FNC - Appraiser Firestorm Again

By David Brauner, WRE Editor

FNC, Inc. is once again at the epicenter of a firestorm in the appraisal world- this time over a new mandatory user agreement that many appraisers fear signs away their own E&O insurance coverage.

At the heart of the issue may be the process of converting and transmitting reports from appraisers to lenders through online portals such as FNC's AppraisalPort, as well as who is on the hook when a loan goes bad. If a report a lender receives is less complete and/or different from the one the appraiser completes and sends, the issue of who bears responsibility for an error or omission is less obvious.    

Part of the user agreement reads as follows:  

USER shall indemnify AppraisalPort and its suppliers (whether suppliers of Information or otherwise), defend and hold them harmless from and with respect to any liability, damages (including without limitation any consequential, incidental, general, special or exemplary damages), losses, or claims which may arise, whether now or in the future, with regard to

1. the use of AppraisalPort or any aspect or service thereof, or

2. the accuracy, authenticity, appropriateness or completeness of the Information, or

3. any aspect of the operation of USER's business in relationship with or in connection with AppraisalPort or USER's use of the Information or software, whether any such liability, damages, loss, or claim arises from any act or omission of AppraisalPort (including its sole negligence) or act or omission of any supplier of data to AppraisalPort (including their sole negligence).

You can find the complete agreement, AppraisalPort User Agreement, at WorkingRE.com, Sidebar.