Appraisers Shed some Light on Industry Propaganda about Appraisal Management Com

panies
Coester Appraisal Group, a nationwide appraisal management company releases its
annual appraisal industry survey. Over 1,559 licensed and certified appraisers
completed the survey with the majority of appraisers licensed in one state and s
ome as many as seven.
Gaithersburg, MD - March 09, 2010 -- Appraisers in all 50 states are represented
in the survey. The data from the survey sheds some insight into the appraisal
industry and what is really happening in the appraisal industry. The data was c
ollected directly from appraisers via SurveyMonkey, various websites, press rele
ases and e-mail. After further analysis of the data from the Annual Coester Appr
aisal Group Vendor Survey, it seems like many of the implications made regarding
the state of the mortgage industry as a whole have been debunked.
Distance One-third of respondents traveled an average of 15-20 miles from the ap
praiser s place of business to an assignment with an additional 31.4% traveling 10
-15 miles. This is consistent with the TAVMA recent survey that indicated the a
verage travel distance for an appraiser is 13 miles (TAVMA Survey which can be
found on their website http://www.tavma.org)
Response Time The average turnaround time of 2-3 days from assignment for a Conv
entional 1004/1073 and 4-5 days from receipt of the order for an FHA 1004/1073.
The turnaround time was indicated as the same regardless of if the appraisal was
ordered through a third-party or directly.
Fees - Contrary to mainstream data reports, 64.65% of appraisers charge the same
amount whether contacted through an AMC or directly by the lender. Total Fees
on Conventional and FHA 1004/1073 appraisals ranged $350-$450. One of the more
popular misconceptions in the industry is that AMC s earn a huge margin by paying
appraisers $150-$200 while charging the borrower $450-$500. Our data proves t
his wrong, showing that although appraisers quote lenders $350-$450 for appraisa
ls, they net $250-$300 for a Conventional appraisal and $300-$350 for an FHA rep
ort when ordered through an AMC. This translates into appraisers receiving over
70% of their original quoted fee and the AMC retaining the other 30% or 30 cent
s on the dollar.
Though many may not agree with the changes that the Home Valuation Code of Condu
ct ( HVCC ) has brought to the industry including the proliferation of AMC s, 71.1%
of appraisers work for one or more appraisal management companies. This appears
to be a necessary evil in order to continue their career and livelihood. The to
p AMC s noted in the survey results are LSI (22.8%), Landsafe (19%), RELS Valuatio
n (27.59%), Quantrix (16.1%), Solidifi (6.9%), Appraisal Port (11.5%) and Coeste
r Appraisal Group (5.2%).
Overall, appraisers rate their AMC experience as simply average. The demand of qu
ick turn times coupled with reduced fees were prominently cited for the average
rating. Another reason was the abundance of report stips. The currently lendi
ng environment can, of course, be the counter argument to the last point.
Payment - A considerable number of comments regarding slow pay from AMC s and len
ders alike were a revealed where 36.9% of appraisers would like to be compensat
ed on a net 15 payment schedule and 35.4% of appraisers preferring a direct de
posit method of payment. As a result of this survey, while Coester Appraisal
Group currently pays on a net 30 basis, we are currently making improvements to
offer direct deposit to our vendors.
This is just a snapshot of the data collected from the survey which Coester Appr
aisal Group intends to use to better its service for its clients and vendors. CE
O Brian Coester was quoted as saying we value our vendors just as much as our cli
ents and we want to make sure that they have everything they need and that there
voice is heard. We are truly an appraisal company and the better we manage the
relationships between our vendors, staff and clients the better we will be for t
he industry . The survey which is the results of the hard work of Coester s director
or client relations Crystal Witherspoon is valuable information to apply to thi
s year s goal in being the best appraisal management company for clients and vendo
rs. Crystal was quoted as saying we want to know what s on in the communities we se
rve and what our vendors our experiencing. The information we obtained from the
survey enables just that. We are excited about the year and look forward to gett
ing better for our clients and vendors . A copy of the survey can be found on the
company s website www.coesterappraisals.com
About Coester Appraisal Group:
Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Coester Appraisal group has been provid
ing quality real estate appraisals since 1970. Clients that depend on Coester s ap
praisals, BPO s, AVM s and property valuation tools include banks, credit unions, mo
rtgage companies, hedge funds, attorneys and government agencies. Their experien
ced staff provides a quality valuation completed in a timely manner with a corre
ct estimation of market value. Each appraisal is manually reviewed by a staff ap
praiser for quality and compliance with lender s underwriter guidelines and is cer
tified HVCC and USPAP compliant. For additional information about the company an
d its services, please visit their website at www.coesterappraisals.com.
Contact:
Brian Coester
Coester Appraisal Group
Gaithersburg, MD
(888) 485 - 1999 ext 2
Bking@coesterappraisals.com
http://www.coesterappraisals.com
http://www.appraisalnewscast.com
http://www.twitter.com/bcoester
appraisal company, Certified Appraisers, appraiser, market conditions