Checking the Rearview..

[J Grant]

I dunno about you but ....

I expect the lenders to operate right up to the dividing line between legal vs illegal. I can wish they were better than that but that doesn't stop me from seeing that IRL they ARE that.

We have no control or influence over how they operate. We only control how we operate.

But the regulators and other stakeholders such as the GSE's can control how they (lenders and their AMC agents ) operate. They are failing in that role. Which, whether you admit it or not, affects appraisers and appraisals and valuations of all kinds.

I can control how I operate; however, if a number of appraisers are pressured ot the point where it is play ball or else, their actions affect my business and survival. Same as the mortgage brokers and loan officers. They were not all crooked, but the ethical ones got punished or put out of business along with the guilty ones. The HVCC and Dodd Frank were made to prevent appraiser pressure, but bad or corrupt regulatory decisions and an influx of third-party profit-seekers, along with other factors, have made it a giant fail.

 

[George Hatch]

I agree, more enforcement of the existing prohibitions. That's always a problem.

But you're still skipping the first step of the analysis which is to identify if there even is a problem with appraisers overvaluing properties, let alone attributing the damage solely to the AMC appraisals. IF is the first question to be answered here, not how to avoid an IF which may or may not even exist.

How many times have you been told that the high volume lenders can't see any difference in quality between AMC appraisals and the others? They don't think the fee is predictive between what they can and cannot use in their decision making. The lenders don't evaluate the quality of appraisals on the same basis as the appraisers use. They're making a loan decision, not an appraisal quality decision in isolation of a loan decision such as an appraisal reviewer would make.

 

[Marcusreed]

If I could have shaped the appraisal profession, I’d push for earlier tech adoption, more transparency, and stronger mentorship. Progress has often been slowed by regulation, tradition, and resistance to change. Moving forward, open dialogue and supporting smarter practices are key to keeping the profession evolving.