Safety, status big selling points in luxury market

Regarding your appraisal/fees prediction:

1. AVMs, Zillow, etc., approximate value based on county tax data (12-month in arrears) and do not include internal data or improvements.

2. Can one get a mortgage with a Zillow report, AVM or CMA?

3. Look at the HUD-1 Statement: Appraiser fees ARE the lowest cost in the transaction and therefore are not the issue.

4. The banking and mortgage brokerage industry, together with the commissioned sales agents (lenders and real estate), do not like the formal oversight of the appraisal process, as it sometimes interferes with their ability to close bad deals.

5. 1/1/2008: Increased qualifications will be required to become an appraiser; compare that to real estate salespersons and loan brokers.

I disagree with your premise; there has been no oversight in the last six years, you might want to look at what the new Congress has planned regarding mortgage fraud and antitrust in 2007-2008.

Thomas Markoski
State-licensed appraiser

Dear Editor:

Your list doesn't really predict anything. What it seems to be is a summary of market conditions that are happening now and have been happening over the past year. So absolutely nothing is going to change from how things are now? So much for the boldness of Inman!

Thomas Rose
Pleasanton, Calif.

Dear Editor:

The only reliable professional in the field who is actually protecting the home buyer and lender is the appraiser. The sales agent's commission is based solely on how much they can get their buyer to spend. The typical agent does not care about the buyer, just their wallets, and I say this from experience, being a licensed appraiser for almost seven years now.

If you really think that a Web site is going to take the place of the appraiser then you are sorely mistaken. It is the agent who tries to inflate the prices of homes, and it is the agent who gives these Web sites the information. It is the agent who never has to go for continuing education or learn about Fannie Mae guidelines. The typical agent does not know the difference between gross living area and gross building area, and without knowing they just lump it in all together and call it living space. Therefore, the Web sites' information about homes is typically incorrect.

It is the appraiser who is the eyes and ears for the banks, and who by law must attend continuing-education courses, have an impartial view of the home, and base the price on what it is really worth in the current market, not what the typical agent is trying to get it for based on the commission.

It is a matter of time before one of these Web sites or agents lose me an account because I can't hit some outlandish number. Then it's a matter of time for a serious lawsuit, and I look forward to the challenge.

I think you have it backwards; it is the agent's job that is in jeopardy, not the appraiser's.

David T. Vadurro
REA Professionals
Haddonfield, N.J.