Low-Cost E&O Insurance from OREP Working RE Home Library/Previous Editions
Director’s Message
What’s Bad is Good?
Echoing the story Bad News is Good News, current market troubles may have a silver lining for appraisers.
Bad News talks about the flood of REO/foreclosure
business appraisers are enjoying in certain markets as a result of the current
real estate troubles. It explains REOs and how to find the work.
We direct your attention to the cover story and the surge of state and federal
legislation to end predatory lending and buttress appraiser independence (Turning
Tide?). Along with all this legislation is a shift in lender
thinking: as one long-time industry insider put it- the current market
psychology has changed from “speed and greed” to “slow and know.” New
regulations and changing perceptions may result in a market where being a
competent and ethical appraiser is once again good for business.
Another source- a longtime appraiser now in his third “crash,” says nothing will
change. Times like this mean “cover your rear end,” but once the smoke clears,
it’s back to business as usual.
He might be right. It is easy to be cynical about this business but it’s
undeniable that something is changing. Consider the backlash (i.e.
criminal charges) against unethical lending practices/lender pressure, as
reported in
Appraisers: I Told you So- WAMU, eAppraiseIT Blow Up.
And the developing movement by appraisers to claim their data (Who
Owns the Data?). There may be a silver lining to this very
tough market, which at the moment, is challenging the livelihoods of many.
Also consider the new appraisal standards, effective January 1, 2008, which
raise the bar for the profession-Turn
and Face the 2008 Changes: Appraiser Qualifications/USPAP. The
advice I hear from the most successful among you remains the same: stay
professional, stay ethical, work hard, pay attention to marketing, use the slow
times to sharpen your skills and expand your competencies- learn and diversify
(see
Moving out of Residential Lending Work).
Nurture your best clients and wean yourself off those who make it difficult to
make an ethical living. Do all this and prepare to come roaring back when the
market turns.
Working RE – Read More Online (flip the pages!)
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in our WRE library. (Full access requires OREP
membership or paid
subscription ($50/2 years)). Thanks for
reading.