Class Appraisal Absurd Revision Requests

[Mejappz]

Yet for some reason the GSE's love them. Knowing what I know about the players involved, I suspect a lot of kick backs.

I'll be on your side forever more. That's what friends are for.

 

[TerryRohrer]

Was the user satisfied?

I don't think the end user was satisfied. I was approached to appraise the remainder of the property a month or two after they received that report. The owners have now approached me to appraise the whole. Even the unschooled seem to have more grasp on reality than anyone at Classless.

 

[Fernando]

From a lending client today I was conditioned for use of the word "White Collar" that I used purposely to avoid the term "upscale" that previously had beeb conditioned. Trying to maintain m integrity in the past always coss 10% - 20% of my income, but at some point in time common sense must prevail. Anybody ssimply respond with a "**** off to censorship," ir us cebsirsguo biw banned ?????????????????????

Why even call area "upscale"? When I appraise in upscale areas, I never need to mention that. The price range in area indicates upscale. And "White Collar" inappropriate since job is irrelevant in appraisals. You're assuming area is White Collar. Some rich people don't need to work.

 

[George Hatch]

If I had an appraiser working for me who pushed back on a stip like this by whining about free speech it would be the last assignment they ever did for me. I don't want to hear one word about some borrower or property owner or tenant believing I have mistreated them while doing my job.

Even the kids at the fast food counter understand that they don't have the right to engage in unrestrained "free speech" with their company's customers. Appraisers who think they're more special than other workers in other industries need to touch grass and look around. .

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

You're actually wanting language censorship from your software? Alamode does that. I turned that nonsense off.

You're doing it wrong. 1. Taking AMC work. 2. Because you don't need to describe details like that. The people buying and selling in any given area know exactly where they are at. Employment opportunities or lack their of may drive market values but you don't need to mention that in the report. The only time anything of that nature would be relevant is something like major upheavals if a new mega employer showed up (justifying increases in values) or if one just left (justifying strict only most recent comps time frame selections and discarding other better ones as having occurred under different market conditions.) That sort of thing. The general price category of the housing basically says anything you need about lower middle or upper class anyways.

It's the same reason we don't need to talk if there are a lot of certain demographic peoples in any given area. Or crime. Or graffiti. Migrants or gangsters. Or nerdy band players marching everywhere. People know where they are at. The appraisers job is to analyze market values and mention any exceptional events which may influence market value in the future or recent past. If the neighbors house is some recently discovered mass murderer, you mention that. If they're just junky and playing loud music you don't. Again, days on market and other numerical based data tells that tale as well. If it's a scary *** neighborhood where people only move out and are afraid to buy, the dom's and exposure time figures will tell that tale for you. Those sorts of considerations.

The appraiser never forecasts or predicts. We do not recount demographic or similar data. We just deal with local MLS data and individual home conditions for mortgage insurability concerns. Give underwriters they data they need to check all their boxes. That's it. Newer appraisers should research GSE data for underwriters. Pretend you're an underwriter in training and review their processes and materials. You'll learn a lot about what is needed from appraisal reports, and what is not. Find the underwriters appraisal review checklists, read them. Very enlightening and you'll never think of appraisal development the same way again. Read your lenders own underwriting and origination guideline documents, they're often even longer then the selling guides but you'll find them easy to interpret and skim through, because half of it is just copied material from the selling guide.

Serious appraisers whom know how to analyze markets understand that we're dealing with sales and sales men. Rendering any excuse for working with AMC's to be unjustifiable. If you can't sell past them to land a direct lender client, rethink your entire career because you're in the wrong place.

Your comments are enlightening and appreciated, possibly to the level of a potential apiphany taken literally. However, I don't understand the seque that debunks the value to appraisers of the AMC business model. I am affiliated with an AMC located in SoCal that allocates assignments from various clients, 95% of whom are mortgage lenders, reviews my reports before sending them to the client, serves as liaison between me and the client, collects the appraisal fee, and pays me like clockwork. About two weeks ago I moved my home/home office about 60 miles away, and the following day I started to receive assignments in my new neighborhood. Everytime I think about this AMC, I remember when Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez said "The Yankees are my Daddy." out of respect. Same here.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

Why even call area "upscale"? When I appraise in upscale areas, I never need to mention that. The price range in area indicates upscale. And "White Collar" inappropriate since job is irrelevant in appraisals. You're assuming area is White Collar. Some rich people don't need to work.

Thanks. I just realized that these template comments of mine are about the very last canned verbiage that remains from the template I was given as a trainee 20+ years ago.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

If I had an appraiser working for me who pushed back on a stip like this by whining about free speech it would be the last assignment they ever did for me. I don't want to hear one word about some borrower or property owner or tenant believing I have mistreated them while doing my job.

Even the kids at the fast food counter understand that they don't have the right to engage in unrestrained "free speech" with their company's customers. Appraisers who think they're more special than other workers in other industries need to touch grass and look around. .

Literally banning specific words from an industry lexicon because they are allegedly discriminatory exists on a very steep downward slope towards censorship; and the practice is even more egregious if the rationale is based upon ethnicity, e.g., I was stipulated recently for commenting on black kitchen counters. Perhaps mine is an outdated perspective based on the "sticks n stones . . . " oldschool premise from my youth, but to govern free speech by banning certain words ... "while Rome burns . . . " is tragic [In my opinion].

 

[George Hatch]

They're not trying to tell you what to think or what to value the property at. They're trying to avoid handling or retaining documents in their loan file that can be interpreted by their borrowers, their regulators, their investors and the public as being an implication or evidence of treating people unfairly. Those perceptions lie in the eye of the reader. Not in the eye of the writer. The writers need to be smarter than the readers about how their verbiage can be misconstrued. Especially when some of those readers are trying to play the litigation lotto so they can get something for nothing.

Do you want to win or not?

It's not at all about you or your feelings or your dignity or your worldview. None of it. It's just business for them in a contentious and inflammatory social environment. Its about them and their legitimate interests.

 

[chad hampton]

I’ve done thousands of appraisals and I’ve never used the words -white collar, blue collar, house of worship, church etc. in any of them. Sometimes less is more. I did mention unemployment rate for a few years during the crash, but that was it.

 

[George Hatch]

Doing right by people is always the first and biggest step in appraisal practice.

Beyond that I think its always in the appraiser's own economic self interest to stay one step ahead of their opposition. To deprive them of the opportunity to even consider making the spurious accusations. To cut their toes off before they can even get started in scheming how to abuse the appraiser. To crush their hopes and dreams of exploiting the system for personal gain. Strictly speaking, angling for that defensible position can be argued to be as much of an expression of self-interest as of professionalism. There's nothing that's solely altruistic about that.

We often refer to our appraisal standards and other requirements as being a concession to our users without realizing apparently realizing the IRL utility that compliance contributes to our own well being. If I'm in compliance then that becomes a defensible standard for my conduct even if that standard itself is imperfect. My critics can't accuse me of ethical misconduct because that is the acknowledged standard.

TBH, I consider building and maintaining the defensible position to be an act of aggression toward the bad people out there, not an act of submission to them. If there's going to be a fight then it always pays to be first.