Jonathan Miller

Appraiserville September 7, 2018

As the industry changes, it is more important than ever for appraisers to have a longer term plan…from my friend Nathan Pyle.

(For earlier appraisal industry commentary, visit my old clunky REIC site.)

Prophet, Not Profit

Ryan Lundquist at the must-read Sacramento Appraisal Blog served up this ditty. Be…[Read more]

Appraiserville August 24, 2018

Appraisal Institute Spent One Year Searching For 2X President Jim Amorin To Name Him CEO

As I predicted in these Housing Notes a while back, Jim Amorin is the new AI National CEO. It was inevitable that Jim Amorin would be named the replacement for former CEO Grubbe. Ironically Grubbe’s resignation was accepted by…[Read more]

Appraiserville August 17, 2018

AI National Pitches Their Own National Registry Without Telling Anyone

I’ve been told by many parties that this is the work of AI National. It makes sense since it requests something that no one is interested in because it is wildly redundant and is more about making them relevant again. To hard-working AI…[Read more]

Appraiserville August 10, 2018

Ran out of time but will focus on the Florida appraisal board meeting this week: look for the new battle cry” “Sh#t Can The Straw Man.”

plus

The epic story of how a good appraiser got blacklisted.

plus

LREAB c. FTC is getting more interest by other states:

BRIEF FOR THE STATES OF MISSISSIPPI, IDAHO, IOWA,RHODE…[Read more]

Appraiserville August 3, 2018

There is a lot going on in Appraiserville this week and I’m going to squeeze in what I can and then continue the narrative into next week.

AI California Chapters Are Trying To Get A “Win” And Prove They Don’t Care About “The Public Trust”

I’ve long heard rumors about some clandestine legislative changes that AI…[Read more]

Appraiserville July 27, 2018

Terminator: AI National Is Still Vigorously Fighting For Evaluations Against Residential Appraiser Interests For Reasons That Can’t Be Explained

One of my favorite lines from the original Terminator movie from the Kyle Reese character that can apply to the unknown driver of AI National’s obsession to force…[Read more]

Appraiserville July 13, 2018

This week is full to the brim…

When Untrained Inspectors of Hybrid Appraisals Rule The World

I did a screenshot of a photo from a private appraisal group that blew my mind. Now imagine an unregulated, non-standardized, untrained inspector (home inspectors aren’t being used for hybrids) for a hybrid appraisal…[Read more]

Appraiserville July 6, 2018

I’m taking a quick three-day vacay with my wife in Nashville starting today so excuse my content brevity. I wonder if I should check out Tristar bank? I hear they falsely claimed there weren’t enough appraisers, let alone pilots…

Appraisers as Big Ole Jet Airliner Pilots

Doesn’t this sound eerily familiar? An…[Read more]

Appraiserville June 29, 2018

Speaking Up for Ourselves

Over the past couple of years, our residential appraisal industry has called BS on allowing others to speak for us. Our industry has chosen to speak for ourselves. It began with a few and it is snowballing. Just look at all the new appraiser bloggers in the links below such as Woody…[Read more]

Appraiserville June 22, 2018

Thoughts On This Week’s OCAP Meeting Part 1 (Getting There)

This past Tuesday, I was a keynote speaker at the Ohio Coalition of Appraisal Professionals (OCAP). I’ve always seen this organization as one of the stronger state coalitions in the context of getting things done at the legislative level. I had been…[Read more]

Appraiserville June 15, 2018

Get Rich Quick? No, Go Out of Business

Hello,

We would just ask you to go out to a property, take at least 4 exterior photos of the home and answer a short yes/no questionnaire, about 15 questions. It’s n…[Read more]

Appraiserville June 8, 2018

The Appraisal Foundation Hosts National Appraisal Forum to Discuss Appraisal Waivers and Hybrid Appraisals

“Preserving the Public Trust”

I really got a lot out of this week’s joint meeting with IAC and TAFAC of The Appraisal Foundation that took place in Arlington, VA. I represented my appraisal firm Miller S…[Read more]

Appraiserville June 1, 2018

The Term “Appraisals” Bleeds Into The Term “Evaluations”

One of the reasons the appraisal industry has been so upset with our former industry leader, The Appraisal Institute, is that they don’t realize that they are destroying the meaning of the word “appraisal” by championing lower cost alternatives to appraisals,…[Read more]

Appraiserville May 18, 2018

Rationalizing accepting $50 to $100 hybrids ’cause you’ll get volume

Here’s the sales pitch being sent to appraisers:

MCSV is currently offering a distinct hybrid product to our clients that involve a restricted report.
We would like to extend our hand – beyond the product types that you already cover, to determine…

[Read more]

Appraiserville May 11, 2018

Tindell v. Murphy, Cal. Court of Appeal (2018)

Here are the documents from the case shared by Peter Christensen, General Counsel, LIA Administrators & Insurance Services:

On May 7, 2018, the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District certified for publication its recent decision in a case entitled Tindell…

[Read more]

Appraiserville April 27, 2018

Phil Crawford Provides Updates on Appraiser Fest!

Listen to the podcast (you should be anyway!)

ASA leads opposition to TriStar Bank waiver request

That’s the headline from Valuation Review. Looks like ASA has better PR than AI National these days.

JUST IN The controversial @TriStarBank request to waive #appraisa…

[Read more]

Appraiserville April 13, 2018

The Core-Facebook-Logic Consumes Us A La Mode

This has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Facebook. I’ve never been a heavy user of it, mostly a lurker. They constantly change navigation paths making it nearly impossible to update your settings frequently – and when you do, do you really trust them? I’ve…[Read more]

Appraiserville April 6, 2018

It’s Time to Change the Narrative

My friend and data management savant Mark Stockton penned a great article on statistics being tossed around by the major players in the valuation industry is misleading. Mark, Phil Crawford and I got to talking about this topic after reading a recent Appraisal Buzz article: Evolution…[Read more]

Appraiserville March 30, 2018

What A Time We’re Living In!

One of the great things about the changes being seen in the appraisal industry today is through the actions of appraisers themselves. Appraisers are speaking out more often and pushing their thoughts about the industry and the techniques of the profession out into the ether. And most…[Read more]

Appraiserville March 16, 2018

The Appraisal Foundation Position on Tristar Bank Waiver Request to ASC

I’ve written about the Tristar bank request many times here in Appraiserville. The first time I wrote about it, I “translated” their request letter into what I thought they were really saying. You might want to read the December 1, 2017…[Read more]