Pressure to complete an appraisal by an AMC? What are my options?

[KYLECODY]

An appraiser in my firm is currently undergoing an unreasonably dramatic situation with an AMC where they are trying to intimidate the appraiser into completing the appraisal assignment. Basically, the inspection was completed and due to comments from the homeowner about how the value must be high, how he did so much work to it, how he dumped money into it, etc., she went to the AMC and denied the order due to an attempt to influence value, as well as an issue with complexity. The homeowner is a contractor that put top of the line finishes into his house, which is otherwise a very basic and standard house, but only completed maybe 60% of it. They wanted an as-is appraisal. It's more than likely an extreme over-improvement, coupled with only a partial finish, and further exacerbated by the undesirable location (great city/school district, but right off of a major highway). The homeowner's behavior was also very odd, which probably doesn't factor into this but certainly made her uncomfortable completing the appraisal after the inspection.

After speaking with the AMC, they appeared to have a problem with her refusing to complete the assignment and have repeatedly said things like "oh it's fine, I spoke with the homeowner and he's totally cool with it. Just complete it and get it back to us". After two weeks of them not accepting no for an answer, the "senior reviewer" responded with an irate email saying things like "YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MIND!!!!" and "IF YOU BAIL HE WILL FILE A COMPLAINT!!!!" (he = homeowner). All caps, riddled with spelling errors, etc. She sent an email back explaining that per USPAP, she cannot complete the report, essentially. He responded again by trying, yet again, to get her to complete the appraisal report and said he's "just trying to keep (her) out of trouble".

Clearly, this is a messy situation. We've now involved our lawyer. But the laws regarding jurisdiction over what AMC's can or cannot do is pretty obscure. It's also pretty obscure as to whether or not a complain can legitimately be filed if an appraisal is never even completed (we're located in Minnesota).

So the first question is, can she be in hot water over not completing the appraisal report, due to contractual obligations? And secondly, what is the best way to go about this? Ghost them? Call the Dept of Commerce? Report them? Have the rest of our correspondence go through our lawyer? And lastly... Are there any laws about intimidation or coercion as it pertains to COMPLETING an assignment (in contrast to influencing an appraisal's value)?

To make matters worse, we have two outstanding orders with this AMC and although we won't be working with them again, we're questioning whether or not it's the smartest move to further enrage them by denying the other two orders, as well.

Thank you all in advance.

Sounds like youre "asking for a friend?"...Sounds like the appraiser wasn't assertive enough with the no. Just say no Nancy Reagan This isn't the military, its petty little real estate stuff in the big picture. There is no forcing someone to complete it. They can always order another appraisal and get someone out there and done within a week...If you need to back out you need to back out. Its not a debate, stand up for yourself and tell the angry AMC person no and move on.

I did a fellow appraisers house once. He was renting, trying to buy as a short sale..After initially telling me he would let me do my thing and leave me alone, he followed me around the whole time, pointing out inane things, telling me what he wanted it to be worth, trying to get me to go "low" because he thought FNMA would match that and got angry when I questioned something he said..I was ready to beat his arse after the inspection and told him in the street on my way out that off the record I could care less what he wanted or needed it to be worth and that I could care less what FNMA wanted. I politely let him know he pissed me off. Anyways after thinking of it I told the lender to reassign, no way I was going to risk this guy nitpicking my report to the state if he didn't like the results. They, also, told me everything would be fine and they would back me up blah blah and to just finish it up...I told them to move on and glad I did...its bad enough doing realtors houses but usually appraisers are nice enough to let you be..not this knucklehead.

 

[Carnivore]

Here is some Guidance. Maybe it applies maybe it doesn't You be the judge. I think it does.

Design Professionalism: The designer's guide to taking back your profession. By Andy Rutledge

designprofessionalism.com

Since we have the AMC's in the Process it becomes Problematic. This is why I support using portals like AI Port as an example. Nothing emotional about AI port. It can be set up to catch errors of omission, but does not judge Quality. There is no Human interference. It never has a bad day, It never has a Good Day!

Often in an engagement Letter from AMC Phone monkey, there are a list of Certain Reporting/commenting Requirements. Our favorite STIP around here is "Explain why the Subject MV is above or below the Predominate price range of the 'Hood"! WE know how silly that is. They Claim its a Client Requirement. Hmmmm Really!

So I discovered that this item is indeed NOT A CLIENT REQUIREMENT, but was a AMC item, for their Checker Dude and Dudette's. It was on all assignments(and other Stupid Stuff) and didn't matter who the Client was. How do I know that? I spoke with a Client about that and some other items/issues. Did I call the Client? No the Client is a Hard money Lender who Called ME! I am now on their Direct Order List. They still use the AMC, but when the AMC makes a Claim they can't find an appraiser because appraisers are Busy! Who ya gonna call; Ghost Buster aka Carnivore! See, I told the Client, its about the Fee, not about being busy! I also informed him that we were being required to use the FNMA Series. He replied that this was not his Requirement. For that matter he would prefer that it not be on any FNMA Series Format!

We talked for over an Hour. I told him that if i can do it, I will, but if I am behind I will let him(his office) know immediately. he was very appreciative of that gesture of cooperation.

Here is the Downside of having Hard Money Clients. They are very market sensitive! All my Hard Money work has dried up overnight. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket kind of thing. Which I don't.

From that Link Above: "
Direct working relationships
Professionals habitually work directly with their clients rather than through intermediaries or proxies.

 

[J Grant]

I don't understand how this dragged on for 2 weeks. An appraiser giving an order back can be contentious, but if appraiser is clear and firm about it to client it should be over in a day.

 

[spittman]

Look at it like this ... if you don't complete the assignment they will harass you. If you do complete the assignment and they are not happy with the results they will definitely still harass you, BUT would you rather them file a complaint with a copy of the report or no copy at all??? If the assignment is complex, your report will likely be scrutinized to infinity.

I wouldn't do it. You are no longer impartial or confident enough to produce a credible report. I've pulled out several times after doing the inspection for different reasons. The last time I thought for sure it would be the end of our relationship after them leaving some very angry messages. They went so far as to threaten me with a welfare check because I had ignored them after they wouldn't take no for an answer. But nope, after all that, they still send assignments.

 

[spittman]

I don't understand how this dragged on for 2 weeks. An appraiser giving an order back can be contentious, but if appraiser is clear and firm about it to client it should be over in a day.

Probably because it happened before and nobody else wanted to do it and now this appraiser is their last hope.

 

[Renee Healion]

Walk. Don't look back.

ps Don't be a wimp for god's sake, this has gone on because they think you are pliable. They engaged an independent contractor. Contract broken by improper influence--guhbye.

 

[Meandering]

Probably because it happened before and nobody else wanted to do it and now this appraiser is their last hope.

"Last Hope Appraiser"



Thank you for that.

 

[glenn walker]

Let's lay the blame on the appraisers Supervisor or Mentor. This appears to have been handled very poorly and should have been resolved within days and not weeks. The Supervisory or Chief appraiser should be horse whipped and he should be required to take coursework on how to defuse situations and not show up to a gun fight with a knife. This is a classic example of how people end up in law suits and or get frivolous complaints filed with their State Boards.

When the appraiser came to the office and told him/her that She did not feel competent to complete the report and that she believed it was over improved for the neighborhood and did not feel comfortable finishing it the Supervisor or Mentor should have said no problem and If no one else was available they had an-obligation to immediately contact the lender and tell them to reassign it and they were done . The appraiser confessed it was over her pay grade and did the right thing by admitting it. Also in my opinion there was no need to talk about anything to the AMC or Lender except the fcat the order needed to be reassigned to another appraiser who was more experienced or was more competent. I have never had a lender in 35 years who wanted me to complete a report when I told them I had no idea what I was doing. Admit it-suck it up and move on .

The pressure the appraiser felt was in reality hit when she realized she was never going to get this done correctly and she was stepping into a potential USPAP violation if she proceeded. As far as the borrower placing pressure if trained properly She could have ended that real fast but no matter what she says its all a he said-she said situation and nobody will care. A Lender or AMC can only be held accountable under the so called appraiser independence regulation if they had placed the pressure on the appraiser and they did not push a predermined value they pushed getting the appraisal completed and delivered within a reasonable period of time and two weeks of back and forth arguing is not and was not necessary.

Also It's not illegal for a Buyer-Borrower or Realtor to tell an-appraiser how great their property is and so the appraiser has to be trained to divert price pressure by getting the buyer-borrower or seller to focus on something other than sales price or a certain number for a refinance. Below is an-example of how I was trained by the infamous Richard Tong who was the master of the Real Estate Dog & Pony Show and could take the toughest developer, builder, contractor, flipper, Realtor or borrower and could control them like a cowboy with a lariat around the neck of a farm animal and within 15 minutes the only concern anyone had was if their final value was going to come in way low. Some would even give him a lower number by saying things like hey I know we told you we needed $zzz but we can live with a lower value as long as you dont get too crazy. He would just smile shake his head and say go home and you will know within a few days what the value is.

Example: Appraiser shows up and Realtor-buyer-seller start talking about a number the need or want . The appraiser stops-stares and mumbles for no less than 45 to 60 seconds. Now curiosity takes over and like a cat they have to ask what you are staring at ? Respond with something like how old is that roof ? Or hey I see you are near the airport is this house located in a Navigation Zone ? If in a State like California stare at the ground and if you see any settlement cracks shake your head and say gee I hope this is not near the Big San Andreas Earthquake Fault.

Now they are getting real nervous and the more you stare at things and mumble the higher the chance the Realtor or borrower believes you are one of those super conservative nit picky deal killers. In reality you are not a nit picker or a deal killer and are just going to do the real job without them pestering you. You deflect and focus their little pea brains off of price pressure and direct them to the fear of the unknown.

Another good method is to ask them before you leave if they have any good comps ? And if they do send them over because yours don't look so great. Now they really can't sleep especially if they believe there is a value problem. Remember- Stop-Stare-Mumble-Write notes -shake your head and talk to yourself it will take the best of them into short turn insanity then just do your job and dont worry about appraiser independence. We have all the independence we need -so take control of the wheel house and remember the goal is to take power from the obnoxious person who is trying to manipulate you and move the control onto your side of the poker table

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Remember- Stop-Stare-Mumble-Write notes -shake your head and talk to yourself i

Nowadays you might want to cough in their general direction.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

great advice from others

the competency rules requires an appraiser to withdraw from the assignment if competency cannot be achieved prior to completion of the assignment. end of story.

EXACTLY CORRECT. A professional written withdrawal from the assignment to the AMC and a file copy in the Appraiser's work file is the solution. NO "client" can FORCE any Licensed Appraiser to complete ANY assignment. Period and "end of story".

Next client ................>>> move on.