How to Fight Real Estate Agents’ Appraiser Blacklisting

How to Fight Real Estate Agents’ Appraiser Blacklisting

Excerpts: When a real estate agent “blacklists” an appraiser, the result is often that the agent’s lender/AMC contacts will stop using the appraiser completely (at the agent’s request), or occasionally, the lender will continue to use the appraiser but not assign the appraiser any of the transactions that that particular agent works on. In the case of the latter, sometimes the appraiser will be assigned an order only to have it canceled later that day once the real estate agent sees the appraiser on the order and calls the lender or mortgage broker to complain. I’ve talked to appraisers who have this happen several times a year with the same agent…

Having an order canceled and reassigned is sometimes the first and only indication to the appraiser that something fishy is going on, but some appraisers who abruptly stop receiving work from a client often don’t have to look far to figure out why. While “blacklisting” is sometimes more discreet, some appraisers actually have the real estate agent call them and tell them explicitly that they are going to actively prevent the appraiser from ever working on one of their transactions.

To read more, click here

My comments: Lender blacklisting has been around for decades. I remember when the blacklists were shared among lenders. Some appraisers said it was good to be on the blacklist of the not-so-ethical lenders.

Savvy AMCs (and lenders) often just don’t give the appraiser any more work. Putting an appraiser on a blacklist can be a big issue.

Good article with practical tips from Richard Hagar and the author.

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Appraisers receiving warning letters from Fannie about discrepancies in Q and C ratings

I keep reading online about appraisers receiving warning letters from Fannie that they are using different Q or C ratings on the same property.

Of course we do change our opinions about a property. Sometimes we have new information or just re-think the property and change our opinion. Be sure to explain this in your appraisal.

You need to set up a way to use your comp database to check the Q and C ratings for any property you use in your appraisals. It should only take a few minutes. Hopefully software vendors will automate this for you. Bradford has software for this.

What happened to the appraisers who got the letters? Nothing that I heard of. But, Fannie may be putting them on a special list so their appraisals are scrutinized. Fannie has stated for awhile they would be sending warning letters.

Why is Fannie looking at Q and C ratings? Who knows why they picked these factors. Maybe because they are absolute. But, I suspect that other factors are being looked at or will be coming soon. I don’t think they would want to get into the very hot issue of GLA…

Remember, Q and C ratings are absolute, not relative. If you don’t agree with this, don’t do appraisals for Fannie Mae loans as that is in their Scope of Work.

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Fannie's Appraiser Quality Monitoring(AQM) FAQs July 2014

I did not compare these FAQs with the 2013 FAQs but they seem very similar.

The Q&As below may be new or revised:

– Will appraisers have the opportunity to appeal or offer a rebuttal?

– What should an appraiser do if he or she believes that the rebuttal would violate the Confidentiality section of the Ethics Rule as set forth in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)?

– What actions will Fannie Mae take with respect to specific appraisers?
Part of the reply: Fannie Mae will provide information directly to appraisers whose appraisal reports exhibit a pattern of minor inconsistencies, inaccuracies, or data anomalies. The intent and expectation of communicating these issues to appraisers is for training and educational purposes, and to provide them with an opportunity to improve their work. Future appraisal reports from those appraisers will be monitored to assess improvement.
https://www.fanniemae.com/content/faq/appraiser-quality-monitoring-faqs.pdf

Fannie posts a list of appraisers subject to 100% review of their appraisals or are not approved to do appraisals for Fannie Mae loans. The Appraisal Quality Management list is only accessible to lenders who sell loans to Fannie. The last list was posted in May.

My comment: Maybe a few of those appraisers hiring armies of people to do their inspections and drive comps will get caught. For example, completing 40 appraisals a week in urban areas or 10 appraisals a week in very rural areas. Of course, they can make lots of money working for very low AMC fees!!

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Video – AMCs – fees, blacklists, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPQjJidp8b0

The topics include:
– Major restructuring of residential lender fees since HVCC
– AMC fees and how to make more money
– Consolidation and what it means for appraisers
– What is an AMC
– AMCs since 1969, when LSI started
Note: the fee discussions start at about 14 minutes

I have been writing about AMCs since 1992 in my paid Appraisal Today newsletter. My speaking style is much more informal than my writing style ;>

Phil Crawford, the host, is a certified general appraiser who has been appraising (residential and commercial) for over 15 years. He is a third generation appraiser. He has been doing interviews on a local Cincinnati real estate radio show for a few years. We are a good match!!

To see other radio shows, go to www.voiceofappraisal.com

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My first interview was in April, on Fannie Mae’s exclusionary list. To listen to this interview, and listen to the other shows, go to www.voiceofappraisal.com and scroll down the page to the video “E3: The Fannie Mae List!!”

Topics included:
– Why Fannie is using UAD data
– Fannie and Big Data
– How appraisers get on the black list
– Which appraisers are getting on the black list
– The future of Fannie’s Big Data

Positive Resolution to Chase AppraiserBlacklisting Saga

 Source: WorkingRE

Excerpts:
Nearly two years have passed since Working RE first reported the story of John Dingeman, an appraiser who faced the difficult choice of either violating USPAP’s Confidentiality Section or suffering the wrath of JP Morgan Chase by refusing. Finally, this holiday season, there is some good news to share.

In March 2012, Dingeman refused Chase’s initial request to discuss an appraisal with the bank because of the Confidentiality Section of USPAP.  Immediately following his refusal, Dingeman was placed on Chase’s Ineligible Appraiser List. Chase then filed a complaint against Dingeman with the Arizona Board of Appraisal. The complaint was promptly dismissed and found to be without merit.

The good news? After battling for over a year, Dingeman recently learned that he has been removed from Chase’s “Ineligible Appraiser List.”  He’ll be the first to tell you that it didn’t happen without a fight.

http://www.workingre.com/blacklist-positive-resolution-chase-saga/

My comment: I am not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV, so I don’t know what it means legally. But, it is great to see an appraiser winning!! I do know that many appraisers refuse to work for Chase because of this and many other problems.

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Info on Fannie’s do not use appraiser list available

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Info on Fannie’s “do not use” appraiser list available

Many thanks to appraiser Dave Towne for sending the email below!!

FannieMae distributed this info below on 1/07/14 ….. shown here just as an FYI, because appraisers cannot access the AQM page.

But you can access the LL-2013-10 which describes some of the negative reporting issues the GSE’s have seen since the UAD was implemented.

Your UAD reports are subject to a higher level procto exam if:
–>you often use the same comp in different reports, but the data you report for that property is different between reports
–>you change the Quality and Condition rating for the same property used as a comp in different reports  (The first time it’s used the Q & C ratings should ‘stick’ thereafter)
–>you are contacted by a GSE reviewer who discusses the above item(s), and you don’t have a credible explanation as to why you have done the above
–>you continue to make the same reporting errors frequently

If you wind up on the GSE’s ‘do not use list’ you are effectively out of business – at least for federally regulated mortgage lending reports.  So “let’s be careful out there!”

Appraiser Quality Monitoring Information
Fannie Mae has published a new web page with information about the recently implemented Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) process. The new AQM web page includes FAQs and a link to the AQM list identifying appraisers whose appraisals will be subject to 100% review by Fannie Mae or whose appraisals are no longer accepted by Fannie Mae. The AQM list is protected content, and approved Fannie Mae sellers/servicers may set up access through Technology Manager.

For more information, refer to Lender Letter LL-2013-10: Appraisal Quality, which reminded lenders of Fannie Mae’s appraiser selection requirements, highlighted several data quality issues, and described the AQM process that Fannie Mae has implemented to identify and monitor issues with individual appraisers.

Direct link to Fannie Appraiser Quality Management (AQM) web page at  www.fanniemae.com/singlefamily/appraiser-quality-monitoring

Dave Towne, AGA, MAA                                             towneappraisals@clearwire.net                           www.towneappraisals.comMount Vernon, WA

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What do I think? This can be good for the appraisal profession!

Appraisers have been complaining for years about the “other” appraisers who are unethical, incompetent, lazy, or stupid. For many clients, since licensing, all appraisers are seen as the same. Why not use someone who gives you what you need – turn time, fee, no problems with underwriting, etc.?

Unfortunately, AMC hassles have driven many very experienced appraisers out of the business, or refusing to do AMC work. This makes the problem more difficult.

Maybe more AMCs will start using appraiser quality rather than fee, turn time, etc. to select their appraisers.

Also, the preference by many AMCs for low fees makes it very tempting to skimp on the time and effort for doing appraisals.

A low fee does not mean that you can do a poor job on an appraisal. I know what it is like to work for a low fee. I tried doing low fee jobs a few times over the years, but found I had a really “bad attitude” about the appraisal and had to force myself to do the same appraisal no matter what the fee. Doing a good appraisal is more important to me than using a low fee as an excuse for doing less work on an appraisal.

It is great to see that Fannie is using objective criteria, rather than a reviewer that gives an appraiser a bad rating, removing them from the list of a major lender. Just like appraising, reviewing is subjective. Particularly with the use of reviewers not familiar with your local market.

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Fannie's Appraiser Quality Monitoring(AQM) FAQs July 2014(Opens in a new browser tab)