Price fixing by AMC's

[Randolph Kinney]

Even with the major lenders, many of them do not order all of their appraisals through management companies. Appraisals coming through the private banking and trust divisions are an example.

David,

You have conveniently dodged the point of my question: what is the appraisal volume of funding lenders using AMCs?

Lets say for argument sake, 75% of the total appraisal volume goes through AMCs. That would be a high enough percentage to unduly influence the fee structure paid for appraisals. OTOH, lets say that 35% of the total appraisal volume goes through AMCs. So why would appraisers choose to work for AMCs for half as much as they could get working directly for the funding lender?

I seems intuitive that AMCs control the majority of volume for appraisals from funding lenders.

 

[Doug Wegener]

Middleman

If you work for with a middleman, you'll always get paid less than if you don't work with a middleman.

In some cases it is the appearance of a middleman not actually a middleman.

Landsafe is Countrywide. Wells Fargo is Valuation Support Services.

Through legal shenanigans they are able to charge the borrower a certain fee
and then take a portion of it by assigning the work to their management company which is really their alter ego, thereby screwing both the borrower and the appraiser.

Dont tell anyone.

 

[Tudor]

AMC's pay low fees because licensed appraisers accept those fees. No where does it say "appraisers must work for AMC's or work for said low fee"

I do not agree with what they do, I do not like them, they do nothing to benefit the appraisal community.

Since they tend to corner the market on a decent number of appraisals in any given area I do think they should be under more scrutiny. I believe they are what helped to flood the appraisal profession with untrained licensee's. They also fueled the unethical business minded appraiser that was less concerned about quality and more concerned about a high volume of work that could be done by trainees with little to no supervision.

I have heard some AMC's start with a bunch of orders in the $150.00 range and then when they run out of takers they up the fee in increments until they are all assigned. That tells me their only concern is the buisness aspect of the profession, etchics and appraisal are not even considered.

Appraisers need to stop accepting the low fees, then it will stop.

 

[jnordquist]

The Truth Of The Matter Is That You Will Never Get Every Appraiser To Stop Working For AMC's. So Possibly The Legal Route Is The Way To Go.

 

[Elliott]

John S said, "Since they tend to corner the market on a decent number of appraisals in any given area I do think they should be under more scrutiny. I believe they are what helped to flood the appraisal profession with untrained licensee's. They also fueled the unethical business minded appraiser that was less concerned about quality and more concerned about a high volume of work that could be done by trainees with little to no supervision."

And where are they now? They are as out-of-business as appraisers.
They killed the golden goose!. Lets grab our pitch forks and storm
their buildings.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

FMV Management will file suit regarding restraint of trade, unfair trade competion, copyright infringement, price fixing, and RESPA Violations

Go here, get involved, fight back!!!:
http://www.fmvmanagement.com/index.asp

 

[The Warrior Monk]

David,

You have conveniently dodged the point of my question: what is the appraisal volume of funding lenders using AMCs?

Beats me.

Lets say for argument sake, 75% of the total appraisal volume goes through AMCs. That would be a high enough percentage to unduly influence the fee structure paid for appraisals. OTOH, lets say that 35% of the total appraisal volume goes through AMCs. So why would appraisers choose to work for AMCs for half as much as they could get working directly for the funding lender?

I seems intuitive that AMCs control the majority of volume for appraisals from funding lenders.

Regardless of the percentage they "control," the fees got where they are because appraisers chose to accept them, not because AMCs set the fees. If nobody accepts their "fixed" fee, then they must raise it.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Round and round in the circle game. Which came first? The AMC actively locating the cheapest appraisers they could find then telling all the others that 1/2 or less of what they were used to receiving is no longer 'typical'... or the appraisers offering to discount due to the high volume of orders the AMC was going to send them...

All those WAMU appraisers that were forced to lose the WAMU business or do their appraisals for a whole lot less $$$ and twice as fast turn time - added to all the other lenders that switched to AMCs these past few years.

Reference the Puzzle:
http://appraisersforum.com/showthread.php?t=126687&highlight=puzzle

 

[Alison Swain]

If we are to ever have a chance, the time to strike is NOW. Focus from Congress, states' AG offices, the press is all on this mess. Appraisers need to be calling newspapers and TV stations and screaming about AMC's (among other things) and how they double dip (charge high for the appraisal and pay low to the appraiser) and how they are owned by the lenders themselves (who are already making huge money on fees and interest). Explain it in terms lay people can understand. Repeat, repeat, repeat the message.

Otherwise, I can see the writing on the wall - all FTR's go through AMC's. Look at that idiot, Chris Dodd --- his answer is for appraisers to pay bonds that are 1% of the loan. No, dumba$$, how about MB's (or whomever originates the loan) pay the 1% bond --- then that can cover themselves and/or whomever else they hire to get the file done?

 

[Doug Wegener]

Or time to seek another profession.