When was the last time you indicated a functional obsolescence in the cost approach? Did you also reflect it in the sales comparison approach? Would you? Should you? These are questions we rarely, if ever, consider. Perhaps we even avoid the issue when we think the house we are appraising has functional…
Read More
The appraiser community is still reeling from the decision of a Florida bankruptcy judge to absolve JPMorgan Chase of all liability in the case of Evaluation Solutions/ES Appraisal Services (ESA) bankruptcy case.
Over 10,000 real estate appraisers and agent/brokers were left unpaid by ESA, an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) that procured valuation reports on behalf of…
Read More
1
Editor’s Note: Marc Gottesdiener, an appraiser involved in real estate 40 years, has worked as a litigation consultant and expert witness since the early 1990s. Read his advice for expanding your practice into non-lender work as a consultant and expert witness.
Read More
An alarming precedent has just been set for real estate appraisers in the bankruptcy case of Evaluation Solutions/ES Appraisal Services (ESA). Despite numerous objections from appraisers and agent/brokers alike, a Florida bankruptcy judge has ruled in favor of JPMorgan Chase in granting a Bar Order which absolves Chase of any liability on future claims from…
Read More
1
Editor’s Note: The bankruptcy earlier this year of the appraisal management company (AMC) ESA left millions in unpaid fees to appraisers, agents and brokers, who now are trying to collect from Chase, the bank who hired the AMC. What happens will have far-reaching effects on the appraiser-AMC relationship and the industry. Chase Denies Responsibility for…
Read More
1
Appraisers are coining a new term for certain appraisal management company (AMC) staff - “Checkbox Chimps.” These are the personnel who are “reviewing” appraisals, and no matter how solid they may be, are instructing appraisers to change their reports.
Are they really providing an “appraisal review” or are they just checking boxes on a form?
Are…
Read More
Editor’s Note: Some appraisers are being paid full fees for their appraisal work, even though the orders are coming from AMCs. Here’s how it works. First published in Working RE print, Volume 31. Fee Solution – Cost-Plus AMC Model? by Isaac Peck, Associate Editor Some appraisers are being paid full fees for their appraisal work,...…
Read More
3
Lagow was an appraisal manager and assistant vice president at Landsafe, Inc., the appraisal subsidiary of Countrywide, a position which gave him an inside look at the practices which caused the downfall of the largest mortgage lender in America. For his part, Lagow sees Countrywide as being at the heart of both the housing bubble…
Read More
