AMC's are Bummin' Me Out!

FHA has done some positive things to help the housing market, most notably the $8,000 buyer’s credit. However, I do take issue with another program that was instituted recently and has hand-cuffed the ability of lenders and brokers to close loans quickly and effectively.

So isn’t it time to toss the whole HVCC idea out the window? Raise your hands if you like the process. Yes, that’s what I thought. No hands. Now raise your hands if you are selling a property, or trying to get your client a loan on a property, and the Home Valuation Code of Conduct has gotten on your last nerve. Yep, a room full of hands. Including me, my real estate agents, and my mortgage brokers. It seems that every sale we are making comes with an extra three or four weeks of stress, all caused by the HVCC rules, most notably the need for an Appraisal Management Company (AMC). And I promise we are selling properties at or under fair market value in order to sell quickly. In other words, the appraisals should be a slam dunk.

I don’t know about you, but when I sell properties to FHA-qualified buyers, it sure would be nice to hire my own appraiser instead of going through an AMC whose sole purpose (it seems) is to keep the entire appraisal process anonymous. This stonewalls the real estate agent and mortgage broker because now they are not allowed to speak with the appraiser and share what could possibly be vital information with regards to the value of the home in question. And watch out when your value comes in too low, because you cannot speak to the appraiser directly and get some good honest feedback. You can submit paperwork to contest the appraisal, but cannot actually speak to someone.

And it isn’t the appraisers fault at all. They are bound to these new rules as well. In fact, should they stray from the guidelines, their work-load may be drastically reduced because now the AMC’s control the project-flow to them. And that in itself makes for bad commerce. Appraisers have spent years building up relationships with lenders and mortgage brokers, and after the AMC’s came on board, those relationships have meant absolutely nothing. Now there are plenty of appraisers in re-building phases of their businesses. I always believe it is important to be in business with people and companies with whom you have developed long-lasting relationships. Like appraisers, lenders, agents, contractors, and the like. My business isn’t meant to be done with some anonymous company whose job (it seems) is to beat down the buyer, seller, and agent’s idea of value so the lending bank can make a more conservative loan or no loan at all. What a bunch of poppycock! (I’ve been waiting for weeks to use ‘poppycock’ in a sentence).

Let’s hope that some changes come quickly, so we can get our business back on track.