Appraiser Income

CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, announced Thursday that it plans to acquire FNC, Inc., a provider of real estate collateral information technology and solutions that automate property appraisal ordering, tracking, documentation and review for lender compliance with government regulations.

The acquisition will mark CoreLogic’s second substantial acquisition in the field of property valuation in 2015. Earlier this year, CoreLogic purchased LandSafe Appraisal Services, an appraisal management company, from Bank of America for $122 million.The purchase price for FNC is far beyond the price for LandSafe.

According to an announcement from CoreLogic, the company will acquire FNC for $475 million.

In its announcement, CoreLogic said that FNC “delivers deep expertise in appraisal compliance, workflow best practices, and process efficiency to mortgage lenders and servicers, appraisal management companies, secondary and capital markets firms as well as property and casualty insurance companies.”

Additionally, FNC’s platforms are included in the workflow systems of 18 of the 20 largest U.S. banks, CoreLogic said.

According to CoreLogic, FNC platforms provide “broad connectivity” to approximately 80,000 appraisal, title and inspection vendors, and FNC’s solutions allow industry participants to automate the collateral valuation and diligence process, monitor and optimize vendor performance and facilitate compliance with regulatory and internal risk management policies.

In a statement, Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic’s president and chief executive officer, said that along with the acquisition of LandSafe, the deal for FNC signals that the company views property valuation as a “significant” area of growth in the future.

“We are very pleased to add the FNC management and staff to the CoreLogic family,” Nallathambi said.

“FNC is a pioneer in developing unique collateral information and technology platforms for the U.S. lending ecosystem,” Nallathambi continued. “Its business has been built around recurring, high-margin revenue streams.  The acquisition of FNC is an important step in our development of a world-class property valuation solutions capability.”

In its announcement, CoreLogic said that acquisition of FNC will help the company create a “scaled, integrated property valuation solution provider” that can provide a “broad suite” of fulfillment, platform, data and analytics capabilities and assets.

“FNC’s platforms, together with our existing valuation-related assets and our recent acquisition of LandSafe Appraisal Services, allow us to gain operational scale and expand the value proposition of our Valuations Solutions Group,” Nallathambi said. “We expect property valuation to be an area of significant future domestic and international growth.”

According to CoreLogic, the transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2016.

Additionally, CoreLogic said the transaction is expected to be accretive to its 2016 financial results excluding one-time reductions from transaction-related fees and transitional accounting items.

CoreLogic said that the deal will be funded using cash on hand and debt.

Once the deal is closed, FNC’s operations will be consolidated within the CoreLogic’s Valuations Solutions Group, CoreLogic said.

“CoreLogic’s VSG will be the conduit through which we will seamlessly deploy our broad suite of property valuation capabilities,” CoreLogic Chief Operating and Financial Officer Frank Martell said.

“The VSG will offer best-in-class content, analytics and workflow platforms which employ our Gen2 technology and mobility capabilities,” Martell said. “Improving the quality and economics of property valuation is a major imperative for the real estate industry. Through the VSG, CoreLogic will be well positioned to bring comprehensive and compelling solutions to the marketplace.”

repost from: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35854-corelogic-snaps-up-fnc-for-475-million

The Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board on July 17 proposed a rule requiring appraisal management companies to pay appraisers customary and reasonable fees for appraisal services performed for single- to four-family residential dwellings. The Board also released the results of an appraisal fee study.
The proposed rule is the result of legislation passed during the state’s 2015 legislative session. A public hearing will be held Aug. 19 to take comments on the proposal.
If adopted, the rule would:

• Give the Board authority to discipline AMCs for failing to comply with federal and state requirements to pay reasonable and customary fees;
• Amend the time in which AMC payment obligations are satisfied;
• Renumber existing rule provisions;
• Give the Board the authority to contract with independent third parties to conduct surveys of fees previously paid to appraisers for use by AMCs electing to do so; and
• Require AMCs to maintain certain records.

The Board also released its study of customary and reasonable fees paid in Georgia in 2014 for appraisal services being performed for single- to four-family residential dwellings. The Board commissioned the study so it could analyze non-AMC appraisal fees that the state’s lenders have paid and its appraisers have received.
Read the proposed rule and the results of the fee study.

Bank of America (BAC) sold its appraisal management company LandSafe to CoreLogic (CLGX) for $70 million, according to industry sources. LandSafe employees were notified this week about the sale.
The sale answers industry rumors that first broke out in May, with top names like Solutionstar, Fidelity andSolidifi in the running to buy the company.
LandSafe Closing Services companies are affiliated with Bank of America to provide closing services, including appraisal, credit report and verification. Only the appraisal company of LandSafe was sold.
In the wake of the financial meltdown, the government sought to reform the appraisal process with the adoption of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct and by introducing appraisal management companies to ensure “arms-length” transactions.
[Read more about the industry in the February 2015 HousingWire Magazine in-depth feature “Appraisal Disruption.”]
On LandSafe’s website, it emphasizes that the issue of appraiser independence is taken very seriously at the company.
“As a company, we are firmly committed to ensuring our operational environment enables you to make an independent judgment of value for every property you are assigned to appraise, absent undue influence,” the site said.
AMCs provide appraisal management services to lenders, underwriters or other principles in the secondary mortgage markets, including contracting with licensed and certified appraisers to perform appraisal assignments.
Bank of America did not comment at the time of publication. CoreLogic declined to comment

Hey Fellow Appraisers! The newly updated 2015 AMC Directory is now available! After spending months editing the last update from July 2014, I have added over 30 new AMCs, removed some of the bad ones or the companies that have gone out of business and reformatted the top of the list to include the top 40 AMCs that are currently my best clients.

I also updated and added a new chapter on how to use the AMC Directory to sign up only to companies listed in your state. That should save you a bunch of time when applying to the appraisal management companies.

And finally, this list not only includes the top companies that I recommend all appraisers to sign up to due to pay, turn around time or other factors, but for more than 99% of the companies listed, I have already done the research and found the direct link to their online applications. You won’t believe how much time that is going to save you in the registration process.

This isn’t just a list of appraisal management companies with phone numbers and maybe a website listing. I spend the time to get the contact information for each of the companies, find their online applications and more. If they don’t have an online application, they don’t get on my list. If they appear to be another appraiser looking to sign up other appraisers for a fee split, I don’t add them to my list either. If they are known not to pay their appraisers or have had problems paying appraisers in the past, they definitely don’t make it on my list. I have even tried to note as much as possible which companies state they have commercial work as well. I have registered with most of the companies in my directory except for some of the latest entries and when they have good work, they get moved up to the top of the list.

With interest rates still at an all time low and talks of softening lending practices, 2015 could possibly be your best year ever working with the appraisal management companies. But you won’t get ANY work from them if you don’t sign up to them.

Buy the new 2015 AMC Directory and start signing up today. I have been completely swamped with AMC work for years now, giving me the ability to cherry pick the best work available from a variety of companies and never get paid less than my customary and reasonable fees. I average over $450 per order, the lowest fee I have accepted in the past year was $325 and the highest $2000. Get your copy today.

Hey Fellow Appraisers! The newly updated 2015 AMC Directory is now available! After spending months editing the last update from July 2014, I have added over 30 new AMCs, removed some of the bad ones or the companies that have gone out of business and reformatted the top of the list to include the top 40 AMCs that are currently my best clients.

I also updated and added a new chapter on how to use the AMC Directory to sign up only to companies listed in your state. That should save you a bunch of time when applying to the appraisal management companies.

And finally, this list not only includes the top companies that I recommend all appraisers to sign up to due to pay, turn around time or other factors, but for more than 99% of the companies listed, I have already done the research and found the direct link to their online applications. You won’t believe how much time that is going to save you in the registration process.

This isn’t just a list of appraisal management companies with phone numbers and maybe a website listing. I spend the time to get the contact information for each of the companies, find their online applications and more. If they don’t have an online application, they don’t get on my list. If they appear to be another appraiser looking to sign up other appraisers for a fee split, I don’t add them to my list either. If they are known not to pay their appraisers or have had problems paying appraisers in the past, they definitely don’t make it on my list. I have even tried to note as much as possible which companies state they have commercial work as well. I have registered with most of the companies in my directory except for some of the latest entries and when they have good work, they get moved up to the top of the list.

With interest rates still at an all time low and talks of softening lending practices, 2015 could possibly be your best year ever working with the appraisal management companies. But you won’t get ANY work from them if you don’t sign up to them.

Buy the new 2015 AMC Directory and start signing up today. I have been completely swamped with AMC work for years now, giving me the ability to cherry pick the best work available from a variety of companies and never get paid less than my customary and reasonable fees. I average over $450 per order, the lowest fee I have accepted in the past year was $325 and the highest $2000. Get your copy today.

I totally stand behind TSI appraisal and would recommend any appraiser looking to become an employee of one of the good AMCs out there to find out more about TSI Appraisal.

TSI Appraisal is expanding its appraisal network across the United States. We’re seeking highly skilled candidates to fill numerous open staff appraiser positions in these areas:

• Austin, TX
• Brownsville, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Detroit, MI
• El Paso, TX

• Fort Worth, TX
• Houston, TX
• McAllen, TX
• San Antonio, TX

Check out the amazing benefits that you’ll get as a TSI Appraisal staff appraiser:

• An award-winning benefits package including healthcare, vision and dental coverage
• Opportunity to work with a team of appraisers dedicated to your success
• A program built for appraisers by appraisers
• A consistent work volume with first choice of assignments in your coverage area

TSI Appraisal, a division of Title Source, is a leading Appraisal Management Company (AMC) that provides a variety of valuation products and services nationwide. TSI Appraisal facilitates over 500,000 appraisals annually. We utilize industry best practices, advanced data analytic tools and employ and unparalleled commitment to customer service. The company was named as a Detroit Free Press Top Workplace for the last six consecutive years.

Editor’s Note: Getting paid- more evidence that meaningful AMC legislation at the state level is an appraiser’s best friend.

Appraisal Board Sanctions AMC for Late Payments
By Isaac Peck, Associate Editor – WorkingRE.com

Getting paid by appraisal management companies (AMCs) in a timely fashion has long been a challenge for appraisers, who, in many cases, have been forced to wait months for their money. While several state boards have adopted “prompt pay” provisions into their appraisal regulations, it is rare for AMCs to face formal sanctions over late payments. In what many will view as a win for rank and file appraisers, the North Carolina Appraisal Board (NCAB) recently assessed a civil penalty against an AMC, Residential RealEstate Review, Inc., for its failure to comply with North Carolina regulations which require AMCs to pay appraisers within 30 days of the submission of the appraisal (N.C.G.S. 93E-2-4[d]).

The Investigation
The civil penalty originated from a complaint filed in December 2013 by an appraiser who claimed the AMC failed to pay within 30 days. After receiving the complaint, NCAB requested an audit of the AMC’s payments to North Carolina appraisers for the calendar year 2013. After examining the payment schedules of the AMC, Residential RealEstate Review, NCAB discovered that out of 1,277 appraisal assignments in North Carolina that year, 74 of those payments were late- received later than the 30 day deadline.

On August 12, 2014, Residential RealEstate Review signed a Consent Order admitting to violating the North Carolina Appraiser’s Act by its failure to pay appraisers within 30 days and agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine. The penalty for subsequent violations can be as much as $25,000.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Appraisal Management Company Fined For Late Payments

CALGARY, July 23, 2014 /CNW/ – Zaio Corporation (TSX-V:ZAO), (“Zaio” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce that, as the result of a successful due diligence process, it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Axis Appraisal Management Solutions Inc. (“Axis”) with Axis and shareholders holding 97% of the issued share capital of Axis. Zaio and Axis expect that the remaining shareholders will sign the definitive agreement by the end of the week, however, in any event the shares of any minority dissenting shareholders will be acquired pursuant to the dissent procedures under applicable legislation. …continue reading the rest of this post: Zaio Announces Acquisition of Axis Appraisal Management Solutions

I thought I would make a little video to promote the new 2014 AMC Directory.  I have noticed work picking up and I am getting more work from the appraisal management companies over the past few months.

Still working on updating the appraisal management companies with all my current e&o information and such, I guess I got dropped from a lot of the panels because I did not keep my information updated.

It is always a good idea to go through your list of past Appraisal management companies that you don’t mind getting orders from and keep your information updated.  A lot of their systems don’t automatically send out reminders when information needs to be updated and you just won’t get any more offers.

Good luck out there! Happy appraising!

I just wanted to let everyone know the new 2014 AMC Directory is now available! You can find it inside of the store.

On this last update, I went through the entire list of appraisal management companies and removed any of the companies that have had problems paying appraisers, those that have gone out of business as well as adding a bunch of new companies to the list. They are all clickable links on the electronic version and a printed version is also available for those that want to write their usernames and passwords directly in to the book.

With the incredible slowdown that has been experienced recently, it is a great time to update all of your information with the AMCs and sign up to a bunch of new companies. The list has over 275 companies with the top 47 on the list are the companies that sent me the most work in the past year. There is still a lot of work out there.

Why are you not getting the appraisal orders?

There are a lot of reasons why you might not be getting a ton of work from the appraisal management companies. Topping the list of reasons is due to document updating when you get a new license or e&o insurance. You can also reach out to all the appraisal management companies by phone to speak with the vendor managers. AMCs like to work with appraisers that reach out to them and you might even get on their preferred list of appraisers.

Of course fees vary from one company to the next. I have not accepted less than customary and reasonable fees for many years now and I am not about to get started. A lot of these AMCs still work with the fees with appraisers as long as you explain the situation.

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know the new directory is available and you can order your copy today. Thanks again for being a valued subscriber to Appraiser Income! http://appraiserincome.com/shop/catalogue.php

Wishing you success in 2014,
Sincerely,
Bryan Knowlton
http://www.appraiserincome.com