The changes in 2009 to the real estate appraisal profession have brought the role of Appraisal Manangement Companies, or AMC's, into focus. While there are certainly negatives associated with this change, AMC's do also provide good protections for consumers, lenders and appraisers.

First, AMC's provide a "firewall" between the appraisers and the loan officers that have for so long ordered appraisals. These same people that were ordering appraisals often would influence appraisers to come in at a certain value, or make sure they could "meet" the number, or any other number of things that seriously brought into question the validity of the process and the independence of the appraiser. With the addition of AMC's into the process, the ability of people to influence the appraiser has been minimized, though not entirely eliminated. But, this is a good step in the right direction to protect the integrity of the process.

Second, AMC's have added another layer of review and accountability to the appraisal process. Through AMC's there is now a more standardized set of guidelines for all appraisals and appraisers for conventional and government backed loans. This includes the review of appraisals by more highly trained staff and the integration of more specific market and demographic data to review the reasonableness of any given appraisal.

The bottom line is that a good appraisal management company offers a great role in the loan process by providing the lender with a consistently higher quality appraisal that is free from the undue influences that appraisers have faced in the past. In the long run, these changes will be for the better for all involved.

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