djd09
Elite Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2009
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- Ohio
Abused For Years, The Zeigeist For Real Estate Appraisers Might Be Changing For The Better
July 28, 2025By Jonathan Miller
Defunding The Appraisal Foundation Is Bipartisan
There is an effort in the Senate to cut funding to the Appraisal Foundation by half, which makes sense given the entirety of its bloated budget and disconnect with the appraisal industry. They are primarily responsible for driving us into the ground as a profession by aging us out.Here’s a little stroll down memory lane. Before I testified in Washington about TAF’s bureaucratic burden on the appraisal industry a few years ago, the Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB), the ASC and many other regulatory agencies read my Housing Notes every week for the latest explanations on the meaningless accomplishments of checklists created by former TAF president Dave Bunton to show he was doing something. He actually stated that I was a liar in his testimony to the ASC and that I have a problem with the truth, all of which was said while he was lying. It was epic, and I received a tsunami of congratulations from agencies and professional colleagues for shaking up his grip on the profession, prompting him to retire a few years earlier than his contract suggested. With TAF’s uselessness and ASC defanged, appraisers are left to their own devices. With Fannie Mae planning to push bank appraisers out through debunked automation, some hope is emerging.
A Senate Bill, the “Appraisal Industry Improvement Act,” was introduced last May that would essentially cut TAF revenue by half. Here is a good summary of the bill, which adds trainees to the national registry. This bill would remove TAF’s crippling requirement, which makes hiring trainees a non-starter, and instead rely exclusively on the mentoring system. In our appraisal practice, we must wait 2-3 years before a trainee becomes cost-effective to hire, so we essentially can’t hire new staff to perform bank work. Throw in AMC appraisal fees at 50 cents on the dollar of market rates, and we really can’t do much bank work. TAF stupidly engineered this, so we need fresh takes on the future of our profession. Being on decorative committees to pad one’s resume doesn’t move our profession forward. The bill also adds the VA to the ASC, which is long overdue.
Abused For Years, The Zeigeist For Real Estate Appraisers Might Be Changing For The Better - Housing Notes
Subscribe to ‘Housing Notes’ to receive Jonathan Miller’s weekly insights and research.
housingnotes.com
they should be investigating the 500k bribe TAF gave relman...anyways f them up miller...
