Comergence says the fact that appraisers are not required to show an identification badge to the owner of a house before entrance is a problem.
Appraisers officially do not have to provide identification, even a driver’s license, when they come to a house to begin the appraisal process. But six months ago, Comergence, a Mission Viejo, Calif.-based company, introduced an idea foreign to some appraisers — identification badges.
With these new badges in full view, home and business owners can verify the name of the appraiser by their Comergence number and photo, which is accessed through the company’s online system.
Since the service became available, only 22 of the 300 appraisers in Orange County have signed up for a badge.
“A badge doesn’t identify you any differently than a business card does,” local Appraisal Institute president Susan Merrick told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s pretty much typical operating procedure to give a business card when you go to the door. From a residential standpoint, it’s totally useless as far as I’m concerned.”
Merrick said most appraisers are hired by a lending institution, so most homeowners are expecting an appraiser to show up at their door.
Comergence president Greg Schroeder, whose company is best known for software used by lenders to approve and monitor mortgage originators, came up with the idea after lenders told him they wanted background checks on appraisers before using their information to issue loans.
For $59 a year, appraisers can sign up with Comergence. After uploading documents — such as a copy of their appraiser’s license and sample of their work — their information is verified by the company and the profile is included in its database, with a badge ready to be ordered.
The state Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers says there is no law requiring appraisers to carry identification and has no opinion on Comergence. Bureau head Jim Martin said he was not aware of any recent occurrences, at least in the last two years, of someone posing as an appraiser.
As for the benefits of using the Comergence identification badge service, San Diego appraiser Benjamin Clements said he signed up with Comergence because it allowed him to pay a one-time fee to obtain the proper verification, which AMCs can access by way of the company’s website.
“I just notice people are more comfortable with the fact I’m walking around taking pictures of the property with an identification badge,” Clements said. “They don’t seem as antsy or anxious when they can see I’m an appraiser with proper identification.”