As part 2 in this 3 part series about how HVCC is effecting the real estate appraisal industry, we’re going to delve into two more myths surrounding this legislation: The Appraiser Rotation and How Using and AMC Does Not Reduce Lender Risk
THE APPRAISER ROTATION
Another myth is that lenders need a list of appraisal firms that they actively use in order to be HVCC compliant. In actuality, HVCC does NOT require an appraiser rotation. Whether or not management believes it is in the lender’s best interest to have multiple appraisal sources, it is not a requirement of HVCC. In fact, as long as the lender is in compliance with Section IV.B of the code, they can even continue to use an in-house appraiser, as long as the code is followed in every other instance.
USING AN AMC DOES NOT REDUCE LENDER RISK
According to federal banking guidelines, “Increased risk most often arises from poor planning, oversight and control on the part of the bank and inferior performance or service on the part of the third party, and may result in legal costs or loss of business. To control these risks, management and the board must exercise appropriate due diligence prior to entering the third-party relationship and effective oversight and controls afterward.”
How does this pertain to ordering appraisals? In layman’s terms, lenders must make sure that they take the proper steps to make sure that
A) They trust their vendors (like appraisal companies)
B) They have a firewall in place that eliminates the possibility of collusion between the vendor and the decision maker (lender).
That “firewall” is just that… a buffer between the appraiser and the lender. There are several ways in which lender sellers can create this buffer internally without outsourcing the function to a third party (such as an Appraisal Management Company), as long as they maintain that separation. To achieve compliance the appraisal function must only report to an individual or department outside of loan production. Some examples of eligible individuals within the institution include:
1) the credit department (most common)
2) the compliance office
3) the chief executive office
In next week’s post, I’ll wrap up the series and explain how we can improve our profession by helping to educate the public on these and other myths regarding the HVCC.