AMC`s who prey on appraisers

[Ossie W Johnson ASA]

Every day I hear of some incompetent AMC cutting the fees to appraisers.
Their claim is that if you do not do it for that low fee, someone else will.

In my opinion if we refuse them at their price, and others do the same, then they will come around.

[Tom Molinari]

Hi Hank,

Appraisalport does not send me work. All appraisals that I do for Landsafe are uploaded though Appraisalport. I've done appraisals for Landsafe for years but it is only since they started using Appraisalport that I've had to pay $10 to upload. Under Landsafe's old system, AppraiserLink, there was no charge. I have never gotten one appraisal order that originated directly from Appraisalport. If I were to get orders from them that I would not have otherwise received, then I would not consider a $10 fee for a full fee order to be so bad at all. I'm glad to hear that you have picked up some clients from Appraisalport.

[Tiffany Perkins]

Countrywide switching over to AppraisalPort is the ultimate insult. AppraisalPort was intended for use by banks, not management companies. Typically, the banks such as Bank of America, Washingon Mutual, etc. would pay full fee and the AP cost to the appraiser was minimal. Now that Countrywide has gone to the BofA platform utilizing AppraisalPort, you get a double wammy - A reduced fee by Countrywide and a $10 charge for uploading through AppraisalPort. Ouch!

[Ossie W Johnson ASA]

Countrywide and Wells Fargo are the most unethical companies out there. I knowingly will NOT do work for either of them.

Landsafe was OK for awhile until they tried to cut my fees. I said "goodby". Let the form fillers do the low quality for for you. After all, " you get what you pay for ! ".

I do not see how a decent full 1004 report could be completed for a $200 fee.

Ossie

[Ossie W Johnson ASA]

I would NEVER work for Countrywide. If enough of us do the same, something has to change.

Ossie

[Craig Goldstein]

RELS & LSI are getting $380.00 to $400.00 for the standard 1004, giving appraisers $150.00

[Ossie W Johnson ASA]

Then tell them you will not work for that fee. I do it all the time and in 90% of the cases I get my fee.

Ossie

[Tim Ferguson]

Do no if this right place for this or not. But got a very interesting phone call from one of my clients that uses one of the larger AMC and is the only reason I do work for this AMC. This call was not from the AMC, but from the client themselves. They asked and did not demand. That I start putting the distances from my office to the subject, in the appraisal and to make sure I place it on the comment area above the cost approach. I stated, I thought this was an odd request, but would do it. They told me they hopefully can explain further down the road, why they are asking this. Made me start to wonder why and why it did not come from the AMC, like it usually does.

[Ossie W Johnson ASA]

Most likely from someone who does not know what they are doing . Ask them why ?

Ossie

[Michael Tabor]

Sounds to me like the client is getting charged for mileage, and they want a way to prove the charge is bogus. The reason to be so specific about where it is in the report is a way of avoiding having that information scrubbed when the report is repackaged by the AMC.

[Rick L. Magistrali]

Hopefully it is to find appraiser's that are not geographically qualified as noted in the All Things Positive Discussion. I live in a rural county and wonder why appraisers from a metropolitann area an hour or more away are doing appriasals here when my work load is slim to none.

[Michael Tabor]

Excellent point!!! I had forgotten that I had heard that complaint from a couple of LOs I know.

[Michael Tabor]

One of the things that stuns me is that appraisers who work for AMCs agree to pay for the legal costs of the AMC in the evnt of a suit: http://hyperionappraisal.blogspot.com/2009/05/caveat-emptor.html

To all of you working for RELS and LSI - read the fine print - the "indemnity" clause is in each of their agreements.

Appraisers already shoulder the lion's share of laibility when things go sideways, and to throw this on top is inexcuseable. There is no-effing-way I will work for any of these theives.