DonRico
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- South Carolina
I would like to compile a list of initiatives for the American Guild of Appraisers and their AFL-CIO Political Action Committee.
This is our Magna Carta, our Great Charter. We should provide them with focus, and give them a clear set of goals as they represent our position to lawmakers and to bankers.
What are your hot topics ? Feel free to add to these items or suggest other issues. This could be discussed at the next NJ Guild Meeting.
Article 1- Sanctity of an Appraiser’s Signed Work Product.
Demand an immediate halt to any alteration of an appraiser’s finished report by Appraisal Management Companies.
No watermarks, no missing pages, no blacked-out photos. And positively no data mining without written permission of the appraiser. If we continue to allow data-mining, the need for residential appraisals will disappear in less than 5 years.
If a report is altered for any reason, a mandatory notification process to the appraiser is triggered.
Article 2- Elimination of Blacklists and Do Not Use Lists.
(AFL-CIO legal team will have a field day with this right to work issue.)
Any move to de-list a licensed/certified appraiser must be made in writing, with reasons clearly stated, and with a chance for the accused to offer a defense. If a rating system is used to rank appraisers, this must be published and the rating criteria available to anyone on the list.
No more MARI and no more Double Secret Probation.
Article 3- Hold Harmless & Indemnity clauses demanded by AMC’s.
This concept is a farce on the face of it, and needs no further explanation.
Article 4- Fees
Recommend a standard minimum fee structure for all types of appraisal products. Define the added charges for complex assignments, waterfront and rural properties.
Any upcharges for Appraisal Management Company services above & beyond these recommended standard fees are paid for by the lender, the consumer of these services. Not by the appraiser, the provider of services.
All appraisal fees & management charges will appear as separate line items on HUD-1 as mandated by RESPA.
Article 5- Turn-around Times.
Establish a standard Turn-around time of 48 to 72 hours from the time of observation, with extensions granted for complex assignments. A quality Estimate of Value takes time to prepare and document. Nobody needs an appraisal with an 8 hour turn-time. Nobody.
The other side of the equation is that no appraisal should require more than 5 business days. Appraisals for residential lending purposes should not take more than a week, except under extreme conditions.
We’ve just provided the lender with cost certainty and a valid time-line for their planning purposes. We’ve also just eliminated the AMC’s shopping around for the cheapest, quickest appraiser.
The appraisal is an important part of the lending process, a process which normally takes several weeks and costs thousands of dollars in total fees.
The appraisal should not be rushed and certainly should not to be discounted.
Article 6- Reconsideration of Value Requests by AMC’s.
Define a standard process and establish a fee schedule to cover demands for review of additional comparables. It is disingenuous to use a machine-generated AVM as a benchmark for an appraisal prepared by a licensed professional after their first-hand observation of the subject. Time spent by an appraiser to revisit a finished, error-free report shall be compensated at standard rates.
Have at it, boys and girls.
This is our Magna Carta, our Great Charter. We should provide them with focus, and give them a clear set of goals as they represent our position to lawmakers and to bankers.
What are your hot topics ? Feel free to add to these items or suggest other issues. This could be discussed at the next NJ Guild Meeting.
Article 1- Sanctity of an Appraiser’s Signed Work Product.
Demand an immediate halt to any alteration of an appraiser’s finished report by Appraisal Management Companies.
No watermarks, no missing pages, no blacked-out photos. And positively no data mining without written permission of the appraiser. If we continue to allow data-mining, the need for residential appraisals will disappear in less than 5 years.
If a report is altered for any reason, a mandatory notification process to the appraiser is triggered.
Article 2- Elimination of Blacklists and Do Not Use Lists.
(AFL-CIO legal team will have a field day with this right to work issue.)
Any move to de-list a licensed/certified appraiser must be made in writing, with reasons clearly stated, and with a chance for the accused to offer a defense. If a rating system is used to rank appraisers, this must be published and the rating criteria available to anyone on the list.
No more MARI and no more Double Secret Probation.
Article 3- Hold Harmless & Indemnity clauses demanded by AMC’s.
This concept is a farce on the face of it, and needs no further explanation.
Article 4- Fees
Recommend a standard minimum fee structure for all types of appraisal products. Define the added charges for complex assignments, waterfront and rural properties.
Any upcharges for Appraisal Management Company services above & beyond these recommended standard fees are paid for by the lender, the consumer of these services. Not by the appraiser, the provider of services.
All appraisal fees & management charges will appear as separate line items on HUD-1 as mandated by RESPA.
Article 5- Turn-around Times.
Establish a standard Turn-around time of 48 to 72 hours from the time of observation, with extensions granted for complex assignments. A quality Estimate of Value takes time to prepare and document. Nobody needs an appraisal with an 8 hour turn-time. Nobody.
The other side of the equation is that no appraisal should require more than 5 business days. Appraisals for residential lending purposes should not take more than a week, except under extreme conditions.
We’ve just provided the lender with cost certainty and a valid time-line for their planning purposes. We’ve also just eliminated the AMC’s shopping around for the cheapest, quickest appraiser.
The appraisal is an important part of the lending process, a process which normally takes several weeks and costs thousands of dollars in total fees.
The appraisal should not be rushed and certainly should not to be discounted.
Article 6- Reconsideration of Value Requests by AMC’s.
Define a standard process and establish a fee schedule to cover demands for review of additional comparables. It is disingenuous to use a machine-generated AVM as a benchmark for an appraisal prepared by a licensed professional after their first-hand observation of the subject. Time spent by an appraiser to revisit a finished, error-free report shall be compensated at standard rates.
Have at it, boys and girls.
