Clarification from Newsletter

[Terrel L. Shields]

Do you think it's okay not to have properties looked at and just loaned on?

If there were real consequences for making bad loans. Then bankers would want the appraisal to CYA. As it is, it's just paperwork. Spoke with an old time banker a few days ago. Said much the same. "We used to do this ourselves. We want appraisers because it takes the onus off us to be accurate." Now this is a banker who is held accountable by his employer. Unlike secondary market where the problem is shifted to FNMA and the taxpayer, in house bankers get fired for making bad loans.

 

[chad hampton]

I feel like there's more to this story, firefighter salary supporting stay at home mom only happens in Adam Sandler movies.

a 19 years old fire fighter trainees make $30/hr in Charlotte, NC. All charlotte employees salaries are posted online. A firefighter with 10 years of experience makes $130-160k. And they retire at 20 years. Chiefs are in the 150-190k range.

I don't think appraisers understand the salaries that are out there. This isn't 2005, most of the govt employees I knew in that world are at least double and some triple what they made 20 years ago. What has your income done? Remember that when they want you to work for $25/hr.

I wonder how much GSE employees who are trying to put you out of business are making?

 

[djd09]

one of the side effects of dei is to dumb down the populace as to make simple topics complex...

 

[cashcatz]

a 19 years old fire fighter trainees make $30/hr in Charlotte, NC. All charlotte employees salaries are posted online. A firefighter with 10 years of experience makes $130-160k. And they retire at 20 years. Chiefs are in the 150-190k range.

I don't think appraisers understand the salaries that are out there. This isn't 2005, most of the govt employees I knew in that world are at least double and some triple what they made 20 years ago. What has your income done? Remember that when they want you to work for $25/hr.

I wonder how much GSE employees who are trying to put you out of business are making?

Goodness, maybe we all did this wrong...

 

[J Grant]

I think they're trying to thread the needle between the people who say a degree is important and the people who say specific training is a bigger deal. So they are proposing that instead of a degree, that more education specific to appraiser processes be required. From their point of view, you would still have a rigorous education requirement, it just wouldn't be a degree outcome and the education would be specific to appraisal.

BOTH are important so there is no reason to choose.

They are, of course, going about this backwards. Instead of correcting the tremendous imbalances in the field with regard to pay/other, which would attract quality people, they are dumbing down, once again, the entry bar. I've made my feelings known about college.

But even if they drop college credits , among non-college applicants, there is a vast difference among applicants in other backgrounds, ability, ablity and intelligence. Why would ANYONE, of any ability, including those who did not go to college, pick this cesspool of an AMC-dominated, corrupt from top down (with a few exceptions) field on the res lending side? The res lending side is where good people are needed the most. Smart, ethical people who did not get a degree can train to work in a number of other fields or be entrepreneurs and open their own business. Many fields, including the trades, skilled labour, or professions in medical-related or other in-demand fields, offer better pay or more stability.

On the res loan side, prices are higher than ever, each loan worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the threat of markets at stake, yet appraiser selection from an AMC is one that profits them $20 more via a lower fee. THAT, hopefully, one day will be in the media spotlight. I just saw an appraisal done through an AMC that was so stunningly bad I can not even address it. The appraiser traveled from two counties away.

 

[J Grant]

Look up jobs listings for the department of corrections. While not a fun job, it pays fairly well and they offer a sign-on bonus, 5-10k. Govt benefits. Same for TSA. The same applies to many other fields that a person can enter without college.

 

[sputnam]

Did an appraisal years ago on a lovely house, owned by a young couple. He was a local firefigher, she was a stay at home mom.

She followed me around during the inspection asking if I liked what I did, and how one becomes an appraiser.

At the time (that couple year mess with CR) you needed a 4 year degree for a CR, so I explained the classes, experience and 4 year degree prerequisite.

I said, "You can have a degree in basket weaving or pottery making, it really doesn't matter", and her EYES LIT UP.

We went out to the two car detached garage, opened the door with the wireless opener to reveal shelves FULL of bowls, plates and nick knacks and a KILN the size of a small truck, thanks to her university degree in fine arts, specializing in ceramics.

I'm on the side of the fence where the degree is WORTHLESS, and REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE is true knowledge in our industry.

I disagree. Most college degrees would include some math classes and some writing classes. Most appraisers get the math. A lot of appraisers have trouble writing a coherent appraisal report. I have no data regarding whether or not degreed appraisers write better reports than appraisers without degrees.. but, we can reasonbly assume that appraisers with degrees have been taught how to write.

 

[Non Sequitur]

The powers that be need cheap, licensed, data collectors.

Yep. Couple the exposure draft with the current USPAP course (data collected during the inspection is not confidential was emphasized in a recent class) and that should give you all of the info you need to decide where we’re going and who’s driving the bus.

 

[Mark K]

Every two years, they introduce an inane change that takes 10 minutes to explain. But to fill the mandatory 7 hours, the course drags on for another 6 hours and 90 minutes.

Maybe they should include some remedial math...

But yeah, USPAP is and has been a joke for many years. One hour max would cover the changes.

 

[Non Sequitur]

I disagree. Most college degrees would include some math classes and some writing classes. Most appraisers get the math. A lot of appraisers have trouble writing a coherent appraisal report. I have no data regarding whether or not degreed appraisers write better reports than appraisers without degrees.. but, we can reasonbly assume that appraisers with degrees have been taught how to write.

I don't disagree, but we're well into the third decade of licensing. How in the world a gubmint mandated committee still hasn't decided what qualifications are needed to become licensed? I'll tell you why: Politics. Pure politics. It was politics when the education qualifications where changed in 2008, and it's politics now. It's no coincidence that a practicum education provider's CEO is on TAF's board of trustees and one of their VPs is an AQB board member.