AMC's - What do they do?

[The Warrior Monk]

With the agreement Cuomo, struck with Fannie and Freddie last week, we may ALL have to work for an AMC if we want any lender work after 1/2009. Appraisers should get together NOW or the AMC's will have us all by the --- next year!

If you do work for Fannie and Freddie.

 

[Clay Kitchens]

I love AMC's!

I did one appraisal for an AMC. Got to the subject and it had 2 houses on it. Did the inspection and called the AMC.

"Do you want to cut out the main house with proper ingess/egress or have me write it up as multi family?", I said.

"We will have to talk to the loan officer and get back to you."

A week passed and they called back wondering where the report was. I said someone is supposed to get back to me on how to handle the scope of work(I really had no idea who to talk to about it). Normally, I would just call the L.O. and see how they wanted to structure the loan.

They fianlly got back to me and I wrote the report as a Multi-Family in a rural area in Texas.....Not an easy task.

Long story short. I ended up taking 13 days to get the report back to the AMC. I asked the call center lady if this would affect my standing with them and she assured me that she would adjust it in the system. Needless to say my current average turn time with the AMC is 13 days and I never got another one from them.

This is what scares me about the new HVCC and the possibility that AMC's might do all the management of my business. Any other client I have would understand the turn time. A computer does not know how to decipher this.

 

[Kali the Boston Terrier]

I despise AMCs as much as the next appraiser, but I cannot help the irony of a bunch of economics professionals upset about economics happenning in our business. I mean we get paid to analyze the economics of the housing market (or commercial) and arrive at an opinion of market value...yet when that same free market dictates our fees, or conduct we throw up our arms in disgust and rattle our sabres.

I made a business decision 5 years ago that AMC and lender work would only represent less than 20% of my annual income. It was painful to switch, but economically speaking as a I chose not accept their prices I went from being a price taker to a price setter. That last point may seem trivial to most, but for me going into an area in which I do no thave to worry about a client calling someone else for an assignment...regardless of the fee. Most times I hear on the other end "so and so asked me to call you about an appraisal..." or " I saw you speak a few weeks ago..." when you quote a fee they do not say "...ok great I'll get back to you". They ask who to make the retainer check out to....

but you cannot get there doing AMC work, you have to make a business decision and posture yourself accordingly.

 

[nal67]

Are there good AMCs?

I worked with Valocity for a while. Actually my trainee did since I wouldn't accept their low fees. They would call repeatedly asking for stupid changes like asking to change wording on descriptions. They understood X and Y was valid but they preferred X so could I change it. They were the highest maintenance clients I have ever worked with and paid just over half of my normal appraisal fee. I finally fired them. Of course they will probably be the AMC of choice next year.

Then I signed on with RELS only because I had to to work with Wells Fargo and I had some clients that wanted to go with Wells. RELS insulted me when I said their fees were too low and said they had plenty of appraisers just waiting to join since WF had to use them. I signed on anyway just in case in 2006 and they had the gall to lower the fees even further in July 2007. Two weeks later they sent another email saying that the requirements for completing appraisals had increased and we now had to provide two closed sales within the last 3 months, 1-2 pending sales, additional statistical analysis, etc. Valid requests but not on the tail of a fee decrease when it was already low. I've never actually gotten any work from them so I guess it is a non-issue.

Almost all of my appraisals come from mortgage brokers. I work with the ones who are ethical and do not pressure me to hit values. They work with me because I understand my local market, do good work, am ethical and get my work done quickly. I get calls and have fired and been fired by the value shopping MBs but I also don't do much with AMCs. Basically, I think I'm screwed come January 2009.

Might consider going back to high tech.

 

[ctag1003]

No they haven't.

They just reached the clients/lenders that most appraiser don't take the time to do because they are too busy, too lazy or just don't know how. AMC have co-callers just like appraiser directories do. They make calls all day long looking to sign up new clients. If appraiser spent the same time reaching new clients as AMC do there would be less of them. There are some good AMC that offer title work which is attractive to the lenders, but most lenders don't use the title company associated with the AMC. If all appraisers had the courage to stand up for themselves and stopped taking these order the profession would have a much more credibility. I thought professional appraisers were on the same level as lawyers and accountants. Do you think these professions are killing themselves off like we are. $150 for an appraisal....please! I'm sick! and just venting so don't mind me!

"good appraisers aren't cheap and cheap appraisers aren't good"

 

[Mike Kennedy]

HMMMMMM wonder if the IRS would like to see the instructions from some of these AMCs.....Your fee will be $___.00. You will call the contact within 24 hours......you will return the completed report within 48 hours....you will stay in constant contact with regards to status.....HMMMM.....sounds like an employer/employee relationship to me.

don't wonder; visit your local/regional IRS center and ask........

let us know....... thanks.

 

[JTFAPP]

One would hope logic prevails (Government-Logic?) As this is a free market, a free market system looks to be adulterated by this set up. You would think the structure of this deal would come out with protecting a % of indv companies/indv fee appraisers, to limit the use of AMCs. Thats not fair to draw such lines in a free market, but I think it goes both ways. Also, you can bet the bottom dollar that the AMCs will crank up there fees as this takes hold.

 

[Truett Neathery]

Lousy clients

You must have lousy clients.


TC

Yes, except for a few, mostly local, they all stink. That's why I do machinery and equipment appraisals for CPAs, attorneys and business brokers - no "underwriter" clerks, no "Office of Real Estate Appraisal" clerks to deal with, no "Comp Chex" to deal with "Do you have any comps. on a paving business machinery", and the fee is typically 10X.
TN

 

[Pat Butler]

The free market doesn't work with AMC's because they are essentially practicing appraising without a license. So we're subject to more regulation than they are and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage.

Imagine if there was corporate responsbility directed towards the AMCs for their work. Also imagine if their individual employees dealing with appraisers had to be licensed. Then it would be more of a free market situation because the corporation and employees would be forced to demand quality because their name would also go on the work that goes out the door. No longer would they hire 18 year old phone monkeys who are telling appraisers to modify their work. The monkey would have to sign off on any appraiser in which they 'contributed' their advice.

So many of us complain about AMC's not because they are legitimate competitors, but because they're a bunch of filthy companies and employees who skirt around license laws.

 

[JTFAPP]

Well said. We can hope some sort of regulation of these AMC firms will get built in to this mess that there going to create. I geuss theres time for negotiations and adjustments to the way the deal is structured. To create a very uneven playing field to the AMCs is in the end going to be a detremant to the consumer. Adding a pretty much worthless middle man costs $ and time.