I run into real estate agents and loan officers in the Sacramento area who say, “I wish I could still refer you business, but I can’t anymore because of HVCC.” The common thought is that because the appraisal ordering process for loans has changed in recent years (basically appraisers cannot be hand-picked by loan officers or real estate agents for specific loans geared toward Fannie Mae), that our paths cannot cross for business any more. That’s not the case though, so I wanted to give you the skinny on how we can still connect for business. I know, this post seems very self-serving, but since I have this conversation at nearly every Chamber of Commerce or real estate related networking meeting, I figured it was definitely relevant blog fodder.
1. Estate Settlement / Probate Appraisals: When an estate has a transfer of ownership due to death or inheritance, it is very common for a real estate appraisal to be needed for tax purposes. Home owners and attorneys order these types of appraisals (www.SacramentoEstateSettlement.com).
2. Divorce Appraisals: I handle appraisals during the divorce / mediation process, and I run a website at www.SacramentoDivorceAppraisals.com.
3. Property Tax Appeals: Do you know anyone who is paying too much in property taxes? Send them to me. I cover multiple counties in the Greater Sacramento Region. I founded www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com.
4. Second opinion of value: Sometimes a second opinion of value is needed. Maybe the buyer wants an outside opinion in place of the appraisal the lender ordered. Or maybe you as the real estate agent need some additional research to help the lender see true market value. Or maybe a transaction is heading south very quickly, and some value reinforcement is needed (research or full appraisal).
5. Appraisals during a short sale: Sometimes a bank will absolutely not budge to accept an offer lower than what they deem to be acceptable (even though their price is way too high), so the Listing Agent or home owner will hire me to do a full appraisal. I wrote a full post on this topic here.
6. Pre-listing appraisals:What is the current market doing? A pre-listing appraisal helps give some perspective for the home owner or agent.
7. Home owner wants an appraisal: I’m so grateful when local real estate professionals trust me with their clients’ needs. Sometimes a home owner will want to see an actual appraisal before listing their property. Or other times an all-cash buyer wants to make sure the cash purchase is consistent with market value. Or an owner needs an appraisal for some other reason, and their trusted agent will refer the owner to me.
8. Approval List: You can get me on the approved appraiser list for your favorite lender or attorney. I had a fantastic referral this year to a really great local company. They sent me quite a bit of work and they run an excellent shop. In fact, I sent the loan officer a referral this morning because he got me on their approved appraiser list (and he does a fantastic job).
9. Bankruptcy Appraisals: If a home owner needs an appraisal during the bankruptcy process, I can certainly help them with that. Read a full post here.
I sincerely vaule the relationships I have with local Realtors, real estate agents, and loan officers in the Sacramento area, and I appreciate the business we can send to one another. If you have any questions or a need for an appraisal or property tax consulting in the Sacramento area, give me a call at 916.595.3735, send me an email, or catch me on Facebook.
What does a good referral look like for you?
It’s my youngest son’s birthday tomorrow and it’s also the one-year anniversary of the 
Secondly, the consumer pays more for a real estate appraisal now. Under the direction of HVCC, appraisals geared toward Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac cannot be ordered directly by a lender or broker, but must be ordered from a neutral third-party (often times an AMC – Appraisal Management Company). These companies charge the consumer more than what an appraiser would typically charge, and many times pay the appraiser quite a bit less than what is customary in the market. There are some upstanding AMCs out there that I am thankful to do business with, but on the other hand it’s too bad to see some companies really taking advantage of the situation at hand. For example, I received an email yesterday from an AMC offering appraisers $125 for an appraisal order, while their website shows fees at nearly $500.
Ultimately, I’m thankful that HVCC only applies to loans geared toward Fannie & Freddie (HUD/FHA has something similar in place now too). I still do many appraisals for investors, Realtors, and home owners, and these types of valuations are NOT affected at all by HVCC. Of course I’m not immune to some of the consequences of HVCC as I mentioned above, and the whole thing upsets me, but I’m choosing to focus on other things. I may be limited in business right now with what I can do for loan appraisals, but I can still chase other avenues of appraisal work such as bankruptcy, divorce, estate settlement, investor valuations, and assignments from local governmental agencies. In fact, just yesterday I had another Sacramento estate settlement retrospective appraisal come my way.
Has a low appraisal destroyed one of your deals this year? We’ve been hearing so much about how real estate appraisers are “killing escrows” ever since the 
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