By Michael Antoniak

Appraiser Tony Bamert, Bamert & Associates, Champaign, IL, feels he’s been asked to assume some new and unwanted responsibilities on recent appraisal orders and wonders if his are isolated concerns or issues other appraisers are grappling with as well.
 

“Traditionally, with any conventional appraisal, I’m not asked to touch the mechanical systems in a home in any way,” he explains. “But over the last year or so, since the market meltdown, I’m being asked to do things I’m not comfortable with as an appraiser.”

His best advice: use language which limits exposure and potential liability. “To protect themselves, appraisers should state in their report the scope of their work. Include a

qualifier which states ‘I am not an engineer,

and I am not a home inspector.’ Make it clear where you do not have expertise, what you did or did not do,” said Seller.           

1. Do you work with appraisal management companies (AMCs)?

2. Do you turn down AMC work because of inadequate fees?

3. Do you turn down AMC work because of issues other than fees?

4. Do you have trouble getting paid by the AMCs you work with?

5. Overall, are you satisfied with the AMCs you do work with?

6. With the AMCs you work with, are you asked to re-examine reports with the intention of trying to “make the deal work”?

7. Do you find that the “appraisal fee” listed in closing documents is more than the fee you receive?

8. With the AMCs you work with, do you experience pressure for turn around times that are unrealistic given the nature and scope of the assignment?

9. Does the time pressure affect the quality or completeness of the finished report?

10. Does the time pressure result in a product that is less reliable for the end user, compared to a report where adequate time had been allowed?

11. With the AMCs you work with, do you experience pressure for value?

12. Do the AMCs you work with provide an adequate “firewall” between you and the loan originator?

13. Are the fees offered by the AMCs you work with unrealistic given the nature and scope of the assignment?

14. Do you spend less time on “low fee” appraisals from AMCs compared with higher fee assignments?

15. Do “low fees” effect the quality or completeness of the finished report compared with higher fee appraisals?

16. Do "low fee" appraisals result in a product that is less reliable for the end user compared to a report where adequate fees had been paid?

17. Do reports for your AMC clients and non-AMC clients look basically the same in terms of quality and content?

18. Are the personnel at the AMCs you work with are knowledgeable and competent?

19. In your experience with AMCs, appraiser selection is based solely on obtaining the lowest fee.

20. In your experience working with AMCs, service, quality and other factors play a part in appraiser selection.

21. Would you say that working with AMCs is worth the “trade offs”? (For example, earning lower fees in exchange for no pressure for value, a steady flow of work, no time/resources spent on collection, etc.)

22. Do you consider the AMC model to be a legitimate business model?

23. Number of years appraising:

24. Are you generally satisfied with appraising?

25. Are you making plans to leave the appraisal profession?

26. Do you expect to be appraising full time 5 years from now?

27. Are you satisfied overall with the level of compensation you earn, given the requirements and costs associated with being an appraiser?

28. Are you in favor of the HVCC as written?

29. Are you in favor of having Mortgage Brokers removed from the process?

30. Was/is the lack of appraiser independence (lender pressure) a serious issue in your practice?

31. Are you in favor of the increased licensing and education requirements imposed by the Appraiser Qualifications Board?

32. Are you in favor of FHA’s decision requiring their appraisers to be State Certified?

33. Do you use AVMs in your practice?

34. Are you in favor of Fannie’s new 1004MC form?

35. Do you include in your reports much of the information now required by the 1004MC?

36. Does the new 1004MC form take longer to complete?

37. Are you able to charge a higher fee for the new form?

38. Have you adopted any of the available technical solutions (third-party spreadsheet programs, database programs, etc.) to automate the statistical analysis for the 1004MC?

39. Is identity security with respect to your appraisal reports an important issue to you?

40. Is being able to be certain that your clients are receiving an unaltered version or “true copy” of the appraisal reports you send them an important issue to you?

41. Is the data mining of your reports an important issue to you?

42. Is being able to copyright or register ownership of the intellectual property contained in your appraisal reports an important issue to you?

43. Is being “forced” to submit your work through a third party entity and pay a fee, to maintain a client relationship, an important issue to you?

44. Do you have trainee appraisers?

45. Would you consider taking on trainees in the future?

46. Would more favorable state/federal regulations make you more inclined to take on trainees?