The End Of Appraisers!

[Calvin the Airedale]

I keep a loaded airedale at the foot of my bed.

PS. Almost every post past KenB's comments are superfluous.

PPS. Come to think of it, so is the OP.

 

[TEL2002]

In a word, yes. It does not matter if its an intruder, Hurricane, Tornado, Flood or anything else. If you have not made plans for a contingency, yes you will be a victim instead of a survivor.

Seems to me if you are living in a neighborhood where you have to worry about hurricanes, tornados, floods, people breaking into your bedroom to rape and murder your family.....it is time to move the heck out of there. It is a lot easier to be a survivor in a better neighborhood. Also it is a lot less stress.

Sounds like your planning was way off when you picked that neighborhood....or were you just looking for trouble .

 

[Jonathan C]

I can remember people in 1993 saying that in 5-10 years there would be no more appraisers because everything would be automated. Others around here might remember similar statements even earlier than that.

Come to think of it, I can also remember around 1980 or so when they told us that by the year 2000 we'd all be driving flying cars and there would be a colony on the moon.

Don't hold your breath for either of those scenarios to play out anytime soon.

No kiddin'.....where ARE the flying cars? It's 2010 now. I thought by now I'd have a boy named Elroy, daughter Judy and Jane - my wife!:laugh:

 

[Tom Woolford]

Seems to me if you are living in a neighborhood where you have to worry about hurricanes, tornados, floods, people breaking into your bedroom to rape and murder your family.....it is time to move the heck out of there. It is a lot easier to be a survivor in a better neighborhood. Also it is a lot less stress.

Sounds like your planning was way off when you picked that neighborhood....or were you just looking for trouble .

I live in avery nice neighborhood thank you very much. 1 ac lots, 2400 s.f. average GLA etc.

 

[residentialguy]

No kiddin'.....where ARE the flying cars?

Right here, my friend

 

[Michigan CG]

The powers that be want AVMs and BPOs to replace appraisers by phasing out appraisers..............

When I first moved to Michigan 23 months ago I did not have a person to review my reports for clarity, grammar, sentence structure and overall believability.

It is my opinion that someone should be able to read a report and at the end say, "Yup, I agree with that appraiser".

So, until I found a very good reviewer I used my wife (advanced degrees) and my college age daughter.

They reviewed reports of residential properties and commercial properties. I think that both of them would be better appraising properties than the garbage AMC work I have seen lately and considering that AVMs and BPOs might be more reliable than the idiot appraisers the big banks are hiring.

Cheap and fast is worth as much as you pay for it. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are the worst. I might trust my dog more than the "appraisers" they hire.

..........2. AMCs by requiring more work, more rules, more liability for less pay. ..........

I have a theory on why the AMCs are requiring more work and more rules. I might be wrong, but, here it is.

Some of the people they hire are idiots who don't know how to appraise. But they have to deal with them because they are cheap and fast. Therefore AMCs have to at least demand some sort of credibility from some of the idiots they hire.

These requirements are torturing the good appraisers who know what they are doing but are necessary because of the complete idiots who do not belong in the industry.

Two paragraphs of original narrative in an appraisal does not make for a convincing appraisal.

The 1004MC is an example of this. If "appraisers" cannot research the historical market and write narrative on it then we have to create a form to make them do it.

..........3. Certification being required for training new appraisers, FHA reports and some AMCs...............

UM....clients have the right to ask for certain license levels and credentials. I remember getting calls that the first question was "Is there an MAI in the office?" If the answer was no the call ended. The report had to be signed by an MAI. The MAI signature was worth a lot and the client wanting that was willing to pay for it.

When you call for health care is it OK to have a nurse assistant check you out or would you prefer a doctor?

Same thing when someone is looking for a professional.

............4. More education and training to appraise and keep appraising, while NO license is required except to appraise for the Feds ("federally related transactions") ..........

Are you against training and education? I guarantee if someone who is clueless, undereducated and untrained appraises my parents home and has no clue what they are doing they will have a heap of headaches if it affects them (my parents) negatively.

A home is the biggest investment most people have in their lifetime. An appraisal should be reasonable, supportable and believable. Stupid appraisers should be prosecuted for ruining peoples lives with their 8 hour, undereducated, untrained and unsupportable "appraisals".

.........5. Changing USPSP and other rules over and over to "discourage us"...................

USPAP is a living document. It will change and does change over time just like all regulations do. I don't agree with all of USPAP, but for the most part it is good and if someone actually learns it and understands it it is a good document.

If you want to be part of a profession you have to abide by the professional rules.

.........6. Blaming appraisers for many of the problems in the real estate market instead of the real problem causers, the federal government, bad lenders and bad buyers.........

There are many appraisers who were a cause of the current problems. The appraisal industry cannot claim to be innocent, because there are bad players here too.

There are way too many people posting on here that only worked for the "good mortgage broker". Give me a break. Anyone two weeks into this business knows that most Mortgage Brokers need a number that ensures their commission. Some appraisers bought into that program.

..........We need to make a list of demands by ALL appraisers for government, lenders and AMCs............

Let me know how that works out for you.

......But do we have the courage to defend our rights against illegal government rules and the lenders who pay us? I do.

If you have the courage to do this then quit working for the garbage companies.

Your arguments do not address the enforcement of current laws and also does not address the current basic supply and demand issues of the industry. There are too many appraisers, there is a lack of demand for the services of GOOD appraisers and therefore price will go down.

It is my humble opinion that you have a lot to learn about this profession.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

I keep a loaded airedale at the foot of my bed.

PS. Almost every post past KenB's comments are superfluous.

PPS. Come to think of it, so is the OP.

Is that "loaded airedale" by chance named "Conor?"

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

Is that "loaded airedale" by chance named "Conor?"

What else? The dale's name is Calvin.

You are seriously too hard on Conor. There are plenty of people on this forum who are an acquired taste. Whose style, at face value, is not entirely to my liking, but whose content of message is superior.

These are members whose broad experience, training, ethical standards, professional achievement, and deep concern for our profession are apparent in their posts. Whether their style is to my liking or not, I make a deliberate effort to support them whenever they come under assault.

We all have faults and shortcomings, that is the nature of humanity.

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

The economic downturn in which we are currently mired, is perhaps the worst since the Great Depression. I doubt any appraisers in business today have seen markets quite like this on a sustained basis.

Nor have we ever been subjected to such declining demand for appraisal services for so long a period. The simple and immediate truth is this: there are too many appraisers for the demand that exists and will exist for the foreseeable future.

Those without special reserves of courage, hope, determination, training, experience, and some amount of financial resources, will be selected for a different career. There is no conspiracy in all of this, other than the immutable law of supply and demand.

Based on shake-outs I have seen in the past, notably from late 1979 to 1984, I expect at least half of all licensed appraisers to be out of the business by the end of this process.

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

This is one of those "sky is falling" threads. I've never seen more of them on AF since when I first joined than over the past month.

Some clever economist may wish to track this phenomenon. I would wager that there is a direct correlation between the amount of whining, hand wringing and b*tching by appraisers and the declining state of the real estate market, and perhaps the entire economy.

With some type of "b*tch" factor grade for each thread, and a little survey work, we might have a leading indicator index more potent than "consumer confidence".