Financial Reform Passes: Tonic for Cynical Times by David Brauner, Editor The groundbreaking financial reform legislation signed into law in July leaves little for appraisers to complain about and in fact offers hope to a beleaguered profession. The language supports appraiser independence, addresses appraisal management companies (AMCs), further defines the concept of customary and reasonable…
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Magic Johnson Said That I’m a little amazed at how fast the last 10 years have flown: 2011 marks year 10 for Working RE Magazine and OREP.org. Thank you. In this time, here’s what I’ve learned about business: put the customer first; do what you say and say what you do; under promise and over…
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Appraiser Reality: Absurd, Isn’t it? Driving to work early this morning I passed a scene familiar to most of us: a small group of laborers pouring cement for a neighbor’s new driveway. As I noted the contractor driving up in his new F-150 truck, I wondered if the powers that be in Washington D.C. or…
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Fear of Fear Itself By David Brauner, Editor I heard this statement recently in connection with the phycology that sometimes drives the stock market: there is nothing to fear but the fear of fear itself. For stock traders, it means rushing to sell- regardless of the actual economic data- out of fear that others might…
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From the Publisher Appraiser Roast At an industry gathering last fall speaker after speaker seemed to delight in detailing and documenting the dumbest of appraiser mistakes- from carelessness and stupidity all the way to recklessness, incompetence and fraud. The speakers, many of whom are lifetime appraisers working for lenders or AMCs, earned plenty of chuckles…
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From the Publisher Moving Ahead According to our How’s Business? survey (click for results), most appraisers are as busy or busier than last year. There’s still a lot of grumbling on the blogs but the silent majority seem to be back to work. Most appraisers we talk to at OREP, to place their insurance, tell…
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From the Publisher OREP/Working RE Webinar Series This is one of my favorite expressions: “You don’t know what you don’t know!” Amen to that. We learn from others and if we don’t, we may never realize what we don’t know. In this competitive business environment, that means everything. Many of you work solo with little…
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From the Publisher Reward, Risk and Bankrupt AMCs The extent of my business savvy is pretty simple: make more money than you spend. So it’s hard for me to imagine a reasonable scenario in which Evaluation Solutions/ES Appraisal Services (ES) can go out of business owing appraisers and real estate agents $11 million. Neither, by...…
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