r/appraisal

UAD 3.6 with total alamode coality (hope they add more names) has been a total disaster when it comes to UAD 3.6. Their support is non existent over the last week. I called, and automated messaging said I am #59 in line and after 10 minutes of waiting the call just gets dropped. The chat is AI and useless as it end up directing to call customer support after specific questions and email just goes unresponsive. Has anyone had issues with Total over the last week or so? What was general experience with Regorra and Aivre? Have you transitioned from Total to Regorra and how seamless was it?

I've been getting pushback from multiple lenders on fee increases for UAD 3.6, with AMC fees sometimes coming in lower than they were for 2.6. They're saying, "If you don't accept these fees, we'll go somewhere else." Some internal lender appraisers have even claimed they completed 3.6 test orders in 20 minutes, so it should be easier. We all know that's not true.

When lenders pay the AMC less, the appraiser ends up getting paid less too. I know a lot of people dislike AMCs, but I've seen the fee sheet to prove it.

Has anyone else been getting this pushback?

No fee to the AMC has been higher than $475

If anyone has examples of AMCs or Lenders actually increasing I’d love to hear that too

Has anyone else had radio silence from all clients? Pocket Toes said they were switching to 3.6 as of Oct 1st, and they usually keep me topped up but it's been completely silent from them which is not normal even when it's slow. PNW market here.

They sent an update email with the new 3.6 fees stating,

"We have listened to the feedback from our appraisers and our clients. Our 3.6 Fees will be increasing to $545 (up from $495). If you do not agree to the new fee, please let us know that you would like to be removed from the panel."

Do the old dudes continue doing this so they can hear the report when they read back a line?

I've tried looking online to determine exactly what the requirements are under the new UAD 3.6 forms regarding due diligence when confirming that internet service is available at a property. An older member of my family is approaching 70 and unfortunately needs to continue doing appraisals for the foreseeable future. This whole transition has been stressing him out because he doesn't feel particularly confident about moving to the new appraisal forms, and one of his biggest concerns is the broadband internet requirement. He thinks this could potentially become an area of litigation.

We're in a fairly rural part of Middle Tennessee, and the issue comes up because many ISPs will technically offer service to a property, but the homeowner may be responsible for getting the line from the utility poles on the main road to the house if the distance exceeds a certain amount.

For example, there have been several remote cabins around here where an ISP technically offered service, but the property was more than a mile from the nearest connection point. The ISP would provide the service once the infrastructure was in place, but the homeowner was responsible for paying the entire cost of running the line. In some cases, that has resulted in litigation because the property was technically considered to have internet available, but actually obtaining that service required a significant additional expense.

So, under UAD 3.6, is there a specific requirement for the appraiser to determine whether internet service is actually available to the property without the homeowner having to incur a substantial additional infrastructure cost? Or is it sufficient to establish that an ISP lists the property as being within its service area?

For example, would it be considered adequate due diligence to check the FCC's broadband availability map and document that internet service is shown as available at the property? Or would the appraiser be expected to contact the local ISP and verify that service can actually be connected to the home under normal installation terms?

This is one of the questions he has been asking me as he tries to transition to the new forms, and I haven't been able to find a clear answer. I'm curious how other appraisers are handling this in practice. Are you relying on the FCC broadband availability information, or are you actually contacting the local ISP to verify that service can be provided to the property?

With all of the changes coming with UAD 3.6, he's particularly concerned about the possibility of liability down the road. For example, someone could purchase a rural property because the appraisal indicates that high-speed internet is available, only to discover after closing that getting the advertised service to the house requires tens of thousands of dollars in infrastructure. That seems like the kind of situation that could potentially result in a lawsuit, particularly with people moving here from out of state to work remotely and expecting reliable gigabit internet service.

How is First American Mortgage as a client? How are their fees?

They sent me an onboarding email but require a background check. Is it worth it?

How many appraisers here use typists for their reports? I’m a younger appraiser, been appraising since 2018– a lot of the old school guys I know use typists for their entire reports. Is this pretty common? Doing the inspection and pulling comparables and sending it all to their typists to compile? Just curious.

The mandatory 3.6 class from the GSE’s made it look like, in order to extract a GRM, you have to grid and adjust a few comps. Is that true?

To arrive at a GRM I have always taken a large data set (~30 sales) and simply used the average GRM of that data set, without making adjustments because it stands to reason that investors are going to be looking for a similar ROI regardless of what the property is like. There’s no way in hell I’m throwing 30 comps in the grid so if that’s the case, I just won’t do another multi-fam because I don’t believe the method I described in the first paragraph uses a large enough data to be reliable.

Does anyone have any recommendations for decent/affordable E&O insurance. Currently using LIA/Aspen but don’t have any allegiance to this group.
Thank you in advance for any input

I'm in my second year appraising (mostly residential), usually 6-8 inspections a day across two counties. My phone is basically my camera, GPS, sketch app & office from morning to night, so I try to keep everything else light enough to carry through a house with one hand free for doors.

Right now the bag is a Bosch laser measure (GLM 50, mostly for rooms I can't get a tape across by myself), a Fisher pen since regular ones just die on damp paper in basements, a small Olight, a pack of shoe covers for the homeowners who ask (more of them ask than you'd think), and a clipboard I barely touch now that sketches live on the phone. The phone always has an power bank stuck on the back because photos + sketch app + MLS drain it by early afternoon, and for lender calls I wear soundcore aeroclip 2 open-ear buds so I can keep talking while I walk a house.

What I don't have is anything for crawlspaces. Did one last week in a 1950s ranch with maybe 18 inches of clearance and both knees were soaked by the end! Back when I was a trainee I'd just note "limited access" and move on, but my supervisor wants photos now, so those days are over. I'm also thinking about a small inspection mirror for water heaters because I can never get the angle on the data plate.

Probably knee pads first. If you've got other stuff you carry for days that run from morning to night, I'm all ears.

Just a reminder to read the instructions for new clients or new order types. I received a 1004 USDA order. Hidden at the very end of the instructions, they state that all USDA orders require an REO addendum. It seemed misleading since they could just order it as a 1004 USDA /w REO addendum.