What is an appraisal management company?

An appraisal management company (AMC) is a business entity that administers a network of certified and licensed appraisers to fulfill real estate appraisal assignments on behalf of mortgage lending institutions, as well as other entities. The AMC recruits, qualifies, verifies licensing, and negotiates fees and service level expectations with a network of third-party appraisers. It also provides administrative duties like order entry and assignment, tracking and status updates, pre-delivery quality control, and preliminary and hard copy report delivery. Furthermore, it involves ongoing quality control, accounts payable and receivable, market value dispute resolution, warranty administration, and record retention. An appraisal management company, therefore, is an outsourcing solution that is usually paid by a lender-client to act on the lender/client's behalf to engage real estate appraisers and to perform the administrative functions involved in the appraisal ordering, tracking, and del ... more

At first glance, this seems almost self-evident. An appraisal management company is just that, a company that manages appraisal vendors and all of the ordering, tracking, and delivery tasks that need to be attended to within a real estate mortgage transaction. Yet, judging from feedback that I routinely get from people in our industry, it is apparently not that simple. Alternatively, perhaps, it is that simple and they are just rationalizing why they are not willing to support TAVMA through active membership. Either way, it sounds like a definition is in order. A reasonable starting point is to look at three (3) points of inquiry: (1) What is appraisal management? (2) What is an appraisal management company? (3) What characteristics distinguish an AMC from a group – large appraisal firms – that shares some characteristics of AMCs, but not others? Another English lesson: In constructing definitions, it helps to first classify the thing being defined, and then, differentiate it from othe ... more

An appraisal management company (AMC) is a business entity that — for a management fee — administers a network of certified and licensed appraisers to fulfill real estate appraisal assignments on behalf of mortgage lending institutions. The AMC recruits, qualifies, verifies licensure, and negotiates fees and service level expectations with a network of third-party appraisers, administrative duties like order entry and assignment, tracking and status updates, pre-delivery quality control, and preliminary and hard copy report delivery. It also involves ongoing quality control, accounts payable and receivable, market value dispute resolution, warranty administration, and record retention. ... more