ASA fired off quite the letter

[JeffSH]

We need to develop a unified message. Something short and sweet.

 

[George Hatch]

Great letter. The points made are solid, and for those shills who keep crowing, "it's all about fees", if you are capable of shame, then feel it, because the appraisal profession did not just get attacked from without, it got undermined from within.

Prior to the housing market crash, appraisers signed a petition about mortgage broker pressure ( which was ignored, as is our input now) but the point is that the petition had nothing to do with fees, in fact it was at the expense of our livelihood that many of us signed it. But now, there is an intersection of fees and the concern over market impacts- which a certain set of appraisers exploited to discredit any arguments ; (It's really about the fees ! ) The undermining of the profession from within. Yet, it never occurred to them it was about the fees to the stakeholders. who stood to profit. Wonder why that was.

We can support this man or sign a petition and contact agencies, and it is always worth a try, though I doubt it would do much good. Our petition back then was ignored, and a correction only took place after the housing market imploded, and we saw how that worked out. I can only hope that the good appraisers will stay, and the weaker appraisers leave if the lack of volume decimates the ranks. However, there is no way to control that, and with the low fee AMC model acting as a Darwinian selector in the wrong direction, I fear it might be the reverse.

I sometimes wonder if you even read your comments before posting them.

In one breath you gaslight the observation that the primary concern most appraisers have is based on their own self-interest (because it obviously is about the money) and then by the time you make your way through your other arguments you wrap it up by fretting about the self-interests of appraisers.

I can guarantee you that if the fees for these were $600 that neither you nor 99% of all other fee appraisers would bother signing such a petition. You might continue to fret online a bit about the effects of the RE markets on the general economy but you'd take those assignments if they paid more than a conventional 1004 fee. So would I.

Now please refrain from going into your normal reimagination tack and dishonestly distorting my comment as conveying some criticism of your concerns about the money. I'm not critical of appraisers wanting to act in their own self-interests or of them being worried about their futures or of them hating the fees or the manner in which those fees are set or any of that. Nor am I critical of the ethics of organizing and engaging in collective bargaining. It won't work because it won't work, but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting what you want.

But what I am saying that none of the people who are claiming that these objections are NOT about the money or the self-interests of fee appraisers are being foolish if they think anyone actually believes them.

 

[JeffSH]

But I am saying that none of you are fooling anyone by claiming that it NOT about the money because that is a lie. And everyone telling it is a liar.

This is so reductive that it's pointless. Everything in life is about money. That's how society works. If you don't have money, you live a ****ty life and die before your peers.

 

[JeffSH]

I'm imagining a xerox repairman in 1986 saying, "Yeah, but if there were jobs then you'd take em. Don't tell me you wouldn't! Signing a petition is hypocritical. It's all about self-interest!"

 

[Overimprovement]

The letter makes some good points, but honestly most of those have been made on this forum already by multiple people. The only positive effect this letter could bring to the industry is if somehow another agency of the federal govt gets involved. Which certainly goes counter to my tastes.

Its been a good and mostly fun ride, but alas the terminus is nearing, the bus is slowing down, and the scenery has gone from placid fields and mountain vistas to blighted inner city blocks that time and money have neglected for far too long. The signs have been clear for years, but were lost in the chaos of a propped up market, with unsustainably low interest rates winning the day. Getting appraisers to rally behind one cohesive 'letter' will do nothing to change things. We are not wanted, and the forces that created the residential appraisal market to begin with have changed their affections. We have been divorced.

 

[George Hatch]

This is so reductive that it's pointless. Everything in life is about money. That's how society works. If you don't have money, you live a ****ty life and die before your peers.

All you're doing is proving my point that the gaslighting and virtue signaling that it somehow ISN'T about the money is an obvious lie.

If the real concern is about the money (which is an entirely legitimate and real aspect for appraisers to fret) then just be direct about it. Stop assuming the opposition is dumber than the appraisers are. They're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe trick.

 

[George Hatch]

I'm imagining a xerox repairman in 1986 saying, "Yeah, but if there were jobs then you'd take em. Don't tell me you wouldn't! Signing a petition is hypocritical. It's all about self-interest!"

See, the way you can tell that I (obviously) anticipated in advance this type of response is by going back and looking for where I already addressed it. My only mistake was in overestimating your intellect as being higher than JGrant's because I assumed she would be the one to take the path of feelz over realz.

"Now please refrain from going into your normal reimagination tack and dishonestly distorting my comment as conveying some criticism of your concerns about the money. I'm not critical of appraisers wanting to act in their own self-interests or of them being worried about their futures or of them hating the fees or the manner in which those fees are set or any of that. Nor am I critical of the ethics of organizing and engaging in collective bargaining. It won't work because it won't work, but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting what you want."​

 

[JeffSH]

All you're doing is proving my point that the gaslighting and virtue signaling that it somehow ISN'T about the money is an obvious lie.

If the real concern is about the money (which is an entirely legitimate and real aspect for appraisers to fret) then just be direct about it. Stop assuming the opposition is dumber than the appraisers are.

See, the way you can tell that I (obviously) anticipated in advance this type of response is by going back and looking for where I already addressed it. My only mistake was in overestimating your intellect as being higher than JGrant's because I assumed she would be the one to take the path of feelz over realz.

"Now please refrain from going into your normal reimagination tack and dishonestly distorting my comment as conveying some criticism of your concerns about the money. I'm not critical of appraisers wanting to act in their own self-interests or of them being worried about their futures or of them hating the fees or the manner in which those fees are set or any of that. Nor am I critical of the ethics of organizing and engaging in collective bargaining. It won't work because it won't work, but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting what you want."​

So then what's your point?

It's not just about the money. I want to appraise until I retire. It's fine if fees go down as long as I have 40 hours of work every week. I've already taken fee reductions in my life. I could be living in Omaha still and be getting ~$500 per order. But I moved to Chicago and I make way less. It's not all about the money.

 

[JeffSH]

It's about having a purpose and fulfilling job. I like what I do and I'm good at it. I don't' want to be replaced by a robot. I could make it somewhere else, no problem. And maybe I will have to just because of how the world evolves, but I'd rather value homes. I'm good at it.

 

[JeffSH]

For Fannie this is all about the money. They are fine taking on additional risk because of the cost savings.