The Removal Of Appraisal Institute Executive Is Only Decorative

May 22, 2025
  • Appraisal Institute Removed Craig Steinley From Leadership After 3-Hour Board Meeting
  • The Organization Probably Won’t Survive Its Long Term Ethics Lapse
  • The Vast Majority Of Membership Are Excellent Professionals Wronged By Leadership Silence

[Apologies in advance, but there is so much content in this post that it might break the email by not loading all the graphics. To make it easier to read, click on the post title above. I assure you, it’s worth the read.]

I was all set to share a post today about a ground lease’s impact on housing prices (what’s more exciting than that?), but I saw the third bombshell NYT story this month about my industry’s largest trade group. Yesterday, it took three long hours for the Appraisal Institute’s (AI) board of directors (BOD) to oust executive Craig Steinley [gift link] from leadership. In the past, Craig had been on the powerful audit committee, and he once told me he knew where all the bodies were buried. I can only assume that he and his attorney, in addition to the time denying the #metoo charges, spent a lot of time inferring they know where those bodies are indeed buried. I’ve been chronicling AI’s bad behavior for 8 years here on Housing Notes. The three-hour BOD session came after more than a week of handwringing after the NYT bombshell story [gift link] and the announcement of the lawsuit by their ousted CEO [gift link], who Steinley also harassed. To actually hold a meeting and make a decision so long after all this feedback shows an incredible lack of leadership and lack of respect towards female members of AI.

This #metoo moment is not just about Steinley. There has been a long-term tolerance of this awful behavior. For comparison, NAR’s president resigned within 24 hours after similar accusations were reported by NYT in 2023. NAR’s swift action tells you all you need to know about the ethics of much of the Appraisal Institute leadership. They have been blatantly corrupt for nearly two decades, shortchanging their membership by starving them of all information and enriching themselves with perks.

And who thinks it is a good idea to have a 28-member board? How do they ever get anything accomplished for their members? According to BoardSource, the average number of members on a nonprofit board is 15-17.

Appraisal Acronyms

  • AI = Appraisal Institute, not Artificial Intelligence
  • BOD = Board of Directors
  • FOJ = Friends of Jim Amorin
  • TAF = The Appraisal Foundation (manages appraiser certification language)
  • AMC = Appraisal Management Company – institutional middle man that gets 50% to 75% of the appraisal fee consumers pay
  • REVAA = Trade group of AMCs who are the protectors of no one but themselves, be damned to the consumer and the residential appraiser equally

How The Grift Began – Sham Petition Process

A few years before AI president Leslie Sellers became the 2010 president, he was angry that the national nominating committee didn’t select him to be Vice President, which leads to the Presidency. I was told by someone who was in the hallway when Leslie threw his hissy fit that his friend 2008 President Wayne Pugh, came up with the “petition process,” which I have long dubbed the “sham petition process” that enabled AI executives to nominate their sycophants for the election. The key ingredient was that the additional nominee had equal weight in voting as the nominee vetted by thousands of members. Incidentally, Sellers also pulled AI out of The Appraisal Foundation, which, according to people in the room when he made the decision, was because of a personal slight he felt from TAF, beginning a long-time feud between AI and TAF. Their exit had nothing to do with the interests of the organization and has helped drive the organization into irrelevence.

Over the years, I have documented several instances where the “sham petition process” was implemented to secure leadership positions for specific individuals, often against the apparent will of the membership. The process is widely criticized for undermining transparency, democratic governance, and the credibility of the organization. I describe it as a tool for political maneuvering that has contributed to internal strife, diminished trust among members, and ongoing reputational damage.

Past AI executives have used this unethical tool to keep their grip on power as a group, who I have long referred to as FOJs. The current president and immediate past president are only in office because of the “sham petition process.”

What Changes After The Steinley Ouster

NOTHING CHANGES. Craig’s behavior was only one problem solved in the toxic environment against women. The NYT reported that there were twelve women who reported inappropriate or uncomfortable encounters with Steinley. Everyone in that universe gave him the nickname of “handsy” demonstrating how widespread this behavior was and nothing was done.

hAnd there are FOJs like Stephen Roach who now uses this awful situation to make himself feel important. People like him are on the same FOJ team that currently runs AI. His career has been made by enjoying lucrative teaching assignments doled out by JA and others. He works hard to keep the status quo. Two years ago when I was actively fighting against FOJs and the sham petition process, several people shared info on Stephen Roach who were tired of him working the AI room behind the scenes. I gave him the nickname of “The Consigliere” back then and apparently I’m still living in his head. LOL. Steve asks the question: Should he resign from these roles? I say yes, please! FOJs are killing AI.

The Rationale For Staying An AI Member Is Hard

I’m getting emails from members who have given up on the Appraisal Institute’s long time irresponsible behavior and are saying they won’t renew their SRA or MAI designations. AI should be implementing crisis management right now. But instead they are going to slow roll this like everything else they do and hope the attention dies down. You can see this in yesteday’s email from the current AI president below.

Here are my thoughts on Paula’s “slow roll” in the letter above.

The very first line of the Ethics Rule of USPAP is: “An appraiser must promote and preserve the public trust inherent in appraisal practice by observing the highest standards of professional ethics.”

Where is AI’s Peer Review Referral in all of this?  This is a textbook case of the violations of the Ethics Rules under Regulation #6. The Audit Committee drags people up just by entering into open debate and disagreeing with anyone in senior management or the BOD. Where is the Audit Committee, and were they hand-selected by the collaborators in these matters?

When was the last time that the BOD met?  What was the evidence that pushed them to this decision?  Isn’t this all part of their responsibilities?

I know this has been a painful period for members and the appraiser community. Residential appraisers have been long ignored, and it has contaminated the well-being and trust of the Appraisal Institute as an organization, which is greater than any one individual. Separately, the court process will bring out the facts in the Cindy Chance lawsuit. And let’s not forget Alissa Akins’s lawsuit. Incidentally, Paula is on record for confirming Ms. Chance’s account of the situation, so there is one of the “facts.”

  • Keeping the organization financially secure and sustainable. The fact that they are attempting to battle when their resources are drained makes this organization unsustainable.
  • Managing enterprise-wide risk. BOD, legal, and senior management all have continually engendered and been supportive of increasing risk. Risk includes reputational, financial, operational, compliance, and strategic.  Where was the board and senior management?  Remember that very recently, leadership proposed no longer holding regular BOD meetings. Incredible.
  • Upholding their fiduciary duties This is being done by wasting money right and left supporting outside counsel and defending indefensible actions. You say outside counsel is to set up best practices.  Who has selected the outside counsel?  Who is the client of the outside counsel?  If it’s AI, then how is it possible that it represents an independent assessment?  Highly unlikely. It has always been the responsibility of the BOD “to ensure our policies, protocols, and actions reflect best practices.” So was the “unwavering commitment to fostering a safe and respectful environment for all members and staff.”
  • Building relationships with shareholders.  Is REVAA a shareholder?  Because that is the organization that AI is willing to go to the mattresses for – not being supportive of membership in doing so, especially not for their residential members.
  • Implementing and maintaining good corporate governance. Even Paula admits that the governance is weak.

As I have been saying for the past 8 years, the behavior of AI and the shutting off all information flow to its membership has damaged the AI brand and, therefore, damaged the designation brands MAI and SRA that membership has worked hard for. Leadership long abdicated their fiduciary responsibility to membership. 

However, others, like the example below, are trying to come to terms with what is going on at the Chicago headquarters and what it means for the future of the organization and the industry. Here is an excellent example of the thoughtful soul-searching that membership is going through.

AI Leadership Ignored Residential Membership To Enable AMCs

Here’s a good explanation by an appraiser, wondering why AI would accept endorsements from institutions that work against the best interest of AI’s residential appraiser membership?

Voice Of Appraisal Podcast

I wanted share this extremely timely listen from my friend Phil Crawford about appraisal industry leadership crisis today in The Handshake, The Sacrifice, The Trial of the Century.

Final Thoughts

The membership of the Appraisal Institute is not at fault here. It is the leadership and a small number of toxic FOJs. I think AI’s days are numbered and all the hard work members placed on getting their designations will be lost.

The Actual Final Thought – Sometimes you need to spend 18 minutes listening by yourself.

Speaking Engagements

I was invited to speak about the Long Island housing market by One Key MLS on behalf of the Long Island Board of Realtors on June 11th in Woodbury, New York.

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Image: Bloomberg

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