Avid AVM aversion extends only to Zillow.com: NCRC off-shoot starts competing on-line valuation service . . .

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Curiouser and curiouser. Could it be that NCRC’s motive is not to shake-down Zillow.com but to sully its reputation, in advance of going into competition against it? From InmanNews (fingered by Jim Duncan of Real Central VA):

Zillow officials say their valuations should also be seen as a starting point for consumers who want to learn more about the value of their homes.

But the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Zillow does not adequately disclose the degree to which its free automated home valuations can over- or underestimate a property’s value. The site is “likely to cause substantial injury to consumers who rely on the inaccurate representations made by the company,” the complaint alleged.

Zillow officials called the allegations groundless, saying they make every effort to explain the site’s role as a starting point for research, and display accuracy rates for every area covered by the site.

In a confusing twist, a nonprofit group formed by NCRC to promote best practices in the appraisal industry has hired another company, Eppraisal LLC, to provide a service similar to Saris Technologies’ eppraisal.com.

The NCRC offshoot, the Center for Responsible Appraisals and Valuations, is contracting with Eppraisal LLC to operate its www.BuySmartProgram.com Web site, which offers consumers appraisals using an automated valuation model in conjunction with the services of an appraiser.

NCRC vice president David Berenbaum said there is no contradiction in NCRC’s complaint against Zillow and CRAV’s use of an AVM on the www.BuySmartProgram.com Web site.

“The product being offered is an appraisal involving a site visit. It is not limited to an AVM,” Berenbaum said. “We do not have a problem with accurate AVMs, especially if they are combined with (the services of) an appraiser.”

Berenbaum said Eppraisal LLC is a subcontractor with no influence over policy decisions at NCRC or CRAV.

Based in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Eppraisal LLC offers access to a network of 10,000 appraisers through its Web site, www.uappraiseit.com.

Scott said the term eppraisal has not been trademarked, and that Saris and its www.eppraisal.com service have no ties to Eppraisal LLC.

Another unrelated company with a similar name, Missouri-based Eppraisals, has developed a wireless technology for conducting residential appraisals and owns the Web site www.eppraisals.biz.

This was in the original press release, which at the time I found odd:

Vicky Cassens Zillioux, a member of the Center for Responsible Appraisals & Valuations (CRAV) Partners Council and a respected valuation professional affiliated with? Strategic Development Worldwide, commented on the significance of the FTC filing. “Valuing a property for a financial decision is not a game – and should not be treated lightly by the consumer, lender, or the vendor supplying that value. When you consider how much testing and due diligence the banking regulators require for lenders to use AVMs, it seems that a similar level of accuracy should be expected by the consumer at www.Zillow.com”

Not so unusual in light of this announcement.

It’s a whole new angle on corruption: CRAV is getting ready to launch an AVM, so it gets NCRC to attack the top dog in the on-line AVM business. If this is true, the whole thing is even worse than I’ve been saying all along…

More: From the FTC complaint:

Complainant NCRC is a national non-profit member organization with the mission and purpose of increasing fair and equal access to credit, capital, and banking services and products for all Americans, regardless of race, gender or economic class. With this in mind, the NCRC founded the Center for Responsible Appraisals and Valuations to promote responsible valuation and appraisal practices both in America’s communities and in our financial services markets.

Our story so far:

• Welcome to Race Piracy 2.0: Zillow.com is targetted for the crime of having deep pockets…
• Zillow.com shake-down: This is the first shoe dropping…
• Zillow.com shake-down: Creeping disclaimerism as a subject-changing gambit…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: How the other shoe will drop…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: BloodhoundBlog’s take so far — and a chance to win a BloodhoundRealty.com Tee Shirt…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: Preparing for the denouement…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: The piling on begins — and Spencer Tracy is nowhere to be found…
• Defending Zillow.com…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: At last a discouraging word about NCRC…
• Avid AVM aversion extends only to Zillow.com: NCRC off-shoot starts competing on-line valuation service…
• The Zillow.com shake-down: Deconstructing the NCRC complaint…

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