AMC purpose

[George Hatch]

residential mortgage appraisal work is a niche market? You are the niche market, not the residential appraisers. What percentage of license holders are independent res appraisers? Even most of the guys I know with commercial licenses do more residential work. If you take away the residential mortgage aspect of this career, the profession will die off. Do you think there’s even enough money left coming in the fund organizations if residential mortgage work goes away? If you are left with 10,000 appraisers in the country, you may as well do away with it.

Which is probably the goal of some. Honestly, many of the best appraisers I’ve known have left in the last five years. And you see more and more daily leaving. That’s not a sign of a healthy profession.

All by design. And allowed to happen with the help of complicit appraisal boards with no spine. The lies are there. But when you have AMC representatives being flown around the country urging caution to appraisal board members if they try to enforce their law, you get what we have now.

Frame it however you like. The point remains that the appraisal profession will continue on after the GSEs and all other lenders go all-AVM. After the state licensing programs are retired for being economically unfeasible. After USPAP is retired and replaced with whatever comes next.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Appraisal Institute ended up running the table for the appraisal profession after licensing is retired. Then it will be their code of ethics that djd complains about as being worthless and it will be their org that gets smeared for maintaining 2-way communication with the users of appraisals. Including various elements of the federal govt.

 

[Mike Ault]

Use whatever labels you like. The point remains that the appraisal profession will continue on after the GSEs go all-AVM. After the state licensing programs are retired. After USPAP is retired and replaced with whatever comes next.

Those would be "valuations", not "appraisals". The valuation profession will certainly survive, however.

 

[alebrewer]

I personally believe the appraisal profession is at a once in a lifetime inflection point. Not unlike countless other professions that will be dramatically changed by AI, I agree with GH in that the appraisal profession will still be an entity 10, maybe even 20 years from now. It will, however, look DRAMATICALLY different than it currently does...

 

[chad hampton]

I’m not surprised that doesn’t bother you.

I don’t disagree with you that that probably will be the outcome. There’s a very small segment of the appraiser population that is set to become extremely wealthy if they can remove independent appraisers from the equation. Most of those people actually lobby for that to be the case. And we all know their names. I wonder if they ever thought appraisers would just roll over and go away as easy as some are?

 

[TerryRohrer]

“…explaining client requirements, explaining USPAP/Fannie Mae/FHA etc. guidelines ad nauseum to appraisers who should know better (ie. "No, ANSI really does say walk out basement square footage can't be in the GLA, even if it is just some dirt on a side wall" ..."

This isn't a one-way street, by any means. Many AMC owners/employees have never read their own 27-page engagement letter, and it takes weeks to explain in excruciating detail what English words in a specific order and context mean. After which, the response is typically, "Well, we need this because this is what we meant," which is not what they ordered. The implication is always that the appraiser will be paying for the second assignment. While I don't deny there is a large proportion of appraisers who should be relieved of their licenses, no objective person can argue that at least an equally large proportion of AMC employees should not be in a position to allow interaction with appraisers...this is an arena where some common understanding of the process, the methods, and even the terminology, are necessary for communication. Then there is the clear evidence, reported from across the country, that AMCs as a group always prefer, by a large margin, those who will charge a low fee, provide the quickest report, and above all else, hit the number. Of course, the rejoinder from AMCs is always that "well, a larger fee does not ensure better product or service." That is like asserting the value of a straw hut on the beach based on your recent analysis of McMansions two inland counties away. How do you know what you get for a higher fee if you never prefer competence?

 

[DWiley]

The proof is in the pudding as they say. Do either of you 2 think the profession is in a strong healthy place right now?

Even though I’m mostly out of the profession now, what I see and read about in the public forums make it sound like a disaster zone.

But look who I’m talking to, one hanging on till the pension kicks in and the other one doesn’t do residential mortgage work. I’m not sure your opinions really matter at this point.

At least you are consistent in being contradictory in your posts. If you my opinion does not matter, there is no point in asking.

But since you did ask, I think the state of the profession, as with the state of any profession, is driven primarily by the value of the work performed by those in the profession.

As for what you read here and on other social media sites, I have lost count of how many times I have literally laughed out loud because someone posted as gospel truth something that is demonstrably 100% untrue. Many do not seek truth. They only seek validation of their preconceived notions, or they just want to get a bunch of likes/clicks. And, if they disagree with a single thing a person says/writes, that person is labeled a mortal enemy. One thing I really appreciate about George is that though we disagree of some fundamental things, that does not affect our ability to discuss things rationally and respectfully.

 

[Surf Cat]

The point I was trying to make to Surf Cat is that the appraiser/owner is not really a "third party" except maybe on paper

But it's supposed to be....

An AMC is an independent third-party entity that manages the appraisal process on behalf of mortgage lenders. AMCs select and assign qualified appraisers, coordinate scheduling and communication, review completed reports for quality and compliance, and deliver appraisals to lenders—all while maintaining the separation between loan production and property valuation required by federal law. An appraisal management company acts as the compliance and coordination layer that allows lenders to manage valuation risk without interfering in the appraisal process.

That's how it's supposed to work.... but obviously it's not..... that's "only on paper" and also because of "loopholes".

 

[George Hatch]

Just because an AMC is a 3rd party doesn't mean that's the only permissible way to keep the sales people away from the appraisers.

 

[alebrewer]

I'd be tempted to get an AMC license JUST for the benefit of access to CU. It cannot be understated how much of a hand up that is WRT GSE appraisal delivery...

 

[George Hatch]

I’m not surprised that doesn’t bother you.

I don’t disagree with you that that probably will be the outcome. There’s a very small segment of the appraiser population that is set to become extremely wealthy if they can remove independent appraisers from the equation. Most of those people actually lobby for that to be the case. And we all know their names. I wonder if they ever thought appraisers would just roll over and go away as easy as some are?

Two things:

The impending demise of my own career prior to me being ready to quit does bother me. Just because I can compartmentalize a bit between my own interests vs my observations doesn't mean "it doesn't bother me".

I doubt anyone who appraises any property type is going to get rich. A few individuals who own the big businesses that employ/engage appraisers might get rich but that won't flow to anyone who works for them. IMO. There prolly aren't even 50 appraisers in that "rich" category.