Comment from O'Leary, Robert

You're going to get several comments citing official language and policy; I applaud those folks. I am going to speak more directly, as a fee appraiser. I am beyond tired of hearing during an inspection how the borrower paid $900 for the appraisal for which I am being paid $400. At some point, the tail began to wag the dog. AMC's added staff appraisers, and introduced "tech fees" to upload to their own platforms. And while this was going on, the public had zero idea that there was an invisible middle man pulling 50% of the profit into their maw and providing....what, exactly? We all heard about the "Shortage of Appraisers". There was never a shortage of appraisers. What existed then and now is a shortage of appraisers willing to concede 50% of the fee to a middleman. Was there a time that AMC's were necessary? Probably. But they should have been regulated, and they should have been overseen. What they have done is driven the long term appraisers away from the profession and lowered the quality of reports, and the standard of living, for any appraisers in their systems. As a borrower, I would very much like to know that my $900 check was being auctioned off to the lowest bidder with the fastest turn time. I would very much prefer that my $900 went to obtaining and retaining the best possible person as opposed to cheapest/fastest. This is why we are asking for a review of the system, and changes that will level the playing field.