Upcoming Changes To Real Property Appraiser Qualifications

[Roy Courtney]

Why all of these requirements for appraisers and nothing for the underwriter? In most residential transactions the undermonkey acts like and is treated as a God! In TX if you have a manicure it is performed by someone holding a license! How can it be that the undermonkey can approve millions of dollars in loans with questionable qualifications? Time for the undermonkey to become professional!

 

[J Grant]

UW, far as I know, goes by rules...they are given a list of rules, what credit score gets approved, what does not, how much income gets approved, what does not, and then with the appraisal, does it meet certain guidelines, or not. As long as they learn their rules and can follow them, that is all that is needed, far as I know.

In any event, that is their field, appraisal is ours. We are a provider of the service, since they work for the lender, the UW is part of the client end who uses our report. No profession can demand qualifications of its end users/clients ! For examples, to be an MD, you need degrees, a residency, internship, etc, yet your patient can be an idiot grade school dropout...the professional qualfications are on the service provider end, not the client/customer/patient end.

 

[Roy Courtney]

UW, far as I know, goes by rules...they are given a list of rules, what credit score gets approved, what does not, how much income gets approved, what does not, and then with the appraisal, does it meet certain guidelines, or not. As long as they learn their rules and can follow them, that is all that is needed, far as I know.

In any event, that is their field, appraisal is ours. We are a provider of the service, since they work for the lender, the UW is part of the client end who uses our report. No profession can demand qualifications of its end users/clients ! For examples, to be an MD, you need degrees, a residency, internship, etc, yet your patient can be an idiot grade school dropout...the professional qualfications are on the service provider end, not the client/customer/patient end.

Do you really believe it is more important for the person doing your manicure to be licensed than an underwriter? Somehow I think the stakes are a bit higher as the underwriter can harm the general public. (AND I believe they have in the past few years)

 

[J Grant]

A bad manicure can cause mental anguish ( as a chick, I know that!) Not to mention nail fungus and other diseases...

I do agree that UW should be licensed, why they escaped it is an unknown. Perhaps some kind of umbrella clause as to the lenders they work for who knows.

I always tip my manicurist, Undewriters don't get tipped, maybe that is why? ( a joke)

BTW, a good hair colorist (they are licensed) can make a lot more than the average appraiser...streaks, highlights, colors etc $$150-$200 a treatment in avg areas and they can work on 2 customers at once, in NYC and other glamour areas they get $400 and up, the ones that work on models and celebrities the sky's the limit...try $1,000 an hour and up.

So any of you guys struggling in appraisal...study hairdressing...you can work on gorgeous women (and not so gorgeuos), get cash tips, gossip all day long with your customers while hot music plays on the sound system...

 

[Ken B]

A bad manicure can cause mental anguish ( as a chick, I know that!) Not to mention nail fungus and other diseases...

I do agree that UW should be licensed, why they escaped it is an unknown. Perhaps some kind of umbrella clause as to the lenders they work for who knows.

I always tip my manicurist, Undewriters don't get tipped, maybe that is why? ( a joke)

BTW, a good hair colorist (they are licensed) can make a lot more than the average appraiser...streaks, highlights, colors etc $$150-$200 a treatment in avg areas and they can work on 2 customers at once, in NYC and other glamour areas they get $400 and up, the ones that work on models and celebrities the sky's the limit...try $1,000 an hour and up.

So any of you guys struggling in appraisal...study hairdressing...you can work on gorgeous women (and not so gorgeuos), get cash tips, gossip all day long with your customers while hot music plays on the sound system...

I would have to be paid a lot more just to listen to them talk all freaking day long. Talk about mental anguish...

 

[J Grant]

I can't imagine a more boring job than an UW, (maybe insurance claims processor). I understand UW are under a great deal of pressure with multiple files and deadlines...I would hate that job and would rather cut hair if I had to choose.

 

[rbrienza]

I dont have a problem with the background check .. I applaud them... It will get some people out that have not disclosed that they have been convicted of burglary, rape, fraud, and murder.

I do have a MAJOR Issue with the college requirement. The Foundation wants you (trainees) to spend $50k to $100k+ on a four-year college degree and then spend another $15k+ in classes to become Certified, and also 2500 hours over a 2 year internship. So you can make below the poverty level while you are training and getting established ....please pass the food stamps.

Just because someone has a degree does not make them any more professional then someone who who does not have a degree. (It also does not make them any smarter - it just shows that they are good at taking tests).

-Ray

 

[J Grant]

Just because someone has a degree

Nobody just "has a degree". People earn their degree, over a four year period (or two years for AA). I have a family member, my niece, who in 4 years can not manage to finish her two year AA degree. Not everyone can finish a degree, and many get their degree with scholarships, grants, working part time, or military service, or have to pay back loans later.

Finishing a degree does not just mean that someone is good at taking tests. It means they can stick something out for 2-4 years, and pass the courses and yes, pass the tests. At least it shows some aptitude, some more commitment than just getting out of HS does...no doubt there are plenty of HS grads as smart as or smarter than some college grads, and plenty of college grads smarter than each other, what the point is of bringing that up is a loss.

Overall, some commitment to higher learning, be it college, the AI designation, or even the state Cert Gen vs the res cert, shows more determination and more focus than those who don't go that route. There are always exceptions, but in general, that is why those with designations or higher level licenses, or more education, overall command more pay and are more likely to hold their own better when dealing with clients and customers and the pressures that come with changing business conditions.

Does someone "need" a degree to complete an appraisal? In the pure sense of the application of SOW, no. Does the focus of getting a degree and more wordly (we hope) exposure better prepare one to handle the pressures and problems that go along with appraising? I believe it does.

We all have our personal opinions on the matter.

But what is not opinion, and is proven by recent past events, is that the lack of college/AA entry has proven to be a disaster. While there are excellent, smart, and even superior HS grads who entered apprasial in the past decade, many more were the worst of the HS grads, drawn to appraising for a quick buck and because few other professions that would hire them.

I used to get resumes from them, not only were the grammar and spelling terrible, which I could get past, but no aptitude, no background, no connection to anything that would make the people good candidates for appraising. Some of the current jobs they held were pool cleaners , lawn service people, and airport baggage handlers. Maybe some other appraisers hired them as trainees, I don'' know, but clearly, a whole bunch of ill prepared and inappropriate people flooded the profession in the early and mid -late boom years after 2002.

Whatever the merits of college grads vs non grads as individuals, continuing to allow only HS entrant to the profession would allow AMC's to recruit right out of HS, train the newbies their way, and create a whole new generation of form fillers beholden to the AMC's who trained them, exactly what the profession does not need.

 

[Stephen J. Vertin MAI]

murder

Being a little dramatic aren't you?

 

[Lost Cause]

Being a little dramatic aren't you?

I don't know, Stephen. It appears the appraisal profession is rife with rapists, fraudsters, and murderers. Just check with Joan Trice if you don't believe me.