The 24-Hour Appraisal Funded by Appraisers
Reggora’s “24-hour appraisal” pitch was flimsy from the start, and now that we’ve seen the fine print, it’s not innovation, it’s a liability handoff wrapped in buzzwords. Their shiny new “Streamlined Appraisal” is just another hybrid, bifurcated product dressed up to look like progress. And like most hybrids, it assumes appraisers are either desperate, asleep, or willing to sign off on someone else’s work for peanuts.
Brian Zitin proudly explains that Reggora sends a property data collector to the home before the borrower even commits to the loan. They gather the Uniform Property Data Set, and get this, don’t charge the lender or borrower for it, even if the deal falls through. Sounds generous, until you realize someone has to eat that cost. Spoiler, it’s not the lender, and it’s definitely not Reggora.
A peer recently forwarded an FHA appraisal order from Appraisal Marketplace, Reggora’s AMC, offering a fee of $280. That’s not a typo. In 2025, they’re offering less than what appraisers earned in the early ’90s. And this isn’t just a random lowball, it’s the business model. Reggora pays property data collectors upfront, even when loans fall apart, then recoups the loss by slashing appraiser fees to bargain bin levels. The screenshot, with identifying info blurred, is a perfect snapshot of this ‘revolution.’ Same AMC tactics, now with a tech halo and a stopwatch.
Let’s be honest, this 24 hour fantasy only works if appraisers are sitting idle, waiting for a hybrid assignment to drop from the sky. Most of us are booked out for days, if not weeks. And even if someone were available, who’s lining up to take on the liability of signing off on third party data, especially when that data might come from a convicted felon, or when a botched measurement leaves homeowners $100,000 underwater?
Zitin calls this model “cost-effective.” Sure, if your definition of cost-effective is “cheaper for lenders, riskier for appraisers.” We’re not getting paid more for faster work. We’re being asked to do less inspecting, more rubber stamping, and absorb more liability for less money. That’s not efficiency. That’s exploitation with a tech logo.
And let’s not forget the infamous survey claiming 60 percent of appraisers are open to hybrids. That data’s been shredded for good reason. It’s flawed, misleading, and agenda driven. Most appraisers still prefer to inspect the property themselves, because accuracy, credibility, and professional integrity aren’t optional. No algorithm changes that.
Reggora’s 24-hour appraisal isn’t a breakthrough. It’s a bait and switch with a timer. It promises speed, delivers risk, and expects appraisers to subsidize the losses. If this is their idea of progress, they can keep the stopwatch. We’ll keep our standards, our sanity, and our spine.
- The 24-Hour Appraisal Funded by Appraisers - October 23, 2025
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- NAR Calls Out Unregulated Middlemen: A Wake-Up Call for FHFA - October 2, 2025
So much incorrect in this write up but again this isn’t real journalism just looking for clicks so you never even reached out to verify anything
With this new model, what sort of appraisal fees is Reggora promising lenders and what is the appraisers typical split from that? I see in the screenshot that it’s an old 1004, not UAD 3.6 so perhaps it’s an outlier and not the new product – but is that lowball request a sign of things to come? I think that and where the liability lies for the 24-hr appraisal model are the two big concerns appraisers will need addressed before they get on board. Because what appraisers are hearing from this current messaging is they will need to sling out more appraisals in less time, for lower fees and at higher risk.
Here’s another one going around, I really hope it’s propaganda and just a doctored image:
Audit the amc industry and tech companies whom serve them.
Thanks for posting this, Chase. That screenshot says it all: $60 to the PDC, $190 to the AMC. A 76% cut for the middleman.
And if they’re already taking that much from the PDC share, what happens when hybrids scale? Will appraisers be handed 24% of the fee while carrying 100% of the liability? This isn’t just about one screenshot, it’s about a business model that treats appraisers as disposable while monetizing every layer around them. The liability stays with us, the data comes from someone we’ve never met, & the fee gets carved up before it even hits our inbox.
If this is the future, it’s one where appraisers fund the tech, absorb the risk, and get paid in crumbs. Consumers aren’t saving. They’re funding the markup. And the AMCs? They’re cashing in on both ends.
And at this rate, it won’t be long before we see the next screenshot: the one that shows what appraisers are actually being paid for these 24-hour hybrid specials. Something tells me it won’t be flattering.
Why don’t people like Brian from Regorra, or the amc managers, or the managers of corelogic and scope assignment systems, simply be honest and clearly state what the appraisers are being paid upfront and what the upfront fee splits are, at the time of order placement? Use their internal statistics for orders previously handled, to create fair fee schedules and market rate statistics for appraisers to rely on?
Because at it’s heart, these are dishonest processes ran by dishonest people.
Hardly the right fit for serving ethical professionals tasked with all these ethical responsibilities.
Audit the amc industry and all the tech companies whom serve them.
Recurring violations of Dodd Frank Regulatory Z rules on Valuation Independence and associated requirements to pay market rate fees to all appraisers for any appraisal related to federally related transactions, the fee to be in alignment ‘as if no amc was involved.’
One day these companies are going to experience data penetration or an internal whistleblower event where the information gets out anyways, which has probably happened already but must of us simply don’t know about the event. A concerned person should get a job at these companies and share what they find with the world. How long do they think they’ll keep a lid on this level of exploitative process, masking that with pointless never ending public relations fluff?
Until I am told to stop, every order from here on out is going to have my fee in my scope of work addenda right behind the intended user’s name. I just wonder how long it takes them to notice or even if they read my report.
I am in the state where we disclose our fees within the appraisal report. It has been for few years. Did it make any difference? Absolutely not !!! The borrower does not care where the money goes. If the appraiser would get a dollar, he/she may think it was a typo and move on. Disclosure of the fees is irrelevant
CO had an amc rule that amc related appraisals, appraiser must disclose their fee billed in every report. 1. Nobody ever enforces the rule. 2. It never made any difference. 3. During review process, amc’s would black out this disclosure so review appraisers would never know either.
What is necessary is separation of fees. To stop the unearned fee raking and junk fee incorporation.
Distinctly different services require clearly separated fees. Amcs do not perform appraisals. Amc’s are agents of the lender. Their fee should not be magically incorporated and improperly co mingled with independent appraiser service fees.
I find it amazing that Mr. Zitin has been asked on more than one occasion what the appraiser will receive as compensation, yet to date: Crickets!
That says it all ladies and gentlemen!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is some truth and a question for you Brian. Why does Appraisal Marketplace, LLC (your AMC) pay only $350 (1004/1073) in San Diego when the cost of living is nearly the highest in the county? Just because your order forms say “Fees are determined by the Lender” does not make it a fact. Ask me how I know? Because I work with that same lender through other branches who use your Reggora software as a service (SaaS) system where the borrower is charged $625. By the way, just like the article says, locally fees of $350 are from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
On a side note, considering San Diego County is the 5th most populous county in the country, congratulations on perhaps collecting $275 a pop and doing your part in inflating appraisal fees by $12 billion. https://arcc-usa.org/f/amcs-rigged-the-appraiser-supply-chain-hiding-12-billion-in-fees
I look forward to your silence.
Seek the truth.
Instead of accusing the opinion of being false, please tell us why.
Then, while you are at it, please tell us what you think the AMC model does to benefit the industry.
Tell us what you charge for a 1004 and the percentage that your company makes playing this minor role. In addition, tell us why your fee and our fee are not fully disclosed to the borrower as they should be.
Okay Mr. sanctimonious – please bullet point the errors in this article. Also, please outline your experience in appraising. Better yet post some of your 24-hour appraisals for us to scrutinize. Don’t just throw out some ignorant non-specific accusation(s).
Brian, this blog is mostly written by appraisers, not journalists. No one here claims otherwise. Contributors share informed perspectives from inside the profession, & every article includes a disclaimer noting it’s an opinion piece.
You say the write-up is incorrect, but offer no specifics. If something’s wrong, name it. Let’s talk facts.
You’ve stated that Reggora sends out property data collectors before the borrower commits, & doesn’t charge the lender or borrower if the loan falls through. That raises a serious question: how is that cost being recouped? Because if it’s not coming from the borrower, lender or Reggora, it sure looks like it’s being absorbed through other assignments, like the $280 FHA fee offered by your AMC.
And if the claim is that Reggora absorbs the loss, let’s be real. Reggora has raised $45 million in funding to scale its 24-hour appraisal model. Absorbing PDC losses on failed loans isn’t just unsustainable, it’s a poor business strategy. Investors didn’t back this model so Reggora could eat costs indefinitely.
So if that’s not the reason for the low fee, then clarify: is $280 your AMC’s standard fee for FHA assignments? If not, what explains it? And again, how is the PDC cost being recouped?
If there’s a better explanation, spell it out. But vague dismissals aren’t a substitute for transparency.
And you are? Oh, yeah, never mind. I’m guessing just another DEI type living off of the education, experience, expertise and labor of others.
Brian,
You took the time to respond to this post, but didn’t offer any support. You are in a blog that shows at least one supporting document (screen shot) of your platforms fees, which you say is in accurate, but don’t show support. We need support. If you are to expect anyone to understand what you are doing and why, show support. None of us are asking for much, but to come on this specific blog and make generalized statements do not help your cause. If you don’t have any appraiser’s willing to work, you don’t have any appraisal’s. Then what, the default of appraisal waivers? I can’t see how you, nor anyone else makes money on the that, with exception to the lender and FNMA. Please, step up to the mic and speak.
Just don’t do them. I don’t complete hybrids.
Reggora’s 24 hour appraisal model runs on borrowed time and borrowed credibility. It’s not innovation, it’s desperation. They pay data collectors up front then slice appraiser fees down to nothing to make up the loss. Two hundred eighty dollars for an FHA assignment in 2025 is not progress, it’s an insult.
They want appraisers to take on all the liability, trust third party data, and call it efficiency. That’s not the future, that’s exploitation. If this is what tech companies think progress looks like, they can keep their stopwatch. Real appraisers will keep their integrity.
As long as there are bottom feeders accepting these orders the AMC wins. The appraiser coach has been doing this for years, he’s not the only one. There are appraisers that will accept all orders automatically regardless of the fee and due date. Sad.
If you are taking these orders, you get what you deserve.
I do not do hybrid appraisals. I will not do hybrid appraisals. If you are doing these, you are the problem. I understand the need to put food on the table, but this isnt the way. Get better clients. Just say no.
Sounds like another Appraiser Shortage is on order
Mike Chavez Jr. There was never a shortage.
Lori Alexandra agree!!! Only very few areas ever had a shortage
LMAO! Soon they’ll be “outsourcing” appraisals to India. They can do remote appraisals while scamming old ladies.
Offering an Appraiser $280 for an appraisal should be criminal. It is an insult to our profession.
What I don’t understand is that honest appraisers who do honest work by completing a 1004 and other full appraisals get sued for bias and whatever else. Has any appraiser or AMC been sued for a completed hybrid and if not, why not? Are we missing the news? Someone please, explain.
Great article, potential inaccuracies aside and apologies to Mr Zinn when/where necessary. Still, this AMC model, instituted by a political nitwit named Cuomo as he the AG for NY state in their successful suit again Washington Mutual back in ’07/’08 (or whenever) in which he suggested the “fix” for Lenders/Appraisers working together to “push” values, was to make it illegal for Lenders to call Appraisers directly – a change that Congress voted into law. He suggested that “AMCs were the answer” to the problem. Well, that “answer” meant that AMCs were essentially put in control of fees as they negotiated directly with the folks we had previously called our “customers”. FWIW, it took me and my company EIGHT YEARS (2007 until 2015) before we were able to raise what had been our typical fee for a 1004 Conventional. I found myself realizing that if I had taken the mental/intellectual efforts I put into developing a successful appraisal company and instead pursued law or finance, I would have been WORLDS better off financially.
I would suggest a POSSIBLE fix would be for Congress to mandate that AMCs could only take a limited percentage of the Appraisal Fee (10 – 15%??) THEY are quoting to the Lenders, with the FULL remainder going to the lowly Appraiser – you know, the ones doing the actual work and accepting 99% of the liability for it.
In closing, I love my job – all except the pay. I believe we as Appraisers are GROSSLY underpaid for our work, largely due to a mindless dolt like Cuomo who typically know NOTHING about the businesses they are regulating. End rant.
Best to all,
DJ Bennett
The solution is extra ordinarily simple; Properly separated fees for distinctly different services. Whatever a borrower pays for an appraisal, 100% goes to the appraiser. Whatever the lender needs for pdc’s, amc fees, tech fees, or otherwise, comes from a different funding source.
What’s the point of using an amc? Answer; To support valuation independence per Dodd Frank and other regulatory rules, by way of implementing the required minimum mandate; Separation from mortgage loan production and appraisers. So a repeat of lenders only sending requests to appraisers that bow to valuation pressure will not happen. Of special note, this separation from loan production can happen without using an amc what so ever. These rules were formed when it was standard industry practice to distribute orders equally among all of any lenders approved appraisal panels. There was no grading, preference to send disproportionate work to one limited set of appraisers, and there was no financial incentive to drive appraisers fees down, consumers fees up, and pocket the difference. If a lender did that directly it would be a felony, a violation of unearned fee rules and junk fee billing rules. The entire amc industry has become a regulatory work around and a profit center carve out or profit center pass through for activity which would be illegal anywhere else.
What’s the point of the assignment platforms in theory under this model? Answer; To facilitate the separation from mortgage loan production, and provide a one stop area where either a lender or an amc can engage with an appraiser.
Companies like Regorra, scope, mercury, and others, seem to believe the purpose of their company is to advocate for lenders and the amc’s, to function as a cost pass through where they take a substantial portion of the appraisal fee, while completing only a minimal amount of work. Providing the tools these companies need in order to apply systematic pressure to appraisers, blacklist appraisers whom do not play ball at will. While these companies consistently refuse for over a decade to provide appraisers the technical tools we need for fair engagement. Many appraisers have had direct conversations with these tech companies and they steadfastly refuse to offer appraisers technical tools which would assist a more equitable and fair engagement process.
Less than one in four licensed appraisers that are left even try to work with amc’s anymore, mostly the new people and the most unethical appraisers whom have learned how to exploit these systems and tools for personal gain, to enjoy disproportionate lions share of work orders, often by way of outsourcing. The idea of the PDC, hybrids, desk only, allowing no inspection reports, skipping in person comps pictures, all that hails from this obscure sub set of the appraisal community whom for the most part disregards the principals of fair billing, consumer protection, and standard ethical expectations.
The system is broken. There is no need for companies like Regorra in the first place anymore. Mercury systems formed this model decades ago, as a specific way for appraisers to AVOID having to work with amc’s, to retain full fees, and direct engagement models with lenders. That was the original intent of these types of engagement and models. They have been manipulated and exploited beyond recognition, unrecognizable from their original intent. Amc’s as well as the tech companies whom serve them have become mortgage lending production. They are now a defacto branch or arm of loan production, constantly advocating for originators interests, constantly disregarding the merits of fair engagement and professional ethic which appraisers are required to abide via licensing and uspap requirements. Even third party auditors and reviewers of the appraisal industry have refused to incorporate or help, specifically calling the appraisal industry a pay to play industry with objectionable modeling.
When the CFPB safe harbor rule is finally nullified, there will be a new open door to levy retroactive fines of 10k/20k per each individual instance, of amc companies and their facilitators, including lenders, as amc’s legally function as an agent of the lender, for failure to pay ‘customary and reasonable’ fees, as defined by tables such as the VA billing rates. As systems in this country correct, eventually this industry will be on the menu for total auditing and correction, accountability due.
We’re not journalists. We’re ethical process experts. And we’re had enough of the out in the open exploitation of both appraisers and consumers best interests.
I don’t do hybrids. I started 1 with Clear Capital and they kept coming back with different info- the inspector missed a shed, property was on a creek and they called it waterfront; they needed to go back and do measurements…I told them I was withdrawing and sounded like they needed a 1004 because what the inspector deemed important vs the appraiser was 2 diffrtent things. I haven’t done 1 since that time.
I don’t leave my driveway for under $650.00 which is what the VA fee for Northeast Florida is.
Lucky you to be on the panel, 27 years of experience, and I gave up trying to get on that panel.
Bragging about appraisal fees is one reason we’re in this mess. Lenders and AMC’s resent you and I making even a penny.
All I am going to say is I hope it blows up in their faces, their client’s faces, the faces of anyone who relies on these (including GSEs), and the appraisers end up suffering the appropriate consequences too. I have too much self respect, respect for my hard earned certification and for my profession than to partake in these products.
You can put a tuxedo on a turd and its still just a well dressed turd! After 27 years in this profession, having accumulated nearly 400 hours of CE, plus the required curriculum and 2200+ internship hours to even become a licensed & certified appraiser, passing 3 licensing exams I will not be partaking of this grandioscheme called hybrid appraisals! Im NOT taking on the liability of a crappy work product just to save someone some coin.
Same amount of time behind the clipboard. I thought about doing them, but ultimately, it isn’t going to happen with me. I’ll hang that clipboard up first, and this whole change is fine, too. I just had one canceled with the Lender going with a waiver. Whatever, that is their risk to take, and I wish them well.
I’d love to see the 60% proof of appraiser acceptance. I’d have to see it to believe it. I don’t know one appraiser that does hybrids and I’ve been around a while.
You know it’s a lie.
Smoke and mirrors – just like politics!
I am bitter and mad as hell. This is appraiser suicide. Any appraiser willing to buy into this garbage is a moron, plain and simple. Maybe they are just idiots trying to earn that title. The truth is they are the ones driving this profession off a cliff and they are too blind to see it. That level of stupidity is staggering.
The people who cooked up this mess are carpetbaggers chasing short-term profits. When they built their business plans, they counted on the limited intelligence of some in this field. That was not a coincidence. It was a strategy. And it worked.
We can point fingers at AMCs, FNMA, Freddie, but the real problem is us. Our own profession. If some of us had refused to play along, we would not be in this mess. But they did. And now the career I have poured my heart into for forty years is circling the drain. It is lost. It has no compass. No way out of the woods.
Yes, I am bitter. Bitter that so many appraisers have no idea what loyalty means. Worse, some just do not care. So go ahead. Keep doing your two hundred dollar appraisals. Enjoy getting paid less than what it costs you in time, energy, rent, insurance, staff, licensing, experience and MLS. Keep driving that dingo bus straight off the cliff.
Me, I am done. I am out on October 31, 2025. I cannot deal with stupid people anymore. To the rest of you, the hard working, intelligent, committed professionals, I wish you nothing but the best. I will be praying you find a way to turn this around. Be well.
Happy trails.
“Bitter and mad as hell” says it all! After 40 years in this profession, it’s painful to see how far real estate appraisal has fallen from what it once was.
There was a time when being an appraiser meant something — we were trusted professionals, a respected and essential part of the lending process. Our work mattered because it protected lenders, borrowers, and the market as a whole. It was demanding, yes, but it was meaningful and profitable.
Fast forward to today, and the landscape looks very different. The rise of *hybrid* and *alternative valuation* products has cheapened the profession and diluted the credibility of true appraisal work. Guidelines have been stretched, rewritten, and interpreted so inconsistently that they’ve become almost absurd — more about checking boxes than providing real analysis.
We now face “safeguards” that don’t actually protect anyone, just slow us down. AMCs have turned the process into a profit machine for everyone *but* the appraiser — cutting fees, increasing our workload, and inserting layers of bureaucracy that make efficiency and quality almost impossible. Meanwhile, they rake in billions with little to no oversight or accountability.
Remember “excessive profits lead to ruinous competition”? Well, here we are in 2025 wherein ANY profit leads to ruinous extortion.
On LinkedIn, Brian Zitin responded to concerns about hybrid appraisal models by saying he feels bad for appraisers reading “misinformed propaganda” who will miss out on making $100K, $150K from home while focusing on their highest skillset, analysis.
I ran the numbers.
Hybrid fees typically range from $75 to $125. At the low end, $75 per hybrid, in line with the reduced fee schedules many appraisers have flagged, you’d need to complete 1,667 hybrids a year to hit $125K. That’s 80 hours a week if each takes 2.5 hours, which is realistic once you factor in verifying comps, reviewing third-party data, & reconciling valuation, including checking property characteristics, photos, & measurements from the PDC report, confirming neighborhood influences, verifying comp sales via MLS & public records, adjusting for condition & features, writing commentary to support the valuation logic, & completing the form with defensible conclusions.
That’s not just a workload, it’s exposure.
1,667 hybrids means 1,667 times your name is on a report you didn’t inspect firsthand. If the PDC misses a defect or misrepresents a condition, you’re the one on the hook. NOT them.
More hybrids, more exposure. More exposure, more risk.
Speed & scale don’t replace credibility, & they don’t protect your license.
Modernization shouldn’t mean marginalization. Appraisers deserve better than volume-based promises & vague earnings claims. Let’s keep the profession grounded in integrity, not marketing.
Thank god I’m on the VA panel,! Those hybrid products are a joke $280 1 day turn time then pay taxes on that no thanks! I’ve been offered hybrids for $145 from one of the biggest AMC’s I don’t even respond. Who does these things, now with 3.6 every lender will want that form. Not these bifurcate the bifurcation 💩!
You guys do realize, don’t you, that the current things “happening” to the appraisal industry are simply fruitions of the philosophy of Max Horkheimer and Theodore Adorno of the Frankfurt School? All of this took root long before most of us were even born.