Corelogic Just Acquired Alamode

[lefty2cox]

My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Now THAT's funny. Good one DJ.

 

[Deleted member 130081]

Of course they are. And they are laughing. We are talking about big business here boys and girls. Do they care what appraisers think? Wake up and get real.

Unlike everyone here, though, I do have a solution. I've heard that A la mode has 40,000 appraiser customers. If half of them would throw in $500, that would be a sum of ten million dallahs. Yeah, ten million greenbacks.

Can we build our own software for that much, and OWN it ourselves?

Accountants could. Attorneys could. Architects could. But, we can't.

Because nobody here is smart enough to figure that out, and nobody here is trusting enough to get on board and put their money where their mouth is, and almost everyone would rather argue about it for the next few years, and blame [insert favorite scapegoat here] for everything.

Too bad we aren't even half as smart as we'd like to THINK we are. Because we could EASILY take control of this, for the paltry sum of $500, and be the masters of our destiny.

Let's see if this idea gets any traction. Personally, I'm kind of tired of being attacked on this forum on a constant basis, so I'm not going to be the leader that steps up for this - although I easily could. News flash: coding is cheap, and commonplace. Even sixth graders make apps. End of news flash.

And one step better, would be to form a regional, appraiser-owned AMC. Imagine if all (or a significant number) the appraisers in a given market formed a second business, in addition to the one they already ran, a cooperative AMC. All 1099 appraisers with a license could join. All would own equal shares. Once the initial model was created, it could be franchised. The trick would be to get it done without greed - someone would need to pony up and start it without expecting to control it forever. That is of course a tall order and wont ever happen, but it would work. Imagine the possibilities. Its the old story though, appraisers are too independent for their own good.

 

[lefty2cox]

And one step better, would be to form a regional, appraiser-owned AMC. Imagine if all (or a significant number) the appraisers in a given market formed a second business, in addition to the one they already ran, a cooperative AMC. All 1099 appraisers with a license could join. All would own equal shares. Once the initial model was created, it could be franchised. The trick would be to get it done without greed - someone would need to pony up and start it without expecting to control it forever. That is of course a tall order and wont ever happen, but it would work. Imagine the possibilities. Its the old story though, appraisers are too independent for their own good.

This is a good idea. Think about it. There are basically two options for the valuation consumer, automation or appraisal. Corelogic is making a move, they want to own the market share for both... eliminate competition for themselves. And they do. They own automation and now they own appraisers, because now they own appraiser's data, opinions and conclusions. (when I say own I mean have access to and can use to strengthen their offerings)

But if appraiser's became independent from them, with our own platform and software, it would then be a competition again. They would market their automation as superior to us and we would market to the contrary. We could then use our own data for useful purposes to enhance our service rather than them using it to provide an alternative to our services.

But like FCrecords stated, it is a tall order. The discussion, I think, is warranted though.

 

[Deleted member 130081]

Exposure to other appraisers is a key element to the effects that AMCs and portals have had on appraisal fees. As I have said many times before, prices are set and are driven by those in the market who provide the service (the appraisers), not by those who wish to purchase services. What portals and AMCs do is allow lenders to do just what appraisers do - run the comps. In larger markets AMCs and portals have access to fee data from hundreds of appraisers, and they have access to data about the quality and service that those appraisers have historically provided. With such information, it is a relatively simple task to gauge what market level pricing is. This is information that simply was not available prior to the proliferation of AMCs and portals.

So true, so true. This is exactly why many appraisers feel betrayed by a la mode. Wittingly or not, the tech platforms that allow an end user to compile large lists of vendors to compete against each other in a cheap and user friendly platform have created hyper-competition. When a company like a la mode takes its profits from being the "friend" of the appraiser, then creates a monster like the Mercury that eats appraisers for breakfast, and eventually sells it to the dark side, appraisers are going to feel betrayed, and rightly so, IMO. I actually convinced numerous clients to use the Mercury as an alternative to an AMC - pretty dumb and gullible on my part. a la mode can f-off. I hope they choke on their success like AOL. Didn't Biggers write Appraisal Port too? Thought I heard that somewhere. Where's Timd when you need him?

I digress to the question someone else asked, what good will come of this acquisition to appraisers? Monopolistic is the word that keeps running through my mind.

 

[Deleted member 130081]

The cred is in the speakers and the fact that 3 appraisers went off on their own and created an event for appraisers with no BS and no corporate propaganda. We always said anyone could sponsor the event. Would you feel this same way if we had Marshall swift? Or if some AMCs sponsored? None of them are speakers or have a platform. This is OUR PLATFORM. We will deal with core logic as we see fit to based upon all the details. As stated earlier this is what appraisers wanted and everyone cheered that we got them. Our cred is based off the entire event and not beholden to one sponsor.

And the road to the sellout has been commenced upon....

 

[lefty2cox]

So true, so true. This is exactly why many appraisers feel betrayed by a la mode. Wittingly or not, the tech platforms that allow an end user to compile large lists of vendors to compete against each other in a cheap and user friendly platform have created hyper-competition. When a company like a la mode takes its profits from being the "friend" of the appraiser, then creates a monster like the Mercury that eats appraisers for breakfast, and eventually sells it to the dark side, appraisers are going to feel betrayed, and rightly so, IMO. I actually convinced numerous clients to use the Mercury as an alternative to an AMC - pretty dumb and gullible on my part. a la mode can f-off. I hope they choke on their success like AOL. Didn't Biggers write Appraisal Port too? Thought I heard that somewhere. Where's Timd when you need him?

I digress to the question someone else asked, what good will come of this acquisition to appraisers? Monopolistic is the word that keeps running through my mind.

Thank you FC. You have eloquently explained what has been in my mind for almost a decade. I was Cassandra on this many years ago on this forum when Mercury was starting out. I was called "chicken little". It's frustrating to hear that there are some who, even today, still think this way. It may have been good for an appraiser starting out with no real business experience or relationships to cultivate business, but for an appraisal business owner with a staff and valued client relationships, it was often disastrous.

And I think the fierce independence you referred to has been nurtured by this very trend. Delivery platforms and management companies, by design, seek to separate us into individuals in competition with one another. If you have an appraisal company, of which there are far less of now, you are forbidden to sub an assignment out to one of your appraisers by most of these companies, severely limiting your ability to operate optimally and grow a business. That's by design.

Again, nothing against them, I just thought that a "valued partner" like alamode wouldn't have gotten involved...wouldn't have developed a similar platform with my money...try to deceive me by telling me it was to keep my clients safe, away from companies like...I don't know....corelogic?

 

[timd354]

And one step better, would be to form a regional, appraiser-owned AMC. Imagine if all (or a significant number) the appraisers in a given market formed a second business, in addition to the one they already ran, a cooperative AMC. All 1099 appraisers with a license could join. All would own equal shares. Once the initial model was created, it could be franchised. The trick would be to get it done without greed - someone would need to pony up and start it without expecting to control it forever. That is of course a tall order and wont ever happen, but it would work. Imagine the possibilities. Its the old story though, appraisers are too independent for their own good.

A supposedly appraiser-owned cooperative AMC was tried and it did not work out. It was called the National Valuation Service Appraiser Cooperative and was run by two appraisers, at least one of which still participates on the AF on a regular basis. I am not exactly sure why it did not work out, but I suspect that the compliance and operating costs involved with starting and running an AMC, along with the operating costs are much higher than most appraisers think that they are and I doubt that the economics of a cooperative model work for that reason. Additionally, an appraiser owned AMC would have to compete with other AMC's for business which means it is likely that they could pay appraisers no more than other AMC's anyhow.

 

[lefty2cox]

A supposedly appraiser-owned cooperative AMC was tried and it did not work out. It was called the National Valuation Service Appraiser Cooperative and was run by two appraisers, at least one of which still participates on the AF on a regular basis. I am not exactly sure why it did not work out, but I suspect that the compliance and operating costs involved with starting and running an AMC, along with the operating costs are much higher than most appraisers think that they are and I doubt that the economics of a cooperative model work for that reason. Additionally, an appraiser owned AMC would have to compete with other AMC's for business which means it is likely that they could pay appraiser's no more than other AMC's anyhow.

But what if it was more of a marketplace, not an AMC? That's what Mercury is in effect. I know there are regulations for AMC's that use Mercury as a delivery platform but don't know of much in terms of governance for a simple marketing and delivery platform. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[timd354]

But what if it was more of a marketplace, not an AMC? That's what Mercury is in effect. I know there are regulations for AMC's that use Mercury as a delivery platform but don't know of much in terms of governance for a simple marketing and delivery platform. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The issue with developing and running a marketing and delivery platform is threefold. First, the platform would actually have to be developed and would have to be both functional and have all of the necessary security safeguards needed to prevent it from being hacked and meet all of the so that lenders would be comfortable using it. Secondly, you would have to convince lenders to actually use the platform. Third the platform would have to be actively run and be able to generate a sufficient revenue stream to cover the operating expenses.

If you think it can be done, then go for it.

 

[lefty2cox]

The issue with developing and running a marketing and delivery platform is threefold. First, the platform would actually have to be developed and would have to be both functional and have all of the necessary security safeguards needed to prevent it from being hacked and meet all of the so that lenders would be comfortable using it. Secondly, you would have to convince lenders to actually use the platform. Third the platform would have to be actively run and be able to generate a sufficient revenue stream to cover the operating expenses.

If you think it can be done, then go for it.

All valid points but for sake of discussion...

As far as being developed and functional, there are software companies that do that. I think that would be the easiest part. Convincing lenders to use it...there are a lot of moving parts there but that's not an unsolvable problem. As business owners, we've been doing that for years, convincing clients to use our service over another's. That's part of the business. As far as generating a sufficient revenue stream to cover expenses, there are many models out there right now which I'm assuming are actually profitable for the platform or management company. Our system would not need to be profitable. In fact, it would be non-profit. It just needs to make the nut.

You're putting a lot of pressure on me...I wasn't implying I would do it on my own. Just trying to keep the discussion going on this.

Pros and cons welcome on this....no moles though. We all know they're here.