Real Estate Professionals Free Trade Coalition (Appraisal/Title/Mtg Agency/Survey)

There are many issues of great concern facing appraisers today. Many of the problems that are now plaguing the appraisal profession are seen in the AGENDA section of this website.

One of the issues on our AGENDA is a bill that has been voted on by the house (section 203k of HR 3837), (but is yet to be voted on by the Senate) which may allow banks to favor appraisers who have designations from private organizations; ie The Appraisal Institute, negating state licensure alone as being ample for lender approval.

I have been appraising for 23 years now. I perform commercial appraisal work. The Institute does have excellent educational programs, yes. These educational programs were developed by very intelligent persons back in the 1940's and 50's, (Robert Ellwod, and others); however; despite education, competence, nor ability let alone, ethics and morals follow suit.

I have over the years had many dozens of appraisals given to me from clients, with the pretense that this old appraisal will help you with the job we are assigning you today.

I have read through the reports that have so often been prepared by MAI's, and I read them and see a comp sale for say, $65.00 psf, another for $130.00 psf, another for $89.00 psf, and the MAI concludes the value of the subject is $150.00 psf, with absolutely no reasoning at all, but in fact simply plugs in the value as the lender deemed; ie, "MADE AS INSTRUCTED".

In all honesty, I may have seen two or three jobs by MAI's that were very well written, yet, I have also seen a couple of hundred jobs, where they should have been put in Jail, and the key thrown away.

I keep their reports in files that I maintain. Back in 1989, when I went for my MAI, they considered all of my work refuse, namely to eliminate any threat of competition, and accordingly I never did get my MAI, as it is a nepotistic organization, and you are IN, if your relative was an MAI, otherwise you're not. When State Certification kicked in, I simply continued to do my work, and battle with lenders to fight my way onto their tight nit approved list(s).

There is not a week that goes by where a potential client does not say "My Bank requires an MIA appraisal" They rarely ever get the MAI letters in the right order. My absolute disbelief in the work many, if not most of the work the MAI's turn out, is all but inexpressible in words, though I am giving it a shot.

Comps chosen that are twenty miles distant, when comps were available, and quite similar perhaps a mile or two away, to MAKE THAT NUMBER.

The reason FIRREA, created the NON-DISCRIMINATION prohibition in 1989, was due to the so called Savings and Loan debacle, wherein the greatest majority of BAD LOANS made were based on BAD MAI/SRA appraisals, so the law was written to break down, the "Good Ol, Boy" network, and create FREE TRADE. The Institute is now lobbying and pushing to restore said network, more members, more fees, and looks to re-assert it's market industry dominance.

Yes, the Institute should continue to provide educational programs, but in absolutely no way should they be given, any preference for lenders to consider, and the law AS IT STANDS, does not need to be re-written, as it is an ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY LAW, hence needs no addition or augmentation of wording that alludes to favoring designated members. It is unnecessary and redundant.

The States, USPAP, and the court systems are there, with the threat of license revocation, for BAD appraisers, so the checks and balances are already in place.

The appraisal institute today is just a glorified appraisal school. It is by far the nations largest and is now in talks to merge with the ASA. It forges on to be THE ONLY SCHOOL; a behemoth, discrediting any "inferior" schools with inferior instructors, of a lesser status. However, all licensed instructors, teach the same course curriculum as mandated by *The Appraisal Foundation's Course Approval Program (CAP) which is the same for all states for licensure, but instructors looking in from the outside do not offer the lofty "designation(s)" the appraisal institute provides.

Are we to believe other instructors are not trained in the way of the Institute, as they deem it to so be. The fact Is, MANY (hundreds of) excellent instructors with excellent schools and fine appraisers abound. The Appraisal Institute feeds and proliferates on megalomaniac monopolists, who put the fear in you to join, or you're out of the game.

Competence and state licensure are the ONLY criteria mandated by FIRREA for the FREE AGENCY marketplace, Keep it that way!!! Say NO to 203K - say goodbye to the Institute, and their "prestigious" designations as they call it; pretentious and pompous, if not perhaps pitiful, bordering on pathetic as I call it.

The Institute needs to police, and clean up, and REVOKE memberships of what are clearly fraudulent reports produced by their members. I am unaware that they ever remove a due paying member. Do they?

The Congress needs to have a complete investigation of the Appraisal Institute and it's membership/practitioners.