I’ve had bids come to me a number of times from different lenders or AMC’s over weeks and months on the same property. The loan could have been done a dozen times over, but for the lowest bid search of the penny-pinching AMC’s and lenders. Well, penny-pinching when it comes to appraisers.

I can’t even get what I was getting in the 1980’s-1990’s for today’s much more complicated and remote properties. Personally, I think we’re all just p*ssin’ up a rope, thinking that things will ever get better. Given the now-now-now mentality of the public and most businesses who sell products and services to the public, we’ve become dinosaurs. This poison is everywhere. I’ve taught karate on and off for five decades and people come in and want to learn to do a jump back kick like Chuck Norris used to do. I tell them that it will take five to fifteen years to learn that. They look utterly shocked and walk out. They’ll go to a dozen karate schools until somebody lies to them and tells them they can learn it in a couple of lessons. We’re up against a tsunami of stupidity and cluelessness. Good luck.

Oh, but Fannie, in their latest email, says they’re trained. I mean, gosh, if Fannie said it, it must be true, huh? Smirk emoji.

https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/property-valuation?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10965074&utm_term=5121337&utm_content=43310400&sfmc_id=2003674520

IMO, there is minimal reason for a 24 hour turn time, and for those few – it should be a rush. I just spent almost 6 hours in the field for a rural appraisal, limited comps, rain and muddy roads. If it were a 24 hour turn time, I would need to work nearly through the night to complete it – not only is our income at risk, but so is our health – I guess that’s not something that is considered.

Because our voices were silenced in favor of the erosion of our profession and the greed of corporations – at least those who tried to voice. Too many appraisers didn’t speak out when needed and have yet to cooperate enough to put a stop to it. A massive strike might help, but may be too late.

User name checks out. That is indeed an expert level take. Thanks.

I hear ya. I had one that kept making the rounds for well over a month. It was a nightmare of a property, and well outside of my coverage area. The engagement letter stated the property characteristics didn’t match public records, and the property likely has additional ADU’s (plural). They also wanted an FHA level inspection, even though it wasn’t going FHA. This was in a conforming tract home community. No thanks!

Mike Irvine What delays the process is Amc’s sending out bid request for days to up to a week shopping for the low ball appraisal bid.

It’s wild how these companies push “faster” over “better.” Reggora’s 24-hour appraisal claims to be a full product, inspection, report, delivery across urban, suburban, and rural areas. They call it “comprehensive” and “cost-effective,” which apparently means lenders get rush turnaround without paying rush fees. So appraisers are expected to drop everything, work faster, and still get paid the same.

Honestly, I’m just glad I don’t do any lending work anymore. Watching this race to the bottom from the sidelines is frustrating enough… can’t imagine being forced to play along. It’s not solving a problem, it’s selling a shortcut, and the profession’s footing the bill.

Thank you! I’ll take “chutzpah in spades” as the highest compliment. Sometimes you’ve got to walk into the lion’s den, toss the match, & bring marshmallows. Appreciate you amplifying the message. May more appraisers find their fire

I am not against having a middle man in the equation as long as the middle man does not think he or she is an appraiser and wants to be compensated as one.

Scott Taylor What should be phased out are the Amc’s as they are unnecessary, because all they do is over charge the homeowner and gough money that belongs to the appraisers that do the work .

Chase-san, you will become a great ally of the appraiser. Understand the ways of the dark side, resist their deception, you have achieved.

Here’s the back-and-forth that deserves a standing ovation:

Desiree:
“Brian Zitin, you may not remember reaching out to me fresh out of college, asking how to build a platform that would empower appraisers, one where lenders paid for access, appraisers set their full fee, & no cut was taken from the professional doing the work. That vision had integrity. What Reggora has become does not.

Your company has undermined the appraisal profession by packaging it like fast food. According to your own website, ordering an appraisal is now no different than hailing a ride or grabbing a pizza, because apparently, decades of market expertise & regulatory oversight are about as complex as choosing thin crust or deep dish.

I’ve dropped every client that moved to your platform. I won’t work with any AMC, & I won’t contribute to enriching a system that treats appraisers as disposable inputs. Calling seasoned professionals “stubborn” for resisting commoditization isn’t just dismissive, it’s telling.

Millions in funding may buy scale, but it doesn’t buy respect. And it certainly doesn’t buy credibility.”

Brian:
“Desiree Mehbod When we first started Reggora it was actually supposed to start off as free form software that would compete with alamode and ACI, you even wrote about it

https://appraisersblogs.com/corelogic-acquisition-appraisers-ditch-a-la-mode#google_vignette

We built a free cloud based form software that was integrated into MLS & public records to help appraisers streamline the creation of reports, and guess what happened?

Appraisers didn’t want to use it!

Because they were scared to change , and even years later despite your article a la mode is still the most used appraisal form software (one might describe this as stubborn) same thing has happened to many tech companies who have built better software but appraisers refuse to relearn a new one

We gave up and pivoted to streamlining the rest of the appraisal process – all we have done is make processes that were manual and tedious more automated, it’s really that simple no fast food metaphor applicable”

Desiree (again, with precision):
“Brian Zitin, what you call “stubborn,” I call discerning. Appraisers didn’t reject your form software because they feared change. They rejected it because they saw through it. Streamlining is welcome when it respects the complexity of the work. What Reggora offers now isn’t simplification, it’s commoditization.

You pivoted from empowering appraisers to monetizing them, from promising fee control to building a system that treats valuation like logistics. The fast food metaphor still applies: mass-produced, low-context, & served up fast to please investors, not professionals.

And let’s not forget the early skepticism. The very article you linked described Reggora as a mystery. No ownership transparency, no about page, WHOIS info hidden. That lack of clarity wasn’t a fluke. It was a preview. Appraisers saw it then, & many still do now.

And let’s not pretend automation is neutral. When tech replaces judgment with templates & calls it innovation, it’s not progress. It’s erosion. Appraisers aren’t resisting evolution. They’re resisting being erased.”

———–
If more appraisers spoke with this kind of clarity, maybe we wouldn’t be watching our profession get sliced into deliverables & served up to venture capital. Let’s hope others follow her lead.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7369708564493406210/

Regorra, like most of the companies of this nature including their preferred amc clients they work on behalf of; Treating appraisers like employees, arguably in violation of IRS rules.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee
This is where ‘appraisal performance grading’ comes into play. Tiered ranking, visibility, star ratings, etc.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/completing-form-ss-8

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf