Appraisal Institute Continues To Cover Up Its ‘Wildly Inappropriate Behavior’

May 12, 2025
  • It’s Been Four Days Since The NYT Piece, And The Appraisal Institute Sits On Its Hands
  • The Appraisal Institute Is A Hotbed Of Sexual Harassment
  • The Appraisal Institute Hid Fraudulent Test Scores

The Appraisal Institute has been sitting on their hands since last Thursday, yet they are finally getting the attention they have long deserved. That bombshell New York Times article on the terrible behavior of the appraisal profession’s largest trade group (AI) [gift link] was published online and any reputable organization would have taken action by now. The NYT reporter Debra Kamin is the same author who broke the news about rampant sexual harassment at NAR, forcing the president to resign the following day. Cynthia Chance, the ousted president of AI, who I believe would have been the savior to the organization, filed a lawsuit against AI and the senior executive, Craig Steinley, last Thursday. Now four days have passed, and the accused executive has not stepped down, and the board has not made an official announcement other than this morning, the president said “This article does not represent who the Appraisal Institute is.” Yet that executive must still be drawing his salary which “represents exactly who AI is.” In addition to the NYT piece, Cindy’s lawsuit is well worth the read because it shows the decrepit toxicity of the organization in living color.

Irony In Chicago

As a veteran of 21 NYT front page stories, I can only assume the Thursday piece on the Appraisal Institute was supposed to be on the front page (A1), but the white smoke in the Vatican pushed it off the cover. Ha. Since I’m always on the hunt for irony, the fact that an American Pope from Chicago was selected and the Appraisal Institute is headquartered in Chicago makes perfect sense.

Who Says There Is No Drama In Appraisals?

I’ve been writing about the bad behavior of the Appraisal Institute since 2016 in these Housing Notes. Some of my posts about their bad behavior have gone viral, but it took a while for appraisers to accept what was being presented right in front of their eyes. That’s because appraisers have been beaten down by AI for decades, mainly because AI would threaten them with losing their hard-earned designations (MAI, SRA) if they spoke out. It’s been effective.

Incidentally, I have been smeared by syccophants at AI who had illusions of helping their position within the organization. In one case, a particularly well-known toxic appraiser in my industry, joined an organization that I was president of, RAC, to keep tabs on me and smear me, then report back to AI’s leader at the time, JA. This toxic appraiser was the same person who offered me dirt on JA. Our executive director reported the comments made about me, and word got out. Proudly, the entire organization stood behind me. I have also been physically threatened by AI-designated appraisers on my blog, warning me not to go to a national meeting or else “they would take care of me.” Those appraisers should burn in hell. However, the vast majority of members are good people and represent the backbone of our industry. These good people don’t realize they can do something to extract the toxicity of currently embedded leadership.

Do Something Now

The appraisal membership of the Appraisal Institute has been lulled into doing nothing about anything the Appraisal Institute does against their best interest for the past two decades, and it shows. AI Leadership has allowed the brands of the MAI and SRA designations to plunge in relevance and value, yet membership has done nothing about it other than to leave in droves. Membership has collapsed from the housing bubble to today by at least half, and I’m not sure if that excludes all the dead candidates they’ve long kept on their books to keep the numbers higher. By paying their dues each year, current members are voting for the continuation of AI’s bad management and bad behavior. Members are paying for their leadership to work against their interests over the long term, and it shows.

Q: Why does anyone stay a member of AI after reading about these scandals?

A: AI leadership has learned that when bad things happen, ignore them until the issue goes away because they’ve taught membership to be afraid to speak up. I’m sure that’s what the AI BOD is thinking right now. Knowing them, I’m sure the board has been meeting all weekend, and there still has been no action taken – it’s been four days since these scandals came to light, and AI is expressing no outrage other than saying “This article does not represent who the Appraisal Institute is.” That is not action. Having the senior executive step aside is not action either if he is still drawing a salary. At least NAR pushed out the bad people when scandals erupted. Instead, the Appraisal Institute stalls, taking no action. The NYT piece already laid out leadership knew this harrassment was happening and that it was well known. Why stall? What cowardice.

Bring In Law Enforcement And Regulators

Given the neutering of regulatory oversight in Washington, DC, over the past four months, I suspect that the AI BOD might be counting on the belief that no legal action would be taken by regulators and law enforcement. Yet AI is jeopardizing their not-for-profit status and are going to be litigated out of existence by Cynthia Chance, the ousted CEO and last hope of the organization, and Alissa Akins, who was fired for pointing out the fraud and coverup of the appraisal certification exams. I know Cindy, and she is a force of nature, so I believe AI’s days are numbered. Information online suggests they are going to run out of operating capital soon.

For years, I’ve been suggesting that the State of Illinois and/or the Feds step in over this “organizational taking,” which has led the overall profession astray, damaging consumer interests, and keeping new entrants from entering the profession. Our industry is aging out, and the Appraisal Institute has been a key reason. Why be a member if it does nothing for you as a professional? Appraisers no longer need designations when they have certification.

AI Ghosted Residential Appraisers To Enable AMCs

I’ve long referred to individual appraisers as “lone wolves” who work out of their homes as solo practitioners. A while back, I said: “Bad behavior is easily given oxygen because appraisers are generally an industry of ‘lone wolves‘ barely able to have a voice in the national conversation.” We’re challenging to get on the same page because we’re a bunch of entrepreneurs spread out all over the place. 

The Appraisal Institute has long ghosted residential appraisers under the threat of suspending their SRA designations. AI leadership firmly enabled appraisal management companies (AMC), which is now the de facto standard in mortgage appraisals. 

Former AI executives who ventured from the gluttony trough of AI moved to the executive ranks of AMC’s without so much criticism of what it does to their residential appraiser members. AMCs are the institutional middleman that literally provide no value add to the valuation process but prevent appraisers from making a living. Here’s a partial list of my gripes:

  • AMCs get as much as 50% to 70% of the appraisal fee at the mortgage application, while Hollywood managers of movie stars get 10%
  • Appraisers take a pay cut because of AMCs injected into the mortgage process, but consumers pay a higher appraisal fee because of those same AMCs
  • AMCs have monopolies in many markets, forcing many appraisers to work for them or retire
  • AMCs are partly responsible for the aging out of the appraisal industry
  • REEVA is the AMC trade group that fights hard to keep its share of appraisal fees hidden from consumers
  • AMCs have a voice in REEVA, while appraisers have no voice with the Appraisal Institute
  • Here’s a shoutout to Mark Schiffman of REEVA, a longtime Housing Notes reader

Final Thoughts

At least now, the Appraisal Institute is getting the attention it deserves. Even if they boot Craig Steinley, he’s not the only problem with the organization. It’s highly sexist, corrupt, unethical, and lacks the critical thinking needed to help the appraisal industry. Here’s what’s happened that prompted the NYT story last Thursday while the executive Craig Steinley is still drawing a salary.

  • An AI senior executive nicknamed “Handsy” by staff sexually assaulted female leadership on multiple occasions
  • Current AI female leadership knew about “Handsy” but are publicly denying they warned other women so that the toxic male leadership won’t push them out
  • AI knowingly hid certification test result errors, so we now have appraisers who didn’t pass required exams that are licensed or certified, and have some that didn’t pass who should have passed, that probably left the profession.

We need to let the Appraisal Institute collapse to extract its toxicity from the industry. It evolved from a different era before appraisal licensing and no longer represents a force for good.

Hopefully, a new appraiser organization will rise from the ashes, assuming the industry survives this scandal and isn’t replaced by Zestimates.

The Actual Final Thought – I’m speechless and humorless since the news came out about AI, and they have chosen not to do anything about it yet. They seem to be in denial about documented sexual harassment and testing fraud.

UPDATE – dozens of AI members forwarded me the following president’s note sent to membership – updated here at 3:28 pm EDT

Monday Mailboxes, Etc. – Sharing reader feedback on Housing Notes.

May 8, 2025: #MeToo And Testing Fraud Applies To Appraisal Industry’s Largest Trade Group

  • I know many times you have been ridiculed for your opinion but thank you for putting your view out there.  Perhaps this time the AI power and politics will finally show them up.
  • Yes, seems like one issue after another.  Trust and transparency must be restored.  
  • WOW!!  Wow wow wow.
  • This is especially (um, timely?) considering the VERY STRONG emphasis on “Anti-discrimination” in this year’s USPAP update.
  • I miss your town hall meetings when at DE. 

Did you miss the previous Housing Notes?

May 8, 2025

#MeToo And Testing Fraud Applies To Appraisal Industry’s Largest Trade Group

Image: AI

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