Obama’s Last State of the Nation Speech
I think that in the end, he did his best. He said that we are still the most powerful Nation in the World and it “Isn’t even close.”
I do not know that to be true. He did say that the Nation has changed, but what he left out is that the Nation had a lot to do with gutting Real Estate that used to be the Nation’s #1 way to get out of poverty.
I know this to be true on 2 levels. The first, as a Real Estate Appraiser for 30 years, they gutted it by putting the Law that made AMC’s the go between the appraiser and Lenders. Then allowed the same Bank and Mortgage Company to own the AMC. What they did there was to make all appraisers employees without benefits to the AMC. Many Charge as high as $500 and the borrower puts it immediately when signing up on their credit card, making the borrower think that it will go directly to the appraiser. I have told you the real truth, but it bears repeating. The AMC keeps that money as if it was their own. They pay the appraiser 1 to 2 months, about 1/2 of the $500, but demand that instead of 2 weeks which is what we used to have, to get the appraisal done within 1 week and 2 days of the inspection. This makes it so the most an appraiser can make is $75,000 and that is working 60 to 80 hours a week based on all of the kickbacks and extra forms that have been added to the appraisal. Now, the appraiser has no time to hire and look at other appraiser’s reports as the appraiser does not have the time or the money to pay bills.
As far as owning real estate, you have to be lucky to make money on buying your own home. We are not near what homes were worth in 2005. Most people rent instead of buying their own home and most children live with their parents until they are near 30 and even then, go out and rent their home.
As good as that speech sounded, how is this the #1 Nation in the World? I am idealistic, but all my ideals go right out the window just based on real estate and what has been done. The worst part of it is, no matter what we do, it is a slow increase in the value of properties. It may take 10 years or more for homes to be worth what they were worth in 2005. And if you sold your home in 2005 at the top dollar and bought another home in the same area, your home may not be worth what you paid for it for another 10 years from now.
Our children are the bearers of the bad deeds we have done. They will grow up in a Nation that is not the same Nation where you could be anything you wanted to be. Words sound great, but deeds are better. Even if the AMC was repealed and for those that don’t know: AMC is “Appraisal Management Company.” They don’t manage at all. They pester you and if you take longer than 2 days after an inspection, they write, call and ultimately, you will never get another deal to work. Did I tell you that when you rush, you make mistakes and could loose your Appraiser Certification? Did I tell you that the AMCs for the most part are not appraisers? Did I tell you that all appraisals are now downloaded to the main Lenders in our Nation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA?
The writing is on the wall. The average appraiser is about 65 years old. When the old ones die off or are too old to work, there not only are no new appraisers to take their place, but about 20% of appraisers are quitting every year as they cannot pay bills waiting for partial fees paid 1 to 2 months after completion of the appraisal. Our Nation has changed, Mr. Obama, but for the worst case scenario for people like me who are educated.
When I became an appraiser, there was no Certification. That only came to be in 1992 based on the 1998 Savings and Loan debacle where the Feds had to pay for maybe billions of bad deals. Then there was the Movie that was made about the more recent debacle called: The Short…. that may be the whole name, but they are showing you how my Industry keeps getting screwed. Not just my Industry, but for many middle class Americans, are now sliding into the Poverty areas of living. Send your kids to college today and you sink even further into poverty. If you children do not chose well, it gets worse. When I became an appraiser in 1992, you only needed a High School diploma. Now you need a 4 year degree and minimum 2 years working as an apprentice under an appraiser. Who has time to take on an apprentice when they are not keeping up with the 2 day turn around after inspection? No appraiser I know has an apprentice. And if any person interested in appraisal, what do you think the experienced appraiser tells that person….. better to work at a fast food place, you will get paid on time and be an employee. As an appraiser, you will not be paid enough to have your home and bills taken care of and try to find anyone who is positive about appraisal that is in it. I don’t know 1.
The Appraisal Foundation in Washington, about 1 year ago, sent out their usual message and it said: we are aware of what is going on in appraisal. They also did not say anything else, like what they were going to do about it. Even if the Law that created AMCs gets repealed, they will never be gone. There are thousands of people in AMCs across the Nation that are making more than the appraiser. They are willingly going to give up that? I think not. This is what will be said by the Lenders, many of whom have an interest in getting more money as they are pigs. The Lenders will say that even though it is no longer a requirement, they choose to keep AMCs as they have been a great source of keeping the appraisal field honest and trustworthy. I say, liar, liar, pants on fire and shame on most Lenders in our Nation. Blame appraisers for every bad thing that has gone on. But for people who are experienced and have been around a long time, none of us are fooled and maybe one day, if not in this lifetime, what ever comes next… you will pay a great price for ruining so many appraisers lives.
My advice is find anything other than this Industry. Obama and his team did this to us and I feel things will only get worse from this point. How can it get worse? I did not think it would get to here, so the odds of it getting better are very low. There is no such thing as a static item. We are moving either down or up and in this case, down so low, it will hit the toilet and be time to flush the appraisers down it. Just 1 man’s view.
