Tagged: liability

Unintended Users Phony Low Value Claims Against Innocent Appraisers 6

Phony Low-Value Complaints

ALL unintended users are specifically excluded from any right of reliance on this appraisal report… Recently, Mr. Steve Kahane, Board Member of the Association of Texas Appraisers (ATA) wrote a great article in WorkingRE. It included several suggestions for Texas to deal with it’s excessive number (70%-75%) of unfounded complaints against appraisers. An American Guild of Appraisers member in New Jersey who has twice faced this exact kind of complaint abuse reminded me of the article and concurred with its suggestions for his state. Fortunately for our member, New Jersey is not one of those relatively few ‘charge and win...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / TALCB

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Appraising Where It is Warmer

I found that there are not really any appraisal laws… There was a point when I was seriously considering the possibility of moving to Belize. I live in a cold climate so the prospect of living in a warmer area for at least part of the year appeals strongly to me. However, after visiting Belize, I quickly realized that – while I love the country – I personally do not want to live there – mainly because their cost of living is higher than I had been told. That being said, while there, I did quite a bit of research...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

Mueller Sample Bifurcated Appraisals. YOU Decide! - AppraisersBlogs 48

Mueller Sample Report. You Decide!

A recruiter for Mueller Services, Inc. (Mueller Reports) contacted a VaCAP member about joining their team as a W-2 employee to complete bifurcated appraisals. Our member communicated with them and received samples of their product.  During the course of the communication, the recruiter mentioned, via email: In the past 30 days, we have had 23 cases in Virginia as a whole and expect that number only to increase. A quick check on the Department of Professional Occupational Regulations (DPOR) website revealed Mueller Services, Inc. is not registered as an appraisal firm. In fact they are not registered at all. In Virginia, to operate an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Trending / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

Cyber Threats Are Real Risks to Appraisal Firms. Corelogic's Data Hacked 17

Cyber Attacks on Corelogic

Recent Cyber Attacks on CoreLogic and a Large Appraisal Firm Expose a Real Business Risk to Valuation Firms and Companies. As two recent attacks show, cyber crimes pose a real risk – legally and economically – to appraisal firms, management companies and other businesses involved in property analytics. If an operation like CoreLogic can be victimized by criminal hackers seeking property information, as it was in an attack earlier this month, any valuation firm or property analytics company is at risk. And, more seriously, the losses suffered by an appraisal firm in the separate cyber attack discussed below demonstrate how...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / CoreLogic Valuation Services

Racial Bias: Redlining in the Modern Era 13

Racial Bias: Redlining in the Modern Era

…are they behind this modern day redlining?… The broad definition of an algorithm according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is “a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end.” It is pretty basic and fully understood, right? Now think back to those dreaded English classes. When did you learn about acronyms? Grade School, High School, College? Regardless, let’s just say it was a while back, so I will refresh your memory. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, an acronym is” a word formed from the initial letter of words of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM

Mortgage Industry Expert Wants to “Eliminate” Appraisers – A Response 109

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

Is It Possible to Prove an Adjustment 5

Is It Possible to “Prove” an Adjustment?

We read articles and advertisements on how to prove an adjustment. Is this possible? How wonderful it would be. To prove an adjustment, just push a button and bam! Out comes the correct answer. How could we have we missed this? …prove an adjustment, just push a button…Of course, if such a simplistic and exact answer was possible – anyone could push that button.  An AVM run, a BPO agent, an “evaluator”, or anyone else. Who needs all that USPAP competence and integrity stuff? Even a lender-appointed hybridized “field inspector” could just push the button. The whole process could even skip working with the licensed appraiser completely!...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / AQB / Automated Valuation Models / AVM

Solidifi Agreement... All Indemnity Clauses Are Not Created Equal... 5

Indemnity Agreements

Solidifi User Agreement… all Indemnity Clauses are not created equal… This is a response to the article that Dave Towne wrote regarding Indemnity Clauses and that they are common in today’s world and appraisers better get used to it. It is also true that all Indemnity Clauses are not created equal and the devil is in the details. This topic came up because of the agreement that Solidifi requires that all appraisers that receive assignments from them must agree to. Let’s delve into the Indemnity Clause which is in that agreement. First the agreement is between Solidifi and the appraiser...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

Indemnity Clauses... Either Sign, or Get Put Out to Pasture - Appraisers Blogs 8

Indemnity Clauses – Redux

It’s been an interesting ride down the fearfulness side of many appraisers since last week’s essay I wrote about Indemnity Clauses. But I’ve also received praise from some of the best well-known people in this industry who understood the position I took, and complemented me for presenting the info. That means far more than the diatribes I get from folks who shake in their boots and don’t bother to fully read what is presented. As I wrote to someone last week, what I should have included in my essay, and will do so now is that if you can’t (or...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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Solidifi Agreement

Solidifi Agreement provides little or no protection for the appraiser… Many appraisers have seen the Solidifi agreement that appraisers must agree to if they want to receive appraisal assignment from them. This 18-19 page agreement written by a lawyer which was paid by Solidifi provides lots of protection and power for Solidifi and little or no protection for the appraiser. Many of you might be on the fence, should I agree to this or should I not and know that I will lose some business. If Solidifi is your major provider of appraisal assignment they have just put you between...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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