Junior Member
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2008
- Professional Status
- Banking/Mortgage Industry
- State
- California
That was very inspirational, thanks for the link! Funny, but I was contemplating joining the AGA before. I might very well be doing so soon
Davy,
For circumstances where the reason for an appraiser being on a "blacklist" is an actual mistake, and after the appraiser has exhausted all regular appraisal department channels in a professional manner, I have found that clear, precise, but not directly threatening, correspondence from a lawyer to the bank's in-house legal department can make a difference. By not going over the top with legal threats and instead reaching out to actually resolve a problem, the lawyer can appeal to the sensibility of an in-house lawyer -- it usually makes sense to the in-house lawyer to avoid a potential legal claim, if it can be avoided by correcting a problem that has no cost to fix. Often times, the administrative operators are so locked into their bureaucratic systems that they can't get out of their box and just plain fix something.
I have attached a heavily edited example of a letter that I wrote on behalf of an appraiser with a similar situation to yours a couple years ago. I have done this several times with success each time, so I know it is realistic.
-- Peter Christensen, LIA's general counsel
Example heavily edited letter to the in-house legal counsel for a very large bank:
I am writing to ask that [Bank] rectify an error that is destroying the financial livelihood of a real estate appraiser. The situation involves what appears to be mistaken identity by [Bank] and, as a result, an erroneous “blacklisting” by [Bank] of the appraiser.
[Appraiser Bob Smith] (XX license no. XXXX) is a client of our firm. We insure approximately 18,000 real estate appraisers for professional liability. Because our work generally involves the defense, rather than pursuit, of legal claims for our clients, it is unusual for us to intervene on behalf of an appraiser in a situation like this, but we are doing so here because we hope our communication with you might prompt [Bank] to take appropriate action and prevent further injury to [Mr. Smith].
[Bank] has placed [Mr. Smith] on an ineligible list for appraisal assignments. It appears to have taken this action because another appraiser with a very similar name ([Bobbie Smith], XX license no. XXXX) is a defendant in a criminal fraud case pending in federal court. [More details of the case.] No allegations in that case, however, have anything to do with [Mr. Smith]. In fact, as his professional liability insurance provider, I can tell you that he has never had any legal or administrative complaint filed or threatened against him of any kind. Nevertheless, through its appraiser panel management processes, whether manual or automated, [Bank] apparently has placed [Mr. Smith] on an ineligibility list utilized by [Bank] – a list that has circulated outside of [Bank] as well. This “blacklisting” has caused [Mr. Smith] to lose almost all of his appraisal work, whether for [Bank] or other lenders and has left [Mr. Smith] and his family without financial support in a time of dire need due to the passing of a family member.
[Mr. Smith] has had no success in trying to resolve this problem through [Bank]’s administrative channels. Accordingly, we ask that you please look at his situation carefully and correct the apparent error. Should you or any person within [Bank] need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the toll free number above or [Mr. Smith] at zzz-zzz-zzz.
I hope it is very clear, neither our company nor [Mr. Smith] himself is threatening or intimating any kind of legal or regulatory action by this letter. That is not the intent. We are asking only that a mistake be corrected before it continues to wreak more harm. Though he has not stated any such intention to me, if the error is not corrected, unfortunately, I think his only choice at that point may be to consult with legal counsel in his state and consider other actions to focus attention on fixing the problem.
Very truly yours.
Peter T. Christensen
General Counsel
[Appraiser Bob Smith] (XX license no. XXXX) is a client of our firm. We insure approximately 18,000 real estate appraisers for professional liability. Because our work generally involves the defense, rather than pursuit, of legal claims for our clients, it is unusual for us to intervene on behalf of an appraiser in a situation like this, but we are doing so here because we hope our communication with you might prompt [Bank] to take appropriate action and prevent further injury to [Mr. Smith].
[Bank] has placed [Mr. Smith] on an ineligible list for appraisal assignments. It appears to have taken this action because another appraiser with a very similar name ([Bobbie Smith], XX license no. XXXX) is a defendant in a criminal fraud case pending in federal court. [More details of the case.] No allegations in that case, however, have anything to do with [Mr. Smith]. In fact, as his professional liability insurance provider, I can tell you that he has never had any legal or administrative complaint filed or threatened against him of any kind. Nevertheless, through its appraiser panel management processes, whether manual or automated, [Bank] apparently has placed [Mr. Smith] on an ineligibility list utilized by [Bank] – a list that has circulated outside of [Bank] as well. This “blacklisting” has caused [Mr. Smith] to lose almost all of his appraisal work, whether for [Bank] or other lenders and has left [Mr. Smith] and his family without financial support in a time of dire need due to the passing of a family member.
[Mr. Smith] has had no success in trying to resolve this problem through [Bank]’s administrative channels. Accordingly, we ask that you please look at his situation carefully and correct the apparent error. Should you or any person within [Bank] need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the toll free number above or [Mr. Smith] at zzz-zzz-zzz.
I hope it is very clear, neither our company nor [Mr. Smith] himself is threatening or intimating any kind of legal or regulatory action by this letter. That is not the intent. We are asking only that a mistake be corrected before it continues to wreak more harm. Though he has not stated any such intention to me, if the error is not corrected, unfortunately, I think his only choice at that point may be to consult with legal counsel in his state and consider other actions to focus attention on fixing the problem.
Very truly yours.
Peter T. Christensen
General Counsel
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