Reason for optimism

[OSU Beavers]

A comp check call where the MB explained to me that his Washington State appraisers have no problem taking half fee if the value does not come in and a few AMCs shopping for low fee & TT.

 

[Birdman]

Hobby

Ray,

Sounds like to me you need to get a few hobbies. Son, all work and no play....


SS

 

[TC]

Ray,

Why don't you open a Bed & Breakfast on your farm? That would give you something to do in your spare time.

TC

 

[liznindy]

Very slow for me...received a fax from Benchmark Mortgage explaining how they like the appraisers to let them know if the value is there before accepting and completing the assignment with the reason given that they want to save their customer money....Same old #$%@ Put that one in the round file.....Received a call from an AMC (who hasn't called me for months) asking for fee and turntime.....didn't get the request so likely they are looking for someone who will do a field review with an additional comp for less than $350....

Have completed two assignments so far this month....estate appraisal and one VA.

Seems that appraising has become a part time job for me...

 

[Carnivore]

Although I expect refis to pick up as consumers avoid rate increases, I have gotten a mixture of jobs this year. A few refis, a REO, one sale, and some non-lender stuff.

Doug,

Since we last communicated I received two more non-lender assignments which give me a total of three for 2008. Fees for all three in excess of $1,900. Plus a prior Nov 2007, retrospective divorce assignment gave me three billable hours extra this month and there should be more of that on the same assignment.

Things are a lot better in NC. We are the second largest banking center in the US next to NY.

BUT! You should contimue to diversify as quickly as possible. I have cut off all Mtg Brokers!! Wont touch them anymore, to much fraud!! Desperate people do desperate things.

Focus on Divorce work. It really is booming out there, some of the babes are hot!!

Everyone should work this year twoards making yourself Unavailable to the Lending community, especially the AMC's. Unless they want to pay well, then and only then do work for them, CASH basis , they are not very trustworthy.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Everyone should work this year twoards making yourself Unavailable to the Lending community, especially the AMC's. Unless they want to pay well, then and only then do work for them, CASH basis , they are not very trustworthy.

Right on!!!

 

[Ray Miller]

Doug,

Focus on Divorce work. It really is booming out there, some of the babes are hot!!

.

At one time in my life they were like picking a peach. To old now and the boss would kill me. Any way gotten like my old dog what would I do with it if I caught it?

 

[Doug in NC]

Doug,

Since we last communicated I received two more non-lender assignments which give me a total of three for 2008. Fees for all three in excess of $1,900. Plus a prior Nov 2007, retrospective divorce assignment gave me three billable hours extra this month and there should be more of that on the same assignment.

Things are a lot better in NC. We are the second largest banking center in the US next to NY.

BUT! You should contimue to diversify as quickly as possible. I have cut off all Mtg Brokers!! Wont touch them anymore, to much fraud!! Desperate people do desperate things.

Focus on Divorce work. It really is booming out there, some of the babes are hot!!

Everyone should work this year towards making yourself Unavailable to the Lending community, especially the AMC's. Unless they want to pay well, then and only then do work for them, CASH basis , they are not very trustworthy.

Hot babes huh. I see maybe 2 a year and I already saw one this year, so there should be at least one more for the year.

I tried going after divorce work many years ago, but I didn't have much luck with it. I get a few assignments a year through advertising, but that's about it. I know one company locally does divorce assignments regularly and they were getting over 60% above mortgage appraisal rates for basically the same work. There are no shortage of divorces in the country, so this will continue to be a good source of work for the foreseeable future. When things slow down a bit, I would like to give you a call to discuss it.

 

[David Beasley]

While others are thinking of getting out of the business, I'm encouraged. I got 5 orders in today and I can't remember the last time that happened to me. Even in the busier parts of the year, I rarely get 5 orders in a day. January is usually one of my slowest months. Looks like things are off to a good start for 2008 at least they are here in NC.

It makes me wonder, if all of the changes going on in this industry are starting to have an effect on the appraisal business. Sub-primes are out, many mortgage brokers have disappeared, new appraisal requirements have gone into effect, lenders are denying the use of trainees, appraisers are retiring, and some are just dropping out of the business. There may be hope left for this business yet.

Part of it is your location, Doug. I have preached that NC (and other places) are *not* feeling the same housing market "collapse" as other pockets of the country at this time. Are we slow, comparatively speaking? Yes. But only compared locally to the HOT times of 2002-2005. We are busting compared to these places that have almost halted new construction and are struggling with home value retractions...of values that were seemingly based on unrealistic appreciation to begin with. Much like the Wall Street Tech Burst of a few years ago - home prices are finally correcting themselves...And when it all shakes out, there will still be a solid housing market, and jobs for appraisers too. Wall Street didn't shut down permanently after the Tech Crash, neither will real estate or its ancillary service providers. At least in our troubled market, unlike the Tech Bubble, there is tangible security for the money in the homes we appraise. Yes, overstated values are an issue - always have been - but with the Tech Bubble, billions of $$ went into vaporware and whiz-bang ideas that never materialized at all. So while "bad" appraisers can over-value a home by 5-10-15% or more, it's better than 105-110-115% too much like Wall Street had to absorb. The market will stabilize, buyers will hopefully stop watching the evening news (that blankets every house in every market into one big "bad market") and the mass media lead pessimism will be replaced with a healthy dose of realism and optimism. Much like the stock market that is still going strong, and has even set a few record highs since the Tech Bubble burst...

As for me, 2007 was off slightly. I only booked about 315 or so appraisals, where a more "normal" year would've meant 330-350. As for 2008, all 16 days of it so far, I've only booked 12. But as you said, December and January are generally our genuine "slow" time here. Which figures, because I try to sneak in a good share of bass fishing in February - to catch those early risers as the water starts to warm - and I always have to balance my caveman-like urge to fish with the pick-up in business that happens as Winter starts heading toward Spring around that time and into March.

 

[Viking]

In the last couple of weeks I've gotten an ERC, two 2-4 family REOs, an REO sale, a $2,000,000 sale, and several typical refinance. This is enough to keep me relatively busy as some of these are time consuming. This is better than I had expected.