DSNews.com received a response from a la mode regarding TAVMA’s accusations.

“We’re dismayed and shocked by TAVMA’s response to our Appraisal Fee Reference analysis, especially in terms of their statements regarding our company,” said Dave Biggers, chairman of a la mode. “In the 25 years that a la mode has been serving the lending and real estate industries, I can’t recall a single incident in which a trade organization has singled out and attacked an individual company in this manner.”

Biggers said TAVMA could have simply stated that they don’t agree, or they could have provided an alternative analysis and debated the issue in an objective manner. He believes the trade association’s claims that a la mode provided misleading information went too far.

On a broader front, Biggers said it is interesting that TAVMA very clearly makes the case that their members are “the major provider of appraisal services in the country” and that independent appraisers are “a small, subgroup of the industry.” He said that’s at odds with TAVMA’s publicly-stated position that AMCs are not appraisers. Biggers cited a position paper released by TAVMA in January 2009, which stated that “AMCs are not appraisers, nor do they perform appraisals.”

Comparing independent appraisers to “mom-and-pop hardware stores” and AMCs to larger, discount hardware chains such as “Home Depot and Lowes” implies that appraisers and AMCs are the same type of entity, simply differing in scale, Biggers said.

“If TAVMA’s AMC members are indeed simply large discount appraisal shops, as they appear to suggest repeatedly here, they would be subject to the very strict standards imposed by state appraisal boards,” Biggers concluded. “I’m confident that the various state regulatory boards will be intrigued by their latest public statements.”

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