Aren’t Appraisers the Gatekeepers of our Collective National Equity?
LandSafe Appraisal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, recently released its latest “Appraisal Services Agreement” to its panel appraisers. The agreement includes, among others, indemnifications of LandSafe against any liability, and loss of intellectual rights. If this goes through and appraisers agree to sign this new agreement, other AMCs will follow LandSafe’s lead and produce their own version of Appraisal Services Agreements. LIA Insurance has reviewed the new LandSafe Appraisal Services Agreement. The review is available to LIA’s insured appraisers and READI members but others can also view it by registering with code 201700.
The whole idea of appraisers as a profession is being systematically reduced to an hourly position void of professional independence which we were accostumed to prior to the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The irony is that the consolidation and dismantling of appraisal independence began under the stated objective of insuring independence. However, we find ourselves in the complete opposite side of what was intended.”
“The average citizen has most of its collective net worth tied up in real estate. We lost $8 trillion in real estate equity. The stock market is not even capable of losing $8 trillion. Yet if we saw a 70% drop in the stock market, it would be on the front page of every newspaper in the world. Aren’t appraisers, that we have discarded, the gatekeepers of our collective national equity? And if so why aren’t we helping this industry? Why isn’t this story in the news? What we have seen is a complete market & regulatory failure with the appraisal industry, and it continues down the wrong road. This is not an appraisal issue, this is a real estate issue as a whole…”
say Frank Garay & Brian Stevens, hosts of the TBWS Daily Show.
Landsafe Appraisal Services Agreement
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Just read the 21 page long Landsafe agreement. Thanks for posting it. Who in their right mind would sign this? You need to pay close attention and understand what you are getting yourself into, if you are thinking of signing this agreement.
Section 6.6, you are giving the right to Landsafe to audit your accounting records. Why would you give another business the right to audit your accounting records? Why would anyone give Landsafe the right to know your earnings, your expenses and sources of your income?
Indemnifications of Landsafe against any liability is in section 14.1 and section 23.1 says Landsafe own exclusively all work product and appraisers signing this agreement give Landsafe all right, title and interest (including all Intellectual Property Rights) in the work product.
Appraisers signing this crap are either pretty desperate or not very bright to put it mildly!
The only solution is for homeowners to support appraisers in the National Appraisers Boycott Of AMCs.
Banks have hijacked the appraisal profession. They’ve doubled the cost of appraisals that homeowners are paying, reduced the fee going to the appraiser by 50%, and reduced the accuracy of appraisals by at least 50%.
It is in the public’s best interest to stand behind appraisers as they attempt to shut down the mortgage market until banks relinquish control of the appraisal profession.
Wow. I dig it!
This story grew hair fast. Now, Landsafe closes and all BofA appraisals performed by BofA staff. They just ignore USPAP, RESPA, etc.