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Working RE Magazine
David
Brauner Calif. Insurance License: 0C89873 |
- Question: “Are the fees
offered by the AMCs you work with unrealistic given the nature and
scope of the assignment?”
- Question: “With the AMCs you work with, do you
experience pressure for turn around times that is unrealistic given
the nature and scope of the assignment?”
To the follow up questions:
- “Do low fees (from AMCs) effect the quality or completeness of the
finished report compared with higher fee appraisals?”: 37 percent
(37%) of
survey takers answer that low fees “never” effect the quality of
their reports compared to higher fee appraisals. So, the remaining
63 percent (63%) say low fees do effect quality at least some of the
time.
- “Does the time pressure (from AMCs) result in a product that is
less reliable for the end user, compared to a report where adequate
time had been allowed?”: 25 percent (25%) say that pressure for a quick
turn time “never” effects the quality. The remaining 75 percent
(75%)
then, say it effects quality at least some of the time.
Forced Career Change
Blog and survey responses from many hundreds of
appraisers say the same thing; the Code will put them out of
business eventually because it deprives them of the right to work
with their established clients. And after years of hard work
building their businesses they ask, how can this happen in America?
- When asked whether they are “in favor of the HVCC as written,”
an overwhelming 92 percent (92%) of survey takers answer “no.”
- Eighty-one percent (81%) answer “no” to the question; “Do you
consider the AMC model to be a legitimate business model?”
Bright Spot
Seventy percent (70%) of survey takers report that they are
“satisfied working with appraisal management companies (AMCs) at
least some of the time.” (Thirty percent (30%) respond “never”
satisfied). This may mean that the appraisers who are surviving are
picking and choosing the AMCs they work with just like they did with
mortgage brokers. This may be a survival strategy for many.
Time to Listen
According to Working RE Editor David Brauner, it behooves
lenders, regulators and the public to listen to what appraisers are
saying. “Appraisers predicted the current financial collapse years
before it happened based on what they were seeing: liar’s loans,
inflated values, lender pressure,” says Brauner. “Now they are
saying that HVCC is not only a disaster for them personally but for
consumers too because the business model of many AMCs requires them
to shop for the lowest fees and not the most qualified when
selecting appraisers. The result, they say, are lower quality
appraisals and that the best and the brightest will leave the
profession for greener pastures if they can’t create a product they
are proud of while making a living. We should pay attention to what
appraisers are saying today instead of having to clean up
another disaster tomorrow.”
Working RE Magazine (WorkingRE.com) reaches the entire appraisal
profession via print and email editions, in addition to home
inspectors, real estate agents/brokers and others. OREP (OREP.org) is a
leading provider of errors and omissions insurance for real estate
professionals: appraisers, home inspectors, agents/brokers and
others. For more information, contact Editor David Brauner (dbrauner@workingre.com);
(888) 347-5273.
www.orep.org and
www.workingre.com.
You can find and
contact your Representative to Congress here:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.
Senators here:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
About the Author
David Brauner has covered the appraisal
profession since 1992.
Survey Questions -
Click to take the survey now!
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?
47. Do you carry E&O insurance?
48. Did we leave a good question out?
If so, let us know below or email it to subsciption@workingre.com
and we’ll have a look. If you have more to say on any of these
topics, please visit out blog - www.orep.org/wordpress-2.7/wordpress/
New: Comment on this
story at Working RE’s
Appraiser Talkback
blog.
Take the
HVCC
Appraiser Talkback Survey.
If you have questions, please email
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