Be the Driver, rather than just a passenger of your appraisal practice

[Sadie]

I understand why it can seem that way to an appraiser in the field, but I can assure that is not the case. When I was in AMC land there were many appraisers who had the lowest fee in their area but they were never our first choice. It was just business.

As I said in another post, it does no good for an AMC to select an appraiser who is $100 cheaper if it takes $150 worth of follow up on all of his/her reports. On the other hand, there were folks we would gladly pay more than the average in their area, because they always provided great reports. Most appraisers fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

I think you need to pull your head out of the sand. That is what is happening even if the AMC you worked for did not do that. There are plenty who do. The reviewers are on the payroll and it doesn't cost the company any more to have them sit on their behinds and pass appraisals on or review them and ask for revisions. There is no loyalty or appreciation for competence. Just cheapest, fastest, not necessarily best. Its not right and it shouldn't be this way, but it is. There are enough of them with this business model that you can't really get away from it if you want to keep earning a living.

 

[RCA]

It is not the lender who is paying the fee, It is the borrower. So there is that. Many AMC's blast out "opportunities to bid" in order to get the cheapest bid to maximize their profit. This is in violation of FNMA guidelines, however, a blind eye is turned to this process. They are not looking for anything other than the cheapest possible fee. No other criteria needed.

I think you need to pull your head out of the sand. That is what is happening even if the AMC you worked for did not do that. There are plenty who do. The reviewers are on the payroll and it doesn't cost the company any more to have them sit on their behinds and pass appraisals on or review them and ask for revisions. There is no loyalty or appreciation for competence. Just cheapest, fastest, not necessarily best. Its not right and it shouldn't be this way, but it is. There are enough of them with this business model that you can't really get away from it if you want to keep earning a living.

If you wanted to do very good business with AMCs, then you would focus on doing your part to make everything run smoothly and frictionless. When the AMCs ask for revisions that is probably what they are doing -following what they think is a good strategy for avoiding problems with the lender. Problems do occur outside the control of the appraiser, though. AMC personnel can be quite incompetent. So, a successful appraiser will spend effort finding competent AMCs and lenders to work with, and in addition, spend time trying to educate them in advance of problems. He would also be looking for stable and established clients, so as not to waste his time. He would be absolutely glued on both staying in synch with his clients and getting his clients to stay in sync with him.

Personally, I would find such a professional life a bit undesirable. I am not highly motivated to adapt to others' weaknesses and imperfections. It's inefficient, a waste of time - and there is always some risk in giving in to clients when you think there is a better way. But in fact, it is often your only option; otherwise, you risk offending them, making them uncomfortable, and so on.

Not to say I am in any way perfect, - I make plenty of mistakes --- the source of which is not paying attention because I find what I am doing boring. - And my mind drifts. - So, my best strategy is to find interesting work I can really focus on. Avoid that, do this instead.

 

[gregb]

I understand why it can seem that way to an appraiser in the field, but I can assure that is not the case. When I was in AMC land there were many appraisers who had the lowest fee in their area but they were never our first choice. It was just business.

As I said in another post, it does no good for an AMC to select an appraiser who is $100 cheaper if it takes $150 worth of follow up on all of his/her reports. On the other hand, there were folks we would gladly pay more than the average in their area, because they always provided great reports. Most appraisers fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

Your deposition in the LA case I posted on the forum tells a different story about who sets the appraisers' fees. It was stated in the Danny Wiley deposition in the LA case that your employer AMC set the appraisers' appraisal fees. Should I post again that deposition in the case? No need to tell me that LA case was lost, its not relevant to the issue of AMC's setting the pay to appraisers. Why do I get 20 bid requests a week seeking my fee quote on an appraisal when the seeker of the bid already knows my established fee? Have never had an AMC assign me a job, they are all seeking a low fee and fastest turn time.

 

[Dublin ohio]

Have never had an AMC assign me a job

I have received 11 assignments so far this month. All from AMCs. All assigned to me at my listed fee. No bids. No negotiating. My fees are high enough. That those 11 assignments will easily cover all of my living and business expenses for a month. With some left over.

 

[CGinMN]

My hit rate on AMC orders went up when I started offering more than just my fee and turn time. I got in the habit of explaining the factors that made the property unique, and my qualifications for appraising that property.

This property is located in a historic neighborhood where neighborhood boundaries and proximity to the lake will be important factors in the valuation. I have studied these factors and appraised many such properties in the area over the past several years. My fee to complete this appraisal is X and I can have it delivered within X business days of acceptance, pending access.

Even if they only ask for “fee/TAT” it is just smart business to give them more.

That said, this doesn’t always work because there are bad AMCs that only consider fee and turn time. On one occasion I lived on the same block as the property to be appraised, I offered a great pitch at my standard rate and lost. The appraiser selected was someone from 45 miles away that had a “mobile appraising unit” and cranked out 3-4/day from their van. I reached out to the AMC rep later and asked why I wasn’t selected and she told me my fee was fine, it was because I quoted 5-7 business days and the other firm could get it done sooner.

So in my experience some AMCs might do their best to follow the regs while others clearly do not. Quite like appraisers, lenders, and every other regulated profession.

 

[Zoe]

A shame Joan is not here to take up for AMC"s. I guarantee you many AMC's know that fees should be separated.

It promotes fastest and cheapest on commingled fees.

 

[Zoe]

I need to email HUD executive. I think the person is a woman. She could get fees separated between AMC and appraiser. I think she is in most powerful position to make it happen. Everybody else would follow her protocol.

 

[Zoe]

Okay, assume head of HUD got 100,000 emails from appraisers requesting separation of fees?

She would listen. . Make it a million emails Make it 3 million emails..

 

[Dublin ohio]

Okay, assume head of HUD got 100,000 emails from appraisers requesting separation of fees?

She would listen. . Make it a million emails Make it 3 million emails..

She would probably throw it in the trash. Because at least 20k of those signatures would be bogus.

 

[glenn walker]

Okay, assume head of HUD got 100,000 emails from appraisers requesting separation of fees?

She would listen. . Make it a million emails Make it 3 million emails..

How are you going to send 100,000 E-Mails when there are not even 100,000 appraisers in America ? There is less than 40,000 working and out of those people 90% do not care about this issue. But between you and the other ten forumites, I guess you can give it a shot LMAO )