• Welcome to AppraisersForum.com, the premier online  community for the discussion of real estate appraisal. Register a free account to be able to post and unlock additional forums and features.

I'm not surprised..

Look what I just received. The public trust never had it so good.

1724869856997.png


1724869900093.png
 

Attachments

  • 1724869831609.png
    1724869831609.png
    48.4 KB · Views: 4
Correct. They have a fixed fee contract with the lender.

That is meaningless. See the OP price sheet.

They have a fixed fee from the lender. Yes. Agree. What, we will call the overage a tip...from the borrower.

Now where you are wrong in my opinion. I still respect you. So no hard feelings. In your previous post you stated that the AMCs lose on some and get overages on others. Thus equalling out.

If they are charging a fixed fee, how can this be? It's not a fixed fee per say.. It's a fixed fee with a tip. Let's take out the tip. Borrowers are not aware that they are giving AMCs a tip.

Now if the AMCs takes a loss on one. That's the cost of doing business.

"They do not get to charge more on the next one"

They kinda do...they get a tip.

AMC takes a $200 loss on an order.

Next order: AMC standard fee from lender $150. Borrower pays $650. AMC pays appraiser $350. AMC theorically gets to charge an extra $150 for the prior loss.

The appraiser is not able to get a tip. The fee remains $350.
We will just have to agree to disagree. I see no difference whatsoever in the AMC fixed price model and what most appraisers do.

Most residential appraisers charge a flat rate for most assignments (e.g. "my base rate for a 1004 is is $X") and the profit on each assignment varies up and down. Lose money on hard ones, make more money on easy ones and it averages out in the end. Appraiser don't say this one is $500, that one is $490, this one is $510. They pick the average fee that works (for them) for most assignments. It is the same basic concept.
 
We will just have to agree to disagree. I see no difference whatsoever in the AMC fixed price model and what most appraisers do.

Most residential appraisers charge a flat rate for most assignments (e.g. "my base rate for a 1004 is is $X") and the profit on each assignment varies up and down. Lose money on hard ones, make more money on easy ones and it averages out in the end. Appraiser don't say this one is $500, that one is $490, this one is $510. They pick the average fee that works (for them) for most assignments. It is the same basic concept.
The difference is the AMC does not do the appraisal; it makes money by inserting itself as a middleman and taking a split of the fee the borrower paid the lender for the appraisal, and the appraiser typically makes less, often substantially less than they would without the AMC.

A middleman is not a comparison to an appraiser charging their client whatever fee they negotiate or accept for an appraisal.

If the lender gets value added from the services of an AMC, then the lender should compensate the AMC as a cost.

Whenever I get a direct lender appraisal order, I include my invoice and the borrower sees it, I assume because it is the same amount the borrower paid. Whenever i do an order for an AMC, they do not want the invoice included -god forbid the borrower should see it - it has to remain a secret from them.
 
We will just have to agree to disagree. I see no difference whatsoever in the AMC fixed price model and what most appraisers do.

Most residential appraisers charge a flat rate for most assignments (e.g. "my base rate for a 1004 is is $X") and the profit on each assignment varies up and down. Lose money on hard ones, make more money on easy ones and it averages out in the end. Appraiser don't say this one is $500, that one is $490, this one is $510. They pick the average fee that works (for them) for most assignments. It is the same basic concept.

how much does the mortgage broker charge when they estimate value via waivers...it is free :rof: :rof: :rof:
 
The difference is the AMC does not do the appraisal; it makes money by inserting itself as a middleman and taking a split of the fee the borrower paid the lender for the appraisal, and the appraiser typically makes less, often substantially less than they would without the AMC.

A middleman is not a comparison to an appraiser charging their client whatever fee they negotiate or accept for an appraisal.

If the lender gets value added from the services of an AMC, then the lender should compensate the AMC as a cost.

Whenever I get a direct lender appraisal order, I include my invoice and the borrower sees it, I assume because it is the same amount the borrower paid. Whenever i do an order for an AMC, they do not want the invoice included -god forbid the borrower should see it - it has to remain a secret from them.
I have long (as in 30+ years) thought that lenders should not be able to pass any expenses straight through to a borrower. None. Including the appraisal cost. The appraisal is done for the lender, and it should be at the expense of the lender. Asking the borrower to pay a direct fee for the appraisal is no different, to me, than asking them to pay a pro rate share of the rent, the electric bill or any other cost of doing business as a lender. But, hey, I don't make those rules.

My only intent in posting in this thread is to help some better understand how the business actually works. When I was in AMCland we did have orders where our gross exceeded the appraiser's fee - and for everyone of those I could show you several where there was a gross loss because the appraiser fee was more than the AMC total fee.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I am out.
 
Last post, I think. maybe.probaly not.

Ok. The lender selects the AMC and goes into contract at a rate of $150 per order.

This says that the lender thinks the services of the AMC is worth $150 per order. Correct?

If the AMC loses money:
1. Poor business decision.
2. That's business. Sign a better contract next time.

Contact the cfpb and let's protect the consumer!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zoe
Find a Real Estate Appraiser - Enter Zip Code

Copyright © 2000-2025, AppraisersForum.com, All Rights Reserved
AppraisersForum.com is proudly hosted by the folks at
AppraiserSites.com
Back
Top