This is a pretty niffty detailed chart for finding time adjustments, we are done.

[Joe Flacco]

Is the appraiser an "employee of the bank"? Similar to an "underwriter at the bank"? The most desirable underwriter, I have been told, is a single mother with children to feed who absolutely "has to have that job", and cannot say no to her supervisor, a supervisor who is on "the bonus plan" dependent upon how many loans they approve. I have a hard time believing that most "employees of the bank" are truly capable of asserting their independence to make decisions contrary to the desires of their employer. There's always exceptions to the rule, and I'm sure you're one of them if you happen to be a bank employee. It's been my observation that most appraisers who aren't attempting to do the right thing don't hang around this forum for very long.

You are saying that appraisers employed by banks lack integrity and I don't think that is the case. They are not all that different from independent fee appraisers.

 

[Mike Ault]

You are saying that appraisers employed by banks lack integrity and I don't think that is the case. They are not all that different from independent fee appraisers.

I am saying that they have a single boss whose approval they need to survive. That's a different circumstance than an independent fee appraiser with "many bosses" whose survival doesn't depend on the approval of just one. That's where we earn our keep as "a disinterested third party". A bank employee isn't such an entity by definition, and their "analysis of risk" cannot help but be tainted by their employment circumstances.

 

[Joe Flacco]

I am saying that they have a single boss whose approval that they need to survive. That's a different circumstance than an independent fee appraiser with "many bosses" whose survival doesn't depend on the approval of just one. That's where we earn our keep as "a disinterested third party". A bank employee isn't such an entity by definition, and their "analysis of risk" cannot help but be tainted by their employment circumstances.

So it is the chief appraiser at the bank lacking integrity that is leaning on the staff appraisers? I have never worked at a bank but I think people in general take their jobs pretty seriously.

I also don't buy into this banks are evil, only care about profits, and don't care about risk management. Everybody should be able to manage risk the way they see fit and be provided no government guarantees.

 

[Mike Ault]

So it is the chief appraiser at the bank lacking integrity that is leaning on the staff appraisers? I have never worked at a bank but I think people in general take their jobs pretty seriously.

I also don't buy into this banks are evil, only care about profits, and don't care about risk management. Everybody should be able to manage risk the way they see fit and be provided no government guarantees.

I don't know how much you know about banking, however the desires of chief appraisers and underwriting staff at banks are and always have been secondary to the concerns of the loan production department. No matter what their organizational chart says.

 

[Zoe]

I don't know how much you know about banking, however the desires of chief appraisers and underwriting staff at banks are and always have been secondary to the concerns of the loan production department. No matter what their organizational chart says.

yeah, I set up the loan review department at a bank and chief appraiser and had to answer to FDIC and State bank regulators. I reported directly to the board of directors.

There was nobody between me and board of directors. The board of directors was my boss.

 

[alebrewer]

I don't know how much you know about banking, however the desires of chief appraisers and underwriting staff at banks are and always have been secondary to the concerns of the loan production department. No matter what their organizational chart says.

You're not incorrect insofar as it is true that successful mortgage lenders are sales-centric. Why would they be anything but? No sales means no company. That said, all the groups I've worked for have been able to maintain a pretty healthy balance. Remember: regardless of how sales-centric you want to be, you still get audited by F/F/F, by investors, by states, etc. And those auditors WILL figure out if you're capitulating to the point of non-compliance.

 

[TerryRohrer]

I don't know how much you know about banking, however the desires of chief appraisers and underwriting staff at banks are and always have been secondary to the concerns of the loan production department. No matter what their organizational chart says.

I have never heard anyone say Wells Fargo expected an appraiser to be objective. I never bothered to get on their commercial panel because before the one opportunity arose, I had countless folks detailing their experiences being pressured. I experienced the same doing residential through RELs. Most other lenders are just smarter at the game, and AMCs are simply an extension of that fact.

 

[Zoe]

They were the stock holders in the bank. Very rich bank. Large capitol account. I had to interview loan officers on many occasions. The loan officers many times were like WTH on your review? They knew me well.

FDIC and State bank regulators were right behind me reading my loan reviews.

My escape was I knew the board members well of the bank.

I reported directly to the board of directors. (stock holders_)

The family owned 52% of the stock. Maybe more. The family was chairman of the board. He was world war 2 vet and my friend.

If Chairman of bank board of directors is your friend and majority stockholder, you are in pretty good shape. He started as a teller.

I didn't have to worry about next in line.

 

[Mike Ault]

You're not incorrect insofar as it is true that successful mortgage lenders are sales-centric. Why would they be anything but? No sales means no company. That said, all the groups I've worked for have been able to maintain a pretty healthy balance. Remember: regardless of how sales-centric you want to be, you still get audited by F/F/F, by investors, by states, etc. And those auditors WILL figure out if you're capitulating to the point of non-compliance.

And the the last company you worked for, as I recall, had a good reputation in the mortgage industry. Plenty of them out there who didn't, however. And over time, people who cheat and get away with it will eventually overcome and replace those who don't.

 

[Joe Flacco]

I don't know how much you know about banking, however the desires of chief appraisers and underwriting staff at banks are and always have been secondary to the concerns of the loan production department. No matter what their organizational chart says.

Well, third party or not, with the tools we have today, it is hard to argue that a person can't determine if the value is reasonable and it meets property guidelines from a desk most of the time.

Is the value reasonable -> Yes (Make the loan) -> Uncertain (Order an appraisal)

It should be a manual decision and not automated.