCB. Was this an administrative oversight...

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Another Huckster Enters the Appraisal Arena

Michael Ford — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 12:30:55 +0000

Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. It’s that time again! Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. Apparently motivated by pure altruism. We identified a need in the marketplace to address a common problem that lenders are regularly challenged with in providing accurate appraisal quotes and then ensuring pricing on the Loan Estimate is consistent and compliant,” stated Vladimir Bien-Aime, president and CEO at Global DMS. (I LOVE this guy, he writes like me!) Global DMS Launches SnapVal to Provide Instant, Accurate, Guaranteed...

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$599 Waiver to Save the Borrower Money?

VaCAP Board — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 13:30:08 +0000

The consumer is being fed yet another lie! Remember when we heard an appraisal waiver will save the borrower money? Do you recall all those videos from loan officers and mortgage companies encouraging borrowers to obtain an appraisal waiver to save them money? News flash – they lied! But you already knew that. Well, fellow appraiser and blogger Krystal Schware of Paragon Appraisal Services has a story for you: “The Danger of Saying Yes to an Appraisal Waiver”. “For only $599, we will grant you an appraisal waiver to help you avoid having an appraisal that ‘comes in short’.” **...

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AMC’s Shutdown Excuse for Late Payments

VaCAP Board — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 13:30:25 +0000

Clarocity cites possible upcoming government shutdown as excuse to delay payments to appraiser. From our Sister Coalition in Mississippi: “BEWARE if you accept any orders from Clarocity. I got a call from one of our members today telling me that Clarocity is citing the upcoming government shutdown as a reason appraisers may not get paid timely on the orders they are currently sending out. The scope of work and terms of the orders indicate that the appraisals for USDA may not get paid within the 60 day period if the government shuts down. This is really no excuse but if...

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