Category: Trending

Is a Model Home Considered Occupied or Vacant? 28

Is a Model Home Considered Occupied?

Two days later the underwriter emails you ordering you to change “vacant” to “occupied” since there is clearly furniture in the house… Here’s a situation you’ll run into once or twice in your career. There is a new subdivision. Now, new subdivisions sometimes have model homes. Model homes typically have furniture, fixtures, and equipment – usually upgraded. The subdivision has completed its sales program and the developer is now selling the model(s). Your job is to appraise one of the models, since the developer has it under contract to a retail buyer. You do your inspection thing, take pictures of...

Blaming Appraisers of Racial Bias Without Proof or Logic 22

Racial Bias Claims Without Proof or Logic

The Appraisal Institute just sent a letter to The Appraisal Foundation to address things that have been floating out in the ether for nearly two years. The November 2018 Brookings Institute report blames appraisers without proof or logic for lower property values in minority communities and then the June 2019 Congressional Hearing amplified the Brookings misrepresentation of the appraisal industry. It’s taken 14 months to send this letter? Interestingly, the chairman of the Board of Trustees that Jeff is writing to is a personal property appraiser and not a real estate appraiser. Real property appraisal is the reason for TAF’s...

Should Appraisers Pay to Be on AMCs Approved Appraiser List? 47

To Pay or Not To Pay, That is the Question

Should appraisers pay to be on an AMC’s approved appraiser list? Is this one way to get new clients? If an AMC solicited you, would you check it out? Now, I work for some AMCs that, frankly, you might not choose to work for. That’s fine. It’s a choice we all make. Understand that most of the areas I work are rural, so AMCs are generally willing to pay more because of this. Some AMC are very demanding. Yet, when I meet those demands, I get a lot of well-paying jobs from them. Recently, a new AMC asked me to...

A 'Low' Appraisal is Now a 'Bad' Appraisal? We Do Not Massage the Data 30

A Low Appraisal is Now a Bad Appraisal

A low appraisal is now a bad appraisal. Well, that’s according to the headline. The article does not stress ‘bad.’ See the article, “A Wild Market Means More Home Appraisals are Coming in Low. Here’s What to do if a Bad Appraisal Threatens Your Deal”, in Money.com. “We” appraisers are now experiencing the same level of buyer goofiness and panic we encountered in 2006-2008, before everything melted down. Inventories are low, and buyer interest is intense. In my immediate neighborhood less than a month ago, an older vacant home came up for sale, listed in the MLS. I looked at...

Zestimate vs Appraiser... Will Zestimates Put Appraisers Out of Business? 21

Will Big Data Put Appraisers Out of Business?

Part of the boom in the availability of data has led to companies such as Trulia and Zillow who claim they can “Zestimate” a home’s value instantaneously. But can your potential customers trust such value? In the old days, if a homeowner really wanted to find out how much their property was worth in the current market, they called an appraiser. Our customers understood that a licenced and qualified appraiser is trained, experienced, knowledgeable, and unbiased in his or her own marketplace. In the past few years, the Information Age has flooded us with data; lots of data. Big data...

The Power of No! Use the Power of No and Let the AMCs Self-implode 18

The Power of No!

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...

Why is Residential Appraisal in trouble? Is Residential Appraisal Finished? 29

Why is Residential Appraisal in Trouble?

Why is Residential Appraisal in trouble? Is Residential Appraisal Finished?… There will soon be no need for residential appraisers. I remember years ago, doing education for my merging AIREA/SREA chapter(s) in San Diego. AVMs were just coming to our attention. I invited a MAI who happened to also be a PhD in economics, Phil Mitchell. The room was full. Someone asked about those “automated algorithmic computer calculated appraisals.” Could a canned program do as well as an appraiser? Without hesitation, he answered: “Not only will these models be able to appraise – they will do it better!” That was 24 years ago. He was right, partially. I...

Pandemics Do Not Give Us a Get Out of Jail Free Card - Convoluted Times 25

Not a Get Out of Jail Free Card

It is not misleading to use a 1004 form for a desktop or a drive-by because, during these convoluted times… In talking with Tim Andersen, a USPAP instructor and long-experienced appraiser, I was reminded that, even in the time of C-19, USPAP applies, and appraisals must still be credible. Reports must still not mislead. USPAP has never required the appraiser to inspect the property. That is a lender construct. So long as your scope of work is clear relative the level of inspection you provided, and why that was your scope of work, you should not have a problem. Note...

You Are a FEE Appraiser Not a FREE Appraiser - Ponzi Scheme AMCs 32

You Are a FEE Appraiser Not a FREE Appraiser

you are a FEE appraiser, not a FREE appraiser. Do not continue doing business with AMCs who don’t pay you in a timely manner per your state law… There’s an old phrase, whose origination is not precisely known, which says “mind your p’s and q’s.” What it means is ‘watch what you are doing’, or various other aspects of life. How many of you realize that the AMC business model as we currently experience, it is actually a Ponzi scheme in operation? Remember Bernie Madoff? That kind of scheme. It’s been publicized recently in various places that several AMCs, including...

Appraisal Nation Late Paying Appraisers Again 18

Appraisal Nation’s Payment Issues Again!

In July 2019, appraisers were having payment issues with Appraisal Nation. They were slow paying and when they paid, their checks bounced. Yesterday, they emailed the appraisers on their panel explaining that they have come up against a back log in their Accounts Payable team due to the threat of COVID-19. One has to wonder how are they capable of sending orders to appraisers, collecting the appraisal fees, asking for revision requests, etc. but paying appraisers on time is an issue during the pandemic? Dear Appraiser, We continue to find ourselves living through an unprecedented time as the situation with COVID-19 continues. As...

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