Follow the money

As you may have seen recently, we’ve rolled out a great new appraisal industry advocacy platform. Please take a moment to learn more about our Community Partnerships Program (www.alamode.com/community) – through which we expect to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars back to local and state-level appraiser coalitions and organizations. That’s where we think the real fight is taking place to protect the rights of appraisers, and so that’s where we’re putting our money.

But it’s not just about where we’re putting our money – it’s also about where you’re putting yours. That’s why I wrote “Follow the money” in the subject line of this email. Follow what you spend with your vendors. What do they do with your money, year after year? Do they give to causes that support you? Do they reinvest it in the tools you need and want? It doesn’t seem so.

If you took a time machine back to 1998, you’d find that their products are pretty much the same as today. That’s not surprising, since some of their tools still rely on Windows 98-era technology and compilers. As one small example, isn’t it insane that it’s mobile-centric 2014 and yet none of the other vendors have developed their own in-house mobile appraisal inspection tools? And what about free UAD upgrades and XML creation? Where did all your money go for so many years?

It’s even worse than just wasting your money by not building new tools or charging you for things which should be free, unfortunately. Some software and services vendors in fact have a history of actively working against you, using your own money. Some actively campaigned for HVCC to the benefit of AMCs and lenders, some fund AVMs and AVM providers, others work against you on customary and reasonable fees, and so on. Conversely, what have they done to campaign in your favor? Can you find a single thing?

I’m sure you know our history of working for appraisers, spending real dollars to fight at the local, state, and national level in your favor, from HVCC, to client pressure, to C&R fees, to getting paid for what you did, and beyond. Our Community Partnerships Program is just the latest example of where our loyalties reside.

It’s this simple: If an appraisal software or services vendor isn’t actively reinvesting substantial amounts of money you pay them back into the appraisal industry – towards appraisal advocacy efforts, back to the organizations that help protect you, and towards innovation and development of new products – then perhaps you’re making a mistake doing business with them.

And we know that creating new core tools for appraisers is more than saying we have the newest and sleekest technology. It’s about reinvesting millions of dollars back in to the appraisal industry – and believing every penny is worth it. That’s because we subscribe to a different core philosophy. We know that appraisers work extremely long and hard hours under constant stress, providing critical services in this nation’s economy, and that you deserve better than what you’re getting from other vendors.

Together, we’ll continue working towards a brighter future for you, your family that relies on your income from appraising, and the industry as a whole. To that end, I’d ask again that you go visit our Community Partnerships Program (www.alamode.com/community) page and learn more about it, and encourage your local and state organizations to join – or maybe even form a local group yourself. Through the program, we give local organizations the tools and funding to recruit members and have an impact where the rubber meets the road: At your state capitol.

The fight is there, and it can be won. That’s why we’re donating the money to help fund it, and why you’ll see us on the front line – putting our money and effort side by side with yours. I look forward to seeing you there.