Hi My Name Is

[jeff samolinski]

Hi my name is Jeff and I am an appraiser

I have a high standard of ethics when it comes to my profession. I am normally in the middle of a shark infested pool of water made up of loan officers, mortgage brokers and realtors of which most of them will do just about anything to get their deal done. My income and business is dependent upon the sharks who will try to get me to compromise my ethics while at the same time often next door to these sharks are people in the same company who have been hired to catch me if I falter.

The sharks and their employers control the waters that I must swim in to survive, so they have developed an inherently and highly veiled flawed system which typically results in insults hurled my way, some threats and even the possibility of jail time if I do not swim carefully.

The sharks even have my peers swarming around me waiting for the chance to feed me to the sharks. The Board that regulates me is intently focused on getting rid of the worst of us. They are aware of the tactics of the sharks and of the fact that if you set a trap with cheese to catch rats and starve the surrounding good animals that they will also kill many of the good animals. But the Board continues to hide behind the shadows of Mickey Mouse and go about its business of catching the rats and ignoringefforts to protect the innocent good animals killed in the process. After as the Board so eloquently states: Its not within their power do anything but continue to allow the traps to be baited and after all appraisers are expected to be a different breed from all the other animals. Appraisers are expected to not be motivated by survival instincts and do what all the other animals are doing, the are to be held to a higher standard and are expected to fall on their sword to maintain their ethics. If not for the appraisers who could we trust to protect this mult-billion process?

So press on ye appraisers and do not fear that you are in a nuclear war with only your copy of USPAP to fight with. Most of you will be killed soon by unfair competition from the rats or eaten by the sharks when you eventually compromise your standards or you will wounded or killed by the trap. And those that escape it is only a matter of time or you will relegated to an income and style of living commensurate with a McDonalds manager.

Sorry for the doom and gloom folks. Have a nice day!!!

 

[Darrell Hignite]

WOW, this was the wrong morning to pull up the forum. Lighten up! I hope you get a vacation soon, you need it.

Now, as a serious note. Thank god you have your USPAP book, because that may be the only floating device in your ocean of despair. It will be the only thing that can save you.

 

[Austin]

Darrell:
I think that Jeff’s message is that it is impossible to distinguish as to whether or not USPAP is the life raft or the tarpedo running rampant and causing all of the problems. Reminds me of when I was in high school taking a health class on first aid. The teacher, after grading the test, made us promise him that if we ever ran up on him and he was in need of first aid that we would keep our damn hands off of him and allow him to die in peace. That is the message some of us are trying to get back to the powers that be. The message being “If that is the best you can do, then the hell with it. Just let our profession die in peace.”
AO's are not part of USPAP and should not be relied upon as rules or standards; AO's are ammendments to USPAP; AO's interpret USPAP; AO's are addendums to USPAP. Take your pick. As Steven says, it all depends.

 

[Ross (CO)]

Jeff, ...... Huh, sounds like those sharks near you are mean. While one can use black ink, suits of mail and electric prods to stave off these prehistoric relics of tireless appetite and frenzied movement......you need only find a few dolphins to swim with and the sharks will be, as they say in Jamaica, "No problem, mahn". The dolphins are sometimes difficult to find, and yet once found and nurtured with sincerity, diligence and trust....they can make the shark tank seem like a kiddie pool. So, go find the dolphins, and if we all go find the dolphins those sharks will eventually have only themselves to eat. Swim safely.....and, by the way, what are the appropriate adjustments to make for salinity and temperature ?

 

[Travis McGee]

Hey Darrel! I used to feel more that way- then deciced if I wanted to stay in thisbusiness I had to make some changes. I "fired" the most agressive and pushy clients, and am still busy (got some new ones.) So- you may want to look at your way of conducting business- if you are talking to realtors, you don't have to- inform your clients you do not want to speak to them. The realtors can fax you comps if they want, but that's it. If a client won't go along with that, then you have to have the courage to drop them. Your clients may need a little "training" - most will be more receptive than you might think.

I also decided pyshcologically not to live in a climate of fear- if you devlop your reports the right way and have E and O insurance, just forget about it. Why make yourself crazy? On the rare chance you are ever called before a board, you will probably be Okay. Most professions have liablity on some level, and some form of crazymaking stuff they have to deal with.

Anyway, good luck, and take a nice day or two off!

 

[Francois K. Gregoire]

Jeff,

Knowing you are in Florida, I wonder where you heard or read the Board state what you attribute to them.

Playing the victim does little to advance the interest and well being of the appraisal profession.

Frank

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

Wow. Can someone say burn out?

This is greatest job that I have ever had. I thank God every day that I made my way into this profession. I remember my days working 8am to 6pm in a 8' x 8' cubical for $30,000 a year under a boss who didn't give a **** about me. I remember the long ride to and from work in bumper to bumper traffic. I remember the backbiting peers and the CYA office politics. I remember the 2% raise every year.

Now when I get up every morning, I pour myself a cup of good coffee. and on my way up the stairs to my 16' x 24' home office I stop by the nursery and take a long look at my baby girl (something that I'm able to do anytime I want). Sure I work harder now than I ever did before, but imagine the huge smile on my face as I fill out my deposit slips.

Keep your chin up bro.

 

[jeff samolinski]

Frank:

Unfortunately the Florida State board is guilty in my mind. As a member of that board I ask you to reflect upon the amount of time the board has spent on considering punishment of appraisers(whether they deserve it or not is not the point here) compared to the time the board has spent trying to help appraisers fight lenders abuses. I realize the limitations of the board in fighting lender abuses because it does not have authority over them but so far I have not been made aware any real effort by the board to deal with the trap.

Personaly I would refuse to serve on a Board that does not provide for some semblance of balance in its efforts. If other professions are part of the cause for the Board's busy punishment sessions and I saw that no-one was willing to get to a large root of the problem I would not want to be a part of it.

I am sad to reiterate your position to my idea of passing additional rules for appraisers that could be considered helpful in our fight against predatory lenders and such. You stated that you would be opposed to any new rules to be placed on appraisers. Maybe you did not read close enough, I had said new rules that would help us. Maybe you believe that any new rules would be a burden. But it seems to me that most of the new rules to date have come from recurring abuses by appraisers uncovered as part of the monthly punishment process of the Board. So I was trying to be a little pro-active and not so re-active as the Board seems to be. I expect little or no assistance from anyone on the Board with any ideas that would help appraisers. That would be expecting leadership.

So we are left with the good work that the Boards do in getting rid of the bad appraisers and scurrying about adopting implementing rules for the legislation that is passed by the more powerful realtors and lenders. I leave you with one question though: What are the contributing factors that make for bad appraisers?

 

[Red Blumenstock]

Jeff,

I am wondering how many Board meetings you have attended in Florida. They meet the first Tuesday of every other month starting in February. Next week is a meeting. Are you going to attend? It is easy to criticize sometimes, but that solves nothing. Can you offer any solid recommendations that fall within their authority to pursue?

We are fortunate to have people of the quality that we do have on the Board. It is necessary to remember that they are "hamstrung" by the legislation. Sometimes we fail to remember that there are limits as to what they may do.

The Board is an Appraisers Board. They have no control over the lenders and cannot do anything about the Loan Officers and others who present unacceptable conditions with an assignment. Their only method is to puunish the violating appraiser in the hope that this will influence other appraisers to not perform in violation of the regulatiosn, including USPAP.

I, for one, compliment the Board members and the wortk they do. It is at some sacrifice in income since they get paid precious little for their expertise and time involvement. When they get unfairly attacked, as I believe is present in this case, I wonder if they don't wonder why they took the job in the first place.

Thank you Frank and please pass along my compliments to the rest of the Board members as well.

 

[Darrell Hignite]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to go east some fish, more likely shark than dolphin, after all, it is Friday.