Land Safe

[Rod_Wycoff]

Reviews

Whether one needs a license would have something to do with what the laws of the state your in are, whether it is a transaction the state has jurisdiction over, etc.

There is some language in that question that concern me. What other kind of review is there besides Std 3? Also, I don't think reviewing includes "changing" someone's value. A second party can come up with a second opinion of value.

There are two general categories of reviews, "administrative reviews" performed by clerical personnel and "Std. 3 reviews" performed by appraisers.

A review that includes the reviewer's estimate of value is a "corrective review"; it is subject to Stds. 1, 3 and possibly 2.

My point is that lenders employing review appraisers routinely ignore the licensing laws.

 

[Doug Wegener]

Landsafe

landsafe is owned by countrywide. they're the largest appraisal management company.

I would be willing to bet that LSI is the largerst appraisal management company.

 

[Craig Lynn]

I am amazed that there is someone in the business has never heard of Landsafe.

In it's own way thats kind of impressive because that means that either you have not been in the trenches of mortgage lending for the last several years or this is your first day as an appraiser.

Saying that, unlike many others on the forum, I have often been impressed by their diligence and oversight. My opinion and not necessarily shared by anyone else. Their fees are/were weak but they paid and you could pick and choose from the work available in your area.

Let the bashing begin over report quality and fee paid. I can hear it now. Landsafe appraisers are entry level, skippies, geographically incompetent and bad people.

But I would happily take about five orders a week from them right now.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

Why would they want an appraiser in Arkansas to review appraisals from all over the country?

I used to think the same thing. Then I started to field reviews for a major lender. Many of these reports were so bad that they didn't have to go beyond the desk review to determine they were not credible.

I've been hearing that up to 30% of appraisals accepted through wholesale are round-file material...and those are only the really bad ones.

 

[TJSum]

Do you need a license in order to perform Standard 3 desk reviews if the value isn't changed by the reviewer? /quote]

Even if you agree with the original appraiser's value opinion, isn't the reveiwer giving their opinion as well by agreeing (or disagreeing)?

 

[Lobo Fan]

Landsafe paid for my Christmas and they have really ramped up on their quality control. Some of the calls I have been getting are quite astute and tells me that they really want the truth. Unlike many others that just want a closed deal.

 

[OSU Beavers]

Landsafe paid for my Christmas and they have really ramped up on their quality control. Some of the calls I have been getting are quite astute and tells me that they really want the truth. Unlike many others that just want a closed deal.

Same here, $3450 in fees from LS in December. I don't know if its about QC in the ordering process, I think Skippy just took the month off. I hope January holds the same when Skippy gets back from Mexico.

But seriously LS has their four tier system and Quality is NOT used in the ranking!

 

[Greg Bell]

I would be willing to bet that LSI is the largerst appraisal management company.

That would be wrong...

 

[Brad Ellis]

Last I saw, LSI was the largest AMC; it is also the oldest- the first of its kind.

Desk reviews performed under SR-3 do not need to be local as the SOW rules that unless there is a specific state law- and even then the question of jurisdiction comes up.

Add to that the regulatory requirement of quality control over appraisals coming in house and I doubt that any state would have a leg to stand on.

Brad

 

[Ultraviolet]

This question came up in my recent USPAP class, specifically related to CA appraisers reviewing in AZ - AZ is a mandatory state.

The AZ board only has jurisdiction over AZ appraisers so there's really nothing they can do, except maybe issue a cease and desist letter. The instructor said he had spoken with the head of the OREA who said the best way to stop this is to file a complaint in CA against the appraiser for appraising without the proper license in AZ.

I don't know how successful the complaint will be, but that's the information we were given.

It sounds like it would be more difficult in non-mandatory states.