As you all know by now, any lender ordering appraisals on conventional loans must go through an appraisal management company.  Loan officers, processors, or anyone associated with the origination side of the business cannot be involved as it could "influence" the appraiser.  The big banks are also having to let their appraisal management departments assign appraisers.  This is of course a mess in many cases as out of area appraisers not familiar with a market area are bringing values in low.  Since the appraiser is randomly assigned there is also no accountability as to the quality or timeliness of the appraisal being done.

 How Does This Affect Us as Realtors?

 I heard that complaints are coming in from all over the country and as a result last week two Representa­tives introduced legislation calling for an 18 month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).  One industry expert stated "in the period of time since its implementation , the HVCC has increased costs to consumers and decreased the quality of appraisals and has provided a level of uncertainty in an ailing housing market".  This legislation could be move through and be adopted or it could be killed and never heard of again so stay tuned for further updates.