If you are looking for way to trim expenses, might I suggest the National Building Cost Manual published by Craftsman Books. A friend and fellow appraiser brought this source to my attention and I thought I would try it out. It comes in both book and software format.
I compared it to Marshall & Swift and liked what I found. Granted Craftsman's data is categorized a little differently and they have a little different idea of what constitutes "average quality", "good quality" etc. But when I matched up an example cost estimate as best I could, Craftsman's result was within a few percentage points of Marshall & Swift.
And here is the best part. It is roughly one-tenth the cost. I spent a total of $53 on both the book and software. Compared to over $500 for my Marshall & Swift annual subscription. Plus the book included not only residential, but many commercial, industrial and retail improvements.
Now it is not as exhaustively detailed as M&S, but for simple RCN calculations it appears it could be a real good, and less expensive alternative.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Customary and Reasonable Fees
Is a new day dawning for residential appraisers that work for appraisal management agencies (AMCs)?
If you read the newly enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) that answer is YES. We have all been hearing about the new law that requires AMCs to pay appraisers "customary and reasonable" fees. So when should we be expecting a pay raise? October 19, 2010 is the big day.
Talk about teeth. Lenders and AMC that continue to pay appraisers "slave wages" after this date can be fined $10,000 to $20,000 PER DAY.
So who gets to decide what is "customary and reasonable." We do (the appraisers). And the kicker is that fees paid by known AMCs are excluded from setting the standard. Now there are other agencies that get to have a say as well (The V.A. as an example) but AMCs do not.
The Appraisal Institute recently published a FAQ which provides some good insight.
I personally will be keeping a keen eye on how AMCs will be responding over the next few weeks. They are no doubt going to try to find a loop hole. But if we can now expect to get "full fees" from AMCs, I will probably start responding to their e-mails and phone calls.
If you read the newly enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) that answer is YES. We have all been hearing about the new law that requires AMCs to pay appraisers "customary and reasonable" fees. So when should we be expecting a pay raise? October 19, 2010 is the big day.
Talk about teeth. Lenders and AMC that continue to pay appraisers "slave wages" after this date can be fined $10,000 to $20,000 PER DAY.
So who gets to decide what is "customary and reasonable." We do (the appraisers). And the kicker is that fees paid by known AMCs are excluded from setting the standard. Now there are other agencies that get to have a say as well (The V.A. as an example) but AMCs do not.
The Appraisal Institute recently published a FAQ which provides some good insight.
I personally will be keeping a keen eye on how AMCs will be responding over the next few weeks. They are no doubt going to try to find a loop hole. But if we can now expect to get "full fees" from AMCs, I will probably start responding to their e-mails and phone calls.
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