A property appraiser in San Jose, California, John Montgomery, has been facing various challenges since the housing market downturn. He has been working as a residential appraiser for 17 years.
Together with his brother, Ted Montgomery, who founded Montgomery Appraisal in his spare bedroom in 1993, they are trying their best to adjust to various changes occurring in the housing market.
Just like many other appraisers across the U.S., they have been experiencing the unintended effects of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. The Montgomerys said that because of the effort by housing regulators to make appraisers independent from any potential influence from the lender, broker, seller or agent, they also have unwittingly downed the careers of legitimate, experienced and reputable appraisers who are operating small appraisal businesses.
John Montgomery said the new code has reduced his and his brother?s revenues because lenders now are using appraisal management companies to do appraisals because they assume that AMCs help them comply with the no-influence provision of the HVCC.
The brothers also contend that AMCs, which are oftentimes owned by or are affiliated with the country?s biggest lenders, send appraisers into housing markets unfamiliar to them, resulting into extremely low valuations.
John Montgomery reiterated that as a property appraiser, he is not guilty of the charge that during the housing boom, appraisers inflated home valuations to enable potential borrowers to get higher loans. He admitted though that there were many instances in the past in which he was pressured to change his valuations for $350, but he explained that he did not accept any of them.
The Montgomery brothers explained that one of the reasons for their integrity was the principles taught by their father, Joseph Montgomery, now 78 years old. Their father was chief appraiser for American Savings and then later World Savings for 40 years. When they were small, their father sometimes took them along. Now their father is proud that his children are not succumbing to the pressures of the job of appraisal, but are applying their expertise and their know-how to be able to provide the right appraisal.
As the number of appraisal assignments decline largely because of the new code and the downturn, the brothers? company Montgomery Appraisal has been looking for ways to survive. It is sad, they said, that a property appraiser who has been doing appraisals for many years is now just put in line for appraisal work in a list populated by newly licensed appraisers.
