In business, with every change comes opportunity: the radical changes expected to hit this industry may mean new opportunities for appraisers.

On the minds of many fee appraisers this fall is how the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) will affect their businesses. The agreement between the New York Attorney General’s office and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, with its centerpiece HVCC, is an attempt to put the brakes on lender pressure by creating a firewall between appraisers and lenders/brokers. As of this writing, there is no news on whether there will be any changes to the agreement, which many believe is good intentioned but deeply flawed. The status of the agreement is in even greater limbo with the takeover of Fannie and Freddie by the Feds. in September. As written the HVCC is set to take effect January 1, 2009.

Conventional wisdom has appraiser management companies (AMCs) picking up the slack as mortgage brokers are pushed out under the new rules. For many appraisers, this is like going from the frying pan to the fire as AMCs are notorious for pressuring appraisers on fees, values and turn times. So, is the bad news that traditional AMCs have the appraisal market cornered? There are some early signs that a new market model may be around the corner: appraiser-friendly AMCs.