Tagged: staff appraisers

Staff Reductions at AMCs 23

Staff Reductions at AMCs

Making massive staff reductions in the appraisal management department, including the Chief Appraiser and the Administrative Manager, who both are licensed appraisers. Appraisers, it’s not ‘just us’ who have taken the slowdown in lending “in the shorts.” I have confirmed changes at THREE different AMCs: CoreLogic is laying off all W-2 ‘staff’ appraisers, and most of the staff administering those folks. Corelogic may continue placing assignments with 1099 vendor appraisers. My suspicion is that many of the W-2 appraisers will continue to work with Corelogic as 1099 vendors, especially in the urban areas. Clear Capital is making massive staff reductions...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Waiting for the Platform to Fall... They Hired the Fastest Cheapest Guy 35

Waiting for the Platform to Fall…

…waiting for the platform to fall… because you know they hired the fastest and cheapest guy to build it! When Dodd Frank was implemented lenders started using appraisal management companies, eliminating appraisers relationships basically overnight. Appraisers embraced the change reluctantly and started accepting assignments from appraisal management companies. Over the years appraisal management companies showed their true colors and lowered fees, required appraisers to pay upload fees and forced many appraisers to pay for unnecessary back ground checks. Some have hired staff appraisers, completely disregarding the intent of Dodd Frank in an attempt to lower operating costs. Today, most AMC’s...

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

Independent Appraisers or Employees & CA AB5 Law - Appraisers Blogs 8

AB5 – Employee or Independent Contractor?

Most independent appraisers are paid ‘by the job’ and are issued 1099’s for the payments made. Appraisers who are ‘staff appraisers’ for specific clients are considered EMPLOYEES, and are issued a W-2 for income paid to them. Independent appraisers should not create an EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP until and unless that is specifically what is desired… I’ve been having a respectful discussion with a California appraiser, who believes (as do others) that just because a particular client requests a certain kind of appraisal report be completed using an online web based report form, then that action constitutes establishing an EMPLOYEE relationship with that...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Political Action

AMCs Appraisal Report Reviews - Validox Appraisal Review Document 19

AMCs Appraisal Report Reviews

AMCs are legally required to do appraisal report reviews… Appraisers, an appraiser shared AMC appraisal report review documents with me, which the appraiser was given. I have not seen these before. See the PDF embedded below for an example. Per state laws in the various states, AMCs are legally required to do appraisal report reviews per provisions of their state AMC license on up to 5% of the reports they process. AMCs must keep the results of those appraisal report reviews on file for a specified time period, and of course, send the review document to the client lender pertaining to the...

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

The Appraisal Management Company Business Model, Deceitful Little Lies 29

Deceitful Little Lies

At some point, appraisers need to take a stand against the appraisal management company business model. There are simply no benefits to appraisal management companies and there is no accountability for their actions. Haven’t we all been abused enough? Do the lenders really understand they are responsible for every action of the appraisal management company? Do the lenders really know the questionable ethics of the appraisal management companies? Are the appraisal management companies lying to the lenders? Deceitful, liars, bait and switch, trickery, fee shoppers, bottom feeders, empty promises and illegal activity are some of the nicer terms used to...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Commercial Appraisers Against National Firm - Overtime Class Action 3

Appraiser Overtime Lawsuits Continue

Appraiser Overtime Lawsuits Continue to Hit Banks and AMCs – and Now Commercial Appraisers Against a National Commercial Appraisal Firm In May, I wrote a short piece (posted here) about the legal threat posed to AMCs, appraisal firms and other employers of appraisers in relation to classification of appraisers as exempt from overtime. I included a warning that the threat was spreading to commercial firms. It’s time for an update. In August, another bank – U.S. Bank – was sued for unpaid overtime by a potential class of appraisers. Also named as a defendant to the class action is U.S....

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

Hybrid AMCs & Appraisal Firms: Employees vs Independent Contractors 5

Hybrid AMCs & Appraisal Firms

The monetary risk, however, may be much bigger for hybrid AMCs… company’s vendor panelists should be classified as employees, rather than contractors, plaintiff’s counsel offered evidence that the company “tells vendors where to go, when to go, what to do, when to get it done and how much and when they will be paid for their efforts…” Appraisal Firms and Hybrid AMCs: Beware of the Dynamex Decision and Its Impact on Classifying Appraisers as Independent Contractors in California Classifying “staff appraisers” as independent contractors, rather than as employees, is a very common business practice among real estate appraisal firms. It...

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

How the Agreement Between CoreLogic & the FTC Impacts Appraisers 15

FTC vs Corelogic

…how the agreement between CoreLogic and the FTC from 2014 impacts appraisers… The FTC vs CoreLogic: Why it is important to Appraisers Some appraisers have reached out to VaCAP asking how the agreement between CoreLogic and the FTC from 2014 impacts appraisers. VaCAP wants to highlight the case and provide some key points of reference. The agreement revolves around the purchase of DataQuick by its competitor CoreLogic in 2014. The FTC at that time allowed the transaction with some parameters in which CoreLogic agreed to. See the analysis of the agreement here. A summary of the parameters are below: CoreLogic...

ACI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

Community Banks Appraisal Waivers Deja Vu - If I Could Turn Back Time 61

If I Could Turn Back Time

Community Banks want to bypass appraisals in rural area… Evaluations are the answer, right? There have been lots of discussions lately concerning property inspection waivers, waivers of appraisals in rural areas, and allowing appraisers to complete Evaluations outside of USPAP standards. Doesn’t this all sound familiar? It should, we have already lived it 30 some years ago, prior to FIRREA. Back then Savings and Loans had staff appraisers to complete appraisals. The appraisal was not completed by a licensed appraiser, because licensing to protect the public did not exist. Today Community Banks want to bypass appraisals in rural area. Their...

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

Appraisal Management Companies AMCs Have Failed 63

AMCs Have Failed

…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...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

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