After 11 years of serving in the U.S. Military, I began my career in real estate servicing. Shortly thereafter I obtained my appraisal certification and opened the Indiana Appraisal Group, where several colleagues and I worked closely with local lending institutions to help fellow Americans achieve the dream of home ownership.
Times were good, perhaps too good, and then the market took a hard turn due to sub-prime lending and inflated home values. Homeowners couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments, the financial markets lost more than 30% and many jobs were impacted as a result. Just when we thought things couldn’t get much worse, FHFA announced the implementation of the since sunset HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). The HVCC was conceived with the idea that the need for an arms-length transaction between the financial institution and the appraiser was imperative to a market rebound. What did this mean for me? Well, I was no longer my own boss and we now had to rely on 3rd-party companies to manage the relationships we had worked so hard to build and nurture over the years. Now, I have no issue in taking orders; my time in the U.S. Military prepared me well for what was about to take place, or at least I thought.
After working with these new 3rd party vendors, who were being referenced as “Appraisal Management Companies” it was evident something was lacking, something very important, yet very simple in concept; respect. That lack of respect for the appraisers filling the orders for these “management” companies led to a large rift between the appraisal community and the newly formed AMC’s. Appraisers were up in arms, and rightfully so, as they play a very intricate role in helping the lending institutions assess collateral risk which would subsequently prevent another housing crash.
Needless to say, the AMC business model left a lot to be desired and appraisers quickly became the industry’s punching bag. Countless phone calls and emails demanding updates, unrealistic turn time expectations and subpar pay resulted in many of my colleagues hanging up their licenses and heading into an early retirement. Something had to change and someone had to show them how, that someone was me.
After 10 years running The Indiana Appraisal Group, I decided that we wanted to get back to basics and reestablish the respect the appraisal community once held within the mortgage industry. With this concept in mind, AppraiserVendor was born and we set out on a mission to redefine what we thought appraisal management should be; exceptional service through the strength of partnerships, with both the lenders and most importantly, the appraisers.
Over a decade later, when many have failed, we are still here, stronger and better than ever before. Our approach to appraisal management has not only earned us favor with the appraisal community, but with the lenders we service as well. Our commitment to our partners is unwavering and we are dedicated to leading by example with the common goal to Redefine Appraisal Management.