Alamode/Mercury Fee report

[Blueprint]

Alamode does not have sufficent data in rurual areas to judge what is "customary."

I may be wrong, but I don't think Alamode has sufficient data in most, if not all areas, to adequately determine what is customary. There may be many appraisers signed up with Mercury, posting what they think they are worth, but how small a fraction, of all the work, actually goes through Mercury?

Mercury has our podunk style county @ $325, which is beyond low. Our fees are currently, and have always been higher than the mass populated areas of Phoenix and Tuscon, which Mercury has at $350.

I really like Alamode, I live by their software. I will not bash them. I say take their data at this point, with a grain of salt.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

I may be wrong, but I don't think Alamode has sufficient data in most, if not all areas, to adequately determine what is customary. There may be many appraisers signed up with Mercury, posting what they think they are worth, but how small a fraction, of all the work, actually goes through Mercury?

Mercury has our podunk style county @ $325, which is beyond low. Our fees are currently, and have always been higher than the mass populated areas of Phoenix and Tuscon, which Mercury has at $350.

I really like Alamode, I live by their software. I will not bash them. I say take their data at this point, with a grain of salt.

Are you guys sure you know what your competitors are charging?

 

[Blueprint]

Are you guys sure you know what your competitors are charging?

Yes. It is not rocket science, with simple time, in a small town.

 

[jimmyfrank]

Are you guys sure you know what your competitors are charging?

Tim, you make a good point. The field of competors has been expanded over the past few years. They'r everwhere...they'r everwhere!!!!!!!

 

[sunsetvalley]

Jimmy - Oregon has new business taxes and the registration fees refer to the AMC registration fees. So far I have California and waiting for Oregon and Washington to go through. I also have to pay Washington sales tax and I'm not sure yet about California I'm still trying to figure it all out.

IF I chose to have national coverage it would cost me anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 a year to register...that's just registration fees.

 

[OSU Beavers]

G.i.g.o.

Garbage In Garbage Out.

I see what the problem is, a la mode does NOT list travel fees! The "Average" listed for each of the five counties I cover are below what I started at back in 1998. I searched to see who covered those areas and found two things skewing the numbers:

First some of the old salt appraisers look like they signed up with a la mode a few years ago and entered $350 for a URAR then never came back. Or maybe $350 was the Oregon default in the system because everyone out here has always charged a minimum of $400 going back to 1991!

Even though I only searched my five counties, I found appraisers from 250 miles away listed as covering my area. They may cover their home area for $425, but I don't think they would travel here for that price.

So thanks Mr Biggers for putting out a bogus fee schedule that lenders will use to beat us down with. Thanks and where do I send my $499 check to?

 

[sunsetvalley]

OSU - I'm not sure what part of PODUNK you are in. We have this problem constantly. Big AMCs say they cover all of Oregon for $450-485. REALLY? Outside of Portland we are getting fees quoted from $400 to $450 (Southern Oregon) $540 (Coast). Add in our management fee...you can see we can't compete.

When we set our minimum fees we asked the appraisers to send us their fee tables. Even that was difficult to get them to tell us what their fees are. A couple I had to toss out of the pile so it wouldn't drag down the average fee.

 

[Winston Wolf]

So thanks Mr Biggers for putting out a bogus fee schedule that lenders will use to beat us down with. Thanks and where do I send my $499 check to?

How on earth would Mr. Biggers profit from publishing a bogus fee schedule? Logic dictates that Mr. Biggers would want ALL appraisers to be fat and happy so they could purchase the platinum package. Undermining appraisers is liken to throwing out the baby with the bath water.

 

[OSU Beavers]

Because he invited me to buy an xSite for $499 which you need to be on his Mercury Network.

I am sure those are not FHA fees either. Now the HUD mandated AMCs will use this little "authoritative guide to median and average fees" to beat down appraisers on their FHA fees.

I don't like fee tables because I always end up getting odd properties such as two houses on one lot or other gems that take twice the time to appraise.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Because he invited me to buy an xSite for $499 which you need to be on his Mercury Network.

I am sure those are not FHA fees either. Now the HUD mandated AMCs will use this little "authoritative guide to median and average fees" to beat down appraisers on their FHA fees.

I don't like fee tables because I always end up getting odd properties such as two houses on one lot or other gems that take twice the time to appraise.

AMC's will use this to beat down appraisers on their FHA fess? You will be lucky that AMCs will offer you 60% of their surveyed fees for FHA reports.