I just posted a lengthy letter to the Appraisal Institute regarding lender management companies. Very relevent to EAppraiseIT issues. Check it out by surfing my recent posts.
EAppraiseIT helped me get enough hours to get my license, but now I do not work for them. Working for them is like being a scab that crosses the union picket line. I only learned that long after they had taken me for a ride. I'm sorry I ever worked for them, and helped solidify below minimum wage earnings for professionals. Now I'm putting efforts into turning the tide, so the next guy will not have to go through the indignity of being told they are not worth it.
They say you cannot negotiate fees, but you can. It just takes a lot of customer service agent head bashing, & emailing. Over one year, I negotiated over $2k in additional appraisal fees.
I think they forgot the original mantra that low fees go with volume. They seem to think that one order every few months is enough for you to afford to take low fees.
Go ahead and say o.k. to the fees with lender management companies. Then when you get orders, negotiate. If they refuse, you have helped stop the gears of appraiser underpayment. Now the order is farther along, not even started, and reassigned. They push for 2 day turnarounds because they probably have to reassign 1/3 or more of all orders on a regular basis, & still want to make deadlines. Wait till the last possible moment, then negotiate, and promise a fast turn time. I'm proud to be a major headache to anyone who thinks what I do has minimal value in use, & they deserve as much of my pay, as I do. I'll make them prove it, then next thing you know, I'm back on the $275 pay plan (which should be a minimum for any appraiser unsure of typicall or reduced fees), getting at least a few a year.
If you are upset with companies like EAppraiseIT, sign up with them, and slow them down, a little bit more. Negotiate everything, it's completely legal to ask for more. If my time is becoming worth less and less, I guess I have a lot more of it to express my opinions, & try and change the minds of the people taking advantage of me. My personal mantra is that if they try to make me pay, it won't be worth it. Even if they never know it, and I have to talk to a hundred different people, wasting everyones time along the way.
Since when does someone across the world know more about real estate appraising in my home town, than me? "I tell you what it costs, & what it's worth!"
Oh, and was it Karl that was all ****y regarding the first post. I'm anxious to know if he approves this message. But I'm really not going to care if he does either way. Forum posts don't need validation, or criticism. If you're not on board with it, make another thread that is more up your alley. If you've got an opinion, express it. But leave all your fancy big type, and alarmist punctuations on your own desk. Right Cha!
