A Loos Blog

Do you need to find the cheapest appraiser? Just Google “appraisal management companies." I got over 11 million hits. These appraisal management companies will hire an appraiser for 25% to 50% less than the typical cost!

I forgot to tell you, you won’t be paying any less.  The appraisal management company will charge you the full fee, but they keep a large portion of the appraiser’s fee. So, the appraiser who is sent to your home might be the cheapest appraiser the company could find, but it won’t save you any money.

One more thing. The appraisal management companies are not appraisers or real estate brokers, and therefore may not be regulated by any real estate agency.  

Also, these management companies can work in any state. You live in Salinas? The management company may be in Kansas, and send you an appraiser from Merced.

Where did the appraisal management companies come from?

Appraisal management companies, or AMC's have been around for a long time, and there are some good ones out there.  The AMC's were supposed to resolve some of the reported shenanigans going on in the housing markets.  But, as often happens a few greedy people moved in and took advantage of the situation.

Instead of using existing regulations to prosecute the scofflaws, new regulations are driving lenders to use the third party AMC's which only isolates the lender from appraisal quality and further increases risk.

Turkeys.