George Hatch
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- California
As critical as I am of some of the ways the GSEs have done business, I am compelled to acknowledge certain realities.
In many respects the GSEs are just like any other business - they need to be at least perceived as being responsive to the various hot button issues of their clients and "business partners". That's not to say they are always going to just roll over for these other parties, but there is a certain amount of utility is being perceived as being open minded.
So when an investor asks why they can't reduce turn times by farming out the inspection tranch of the assignment to paraprofessionals so the appraisers can spend more time doing analyses and conclusions, Fannie would be hard pressed to just say "no" out of hand; they almost have to give the idea some consideration so as to form a basis for their decision. They need a reason to say either "yes" or "no", and they just about can't develop that reason without testing the concept.
And then there's the "we're running out of appraisers" scare some of the muppets were sniveling about a couple years back. Like it or not, leveraging the appraisers expertise by farming out some of the non-appraisal functions is one way to get more done with fewer appraisers.
Which brings us straight back to the possibility that - if the prospect of forcing more appraisers to specialize in the appraising side of the assignment works out for the lenders - then it follows that the reduction in demand for appraiser hours starve a certain percentage of the incumbent appraisers into oblivion.
Another possibility - as yet unknown and unknowable - is the GSEs figuring out that when it comes to these inspections it is the appraisers who provide the best bang for the buck. It may very well turn out that no other group which is equal or better at it will work for less.
In many respects the GSEs are just like any other business - they need to be at least perceived as being responsive to the various hot button issues of their clients and "business partners". That's not to say they are always going to just roll over for these other parties, but there is a certain amount of utility is being perceived as being open minded.
So when an investor asks why they can't reduce turn times by farming out the inspection tranch of the assignment to paraprofessionals so the appraisers can spend more time doing analyses and conclusions, Fannie would be hard pressed to just say "no" out of hand; they almost have to give the idea some consideration so as to form a basis for their decision. They need a reason to say either "yes" or "no", and they just about can't develop that reason without testing the concept.
And then there's the "we're running out of appraisers" scare some of the muppets were sniveling about a couple years back. Like it or not, leveraging the appraisers expertise by farming out some of the non-appraisal functions is one way to get more done with fewer appraisers.
Which brings us straight back to the possibility that - if the prospect of forcing more appraisers to specialize in the appraising side of the assignment works out for the lenders - then it follows that the reduction in demand for appraiser hours starve a certain percentage of the incumbent appraisers into oblivion.
Another possibility - as yet unknown and unknowable - is the GSEs figuring out that when it comes to these inspections it is the appraisers who provide the best bang for the buck. It may very well turn out that no other group which is equal or better at it will work for less.
