[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

I drafted this over a year ago.
I first posted it September 8, 2007.

This is more true now than I knew then. Now is the time to act and get any and all evidence and information to:
me and your state and federal congressmen and senators.

USPAP

PREAMBLE
The purpose of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) is to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice by establishing requirements for appraisers. It is essential that appraisers develop and communicate their analyses, opinions, and conclusions to intended users of their services in a manner that is meaningful and not misleading.

The Appraisal Standards Board promulgates USPAP for both appraisers and users of appraisal services. The appraiser’s responsibility is to protect the overall public trust and it is the importance of the role of the appraiser that places ethical obligations on those who serve in this capacity. USPAP reflects the current standards of the appraisal profession.

Puzzle pieces have been and are being sent to me. A few pieces are still missing, but with the puzzle pieces already here it appears to me that we all have been duped, mainly by our own lack of research and not paying attention, for many years. The vast majority of appraisers and the general public have been duped and scammed; dare I call it ‘raped’?

First: Make becoming a licensed appraiser really easy, this loads the system with the ignorant and stupid and while the competent and honest are fighting this, the powers that be in the appraisal and lending and Realtor world can set them all up for the kill.

Second: Allow the wolves (loan origination and commission based people in the real estate industry) to completely control the flock (appraisers). This will eventually cause the competent and honest ones to either get out of appraising or slowly go broke for lack of work. Reward the ignorant, stupid, and dishonest ones until the system is overloaded with them.

Results: Appraisals by licensed appraisers become not very reliable.

Third: Develop the software systems that will unlock almost any secured appraisal files and send them through for data mining. Shoot, if they force enough of them to use specific software and forms, it’s already set up to whatever they want with those appraisals and the fools won’t realize it. They can deny it if they ask and nobody will take it any further because they are all too afraid of losing a client. This data can be used in numerous ways, for AVMs to resell, for selling leads to repair contractors, etc. Shoot, the appraisals can also be altered along the way to make sure the loans close and the 'sheep' never get a copy back from the lender to see the differences so who will ever know? Lenders very rarely file complaints on appraisers at the States level so the appraisers won't be showing up with a different appraisal report. DON'T let all those sheep (appraisers) know this is happening because some of them really are smart enough to figure out the real consequences and legal issues of this. File suit against any that get too loud about this. This should be really simple, just like squashing a mosquito.

Fourth: AMCs are a great way to make sure the residential appraisers and appraisals are manipulated enough to discredit the majority and keep them poor enough that they can't do anything about it. Bring all the appraisal clients in on this. Pit the appraisers against each other and get them fighting over the lower and lower fees while we rape the consumers by charging them more than they would pay if the appraisals were ordered directly. Split the profits of this with the AMC, the data mining software companies, the lenders, etc. Blacklist, denounce, and threaten, any that won’t play along, that will get them out of the business faster.

Results: Appraisals by licensed appraisers really are not very reliable anymore. They can now use the AVMs they've developed to discredit the masses of appraisers even further. Computers are better at crunching the numbers because they don't have any emotions and cannot be bribed (just 'fixed'... but keep that quiet).

Fifth: The masses of appraisers are not paying attention! They ignore the copyright issue and/or believe the AMCs and others that claim that appraisals cannot be copyrighted. Those that bring it up are threatened, blacklisted, denounced, and/or filed suit against. Misrepresentations by some are blatant about how they are not data mining, and the masses are gullible because they just want that next appraisal order (remember the First item here).

Sixth (being implemented right now?): Set up systems that will use AVM data for the values and make residential appraisers nothing more that measurers and picture takers. They've already set it up and are proving they can't be trusted anymore with opining the real values, so they can become the data collectors and send that data to the 'real' appraisers that will use their stolen data for the unbiased AVMs to determine the values. (Aside to those commission based loan personnel: Do you want that value to read $350K or $400K?) To the lenders that sell off those loans, ‘Don’t worry, you get to sell this loan and our AVM will keep telling them the value looks good. Besides, the government will bail you out if we all go overboard and we all will make more money off this mess again.)

Results: Those listed above take it ALL and pay a pittance to the few remaining idiots that think they are appraisers because they have a license that says so. The real appraisers are gone due to a lack of clients that want the truth and a lack of pay for competency and honesty.

When residential appraisers basically said, “No” to the AIRD (was that 1997?), it appears that they set it up to take it all from them anyway. This was even better than having to pay appraisers for their data and they were even able to set it up for some up to pay them (AppraisalPort first, now others want to do the same), to help put us all out of business! (Are some of these players the same ones that were there for the S&L debacle?)

If eAppraiseIT, as Mr. Merlo, its President and CEO, stated during the court hearing, is an $8,000,000 a month company, start thinking about the percentage of all appraisals for mortgage lending that go through just that one company. Now start thinking about the monthly $$$ of all appraisals in the USA. Anybody still wonder why this IS happening and who is planning on taking it ALL too split among themselves??? Anybody wonder who that 'third party software company' is that Mr. Merlo said is unlocking and 'converting' our appraisals? Anybody still wonder WHY they are doing this?

Appraisers are also consumers! The ‘Public Trust’ is GONE. I feel like I’m just climbing out of a greasy pit where a huge gang rape has been going on, and I didn’t see it!

WHO among you care????? Has this business become too dirty for the competent and honest to stay and fight for? Does it really matter anymore with the society we now have where immediate results are all that matter, whether those results are right or wrong? Do the consumers, the general public of this once great nation deserve the truth, or would they really rather be lied to?

Will the appraisers around the nation stand up for the truth and fight with me? First, for the "Public Trust" - our society and country. Second, for our job and the freedom to do our job correctly, with honesty and independence, to be paid a decent fee for our work, and without it being stolen.

WHERE is the Appraisal Foundation?
WHERE is the Appraisal Standards Board?

Are the members of those Boards also members of the Boards of the companies involved with the AIRD? I have not looked that up yet, so I don't have the answers to this last question yet.

The lack of outrage indicated by the silence is deafening. The connections of these Boards and these companies makes me understand that silence.

http://appraisersforum.com/showthread.php?t=123833

[J Grant]

Pam we feel it too...some of us are trying...what is happening with that expose the reporter is working on?

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Somebody higher up at the Associated Press is holding it up. It's been ready to be published for months now. It reminds me of May 2007 when I sent a bunch of evidence of what has been going on to Bloomberg News, the reporter was so excited and astounded and assured me that Bloomberg wouldn't ever hold back news of importance, then called me a few days later to say the higher ups decided they could not use my evidence and tell the real story because "it would harm the world economy".

[stefan olafson]

Pam

From one battered and worn by the process, what can possibly be done? The AF does nothing, in my opinion. The ASB is a quasi governmental organization with a lot on top and little below, no real enforcement at all. Title 9 says that it's important to not have all appraiser members of a state board belonging to one single professional organization (paraphrased), I notified them that ND has three seated appraiser members and all are members of AI, no action was taken. I notified the state board of this violation of Title 9 and they said they didn't just represent AI members, that's hogwash!

I don't have the energy to respond fully right now! Something has to be done, but what? I've contacted state and federal legislators. USPAP has been adopted by states and it's used by states to punish appraisers. However I've yet to find a state where they define exactly what a USPAP compliant report contains???? Each state has their own idea and each reviewer has their own bias! How do we correct the injustice????

[Caterina Platt]

Pam,

I feel we appraisers and the scenario you describe are only a small part.

No black helicopters yet, but I'm getting the clear picture that the American citizen is simply a drone for the government that is supposed to be under our 'hire'.

I wish I believed the powers that be really were righteous and upstanding. I think I've broken my rose glasses for good.

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

We already KNOW and have the PROOF of others unlocking and altering our appraisal reports.

Tell EVERYBODY, including all the press and media people you possibly can:

"Nobody knows how many mortgage files contain an appraisal that is NOT what the appraiser sent."

[PropertyEconomics]

Originally Posted by Pamela Crowley (Florida)

We already KNOW and have the PROOF of others unlocking and altering our appraisal reports.

Tell EVERYBODY, including all the press and media people you possibly can:

"Nobody knows how many mortgage files contain an appraisal that is NOT what the appraiser sent."

Pam with all due respect you have been telling the press and you are well aware they dont care. Its the reason the expose hasnt been completed and in my guess ... never will.
After so long of beating your head agasint the wall I think youd have a headache now. The changes that are being made, in my guess, are all that will be made.
NO ONE CARES .... its not about us.

[TJSum]

The Mortgage Lending Industry is like a drug addict. You can not force them to clean up their act until they truly hit rock bottom. We all hoped now would be that time, but so far we have only seen lip service to real change, all appearances show that they are happy to tread water with the lifeline extended by the taxpayers until things bottom out, then when the spot light fades, it is back to business as usual. Forcing a drug addict to clean up, UNTIL THEY ARE READY, never works, ever.

I agree with everything Pam wrote, expect she should add a paragraph that there are a few honest lenders still left, and some honest appraisers left, and the only avenue for those honest appraisers is to hopefully hook up with these lenders so that we can still make an honest living. Without this notation, your remarks make it appear only the crooks, unethical and stupid are left in the business. Then the adversaries only have to find a few good appraisers to refute the comments and attack the credibility of the entire statement.

This is why the honest appraisers out there go nuts when suggesting we sacrifice these long time relationships with the honest lenders and loan officers we have found, it is what keeps us in the business making an honest living.

For those that choose this route, we know we can't force the drug addict to clean itself up, we don't have that power and never will, the only thing in our power is not to enable them and our chosen path is to keep our contribution to the process clean by doing honest appraisals for those honest clients that are out there.

The worst thing about the HVCC.... it tries to eliminate this last option (for the honest actors) in the name of cleaning things up, the cure is worse than the disease (as usual), it just speeds up the future Pam fears.

[J Grant]

We and many people will always appreciate Pam's efforts, no matter what the outcome...a lot of it is corporate America, maybe the next admin will be more receptive to cleaning up the mess, we will see! can that reporter go elsewhere with the story?

maybe a group of us appraisers need to put together a book and get it published...see if there is any interest out there. Or go on the Oprah show...she gets exposure like nobody else can.

[I'm-A-Survivor]

Originally Posted by Pamela Crowley (Florida)

Somebody higher up at the Associated Press is holding it up. It's been ready to be published for months now. It reminds me of May 2007 when I sent a bunch of evidence of what has been going on to Bloomberg News, the reporter was so excited and astounded and assured me that Bloomberg wouldn't ever hold back news of importance, then called me a few days later to say the higher ups decided they could not use my evidence and tell the real story because "it would harm the world economy".

Originally Posted by Caterina Platt

Pam,

I feel we appraisers and the scenario you describe are only a small part.

No black helicopters yet, but I'm getting the clear picture that the American citizen is simply a drone for the government that is supposed to be under our 'hire'.

I wish I believed the powers that be really were righteous and upstanding. I think I've broken my rose glasses for good.

I'm with you Caternina! While the American economy goes down the tube, OUR Govt. is worried about the "WORLD" economy. For too long now our Govt. has had it's nose in everyone's business and have let the lobbyist run this country. I'm not an economist or keep track of our debt load, but I'd be willing to bet that our country is probably leveraged like most people's homes are these days (owing more than it's worth)! YIKES!