The valuation realm has grown considerably. Today, there’s a cornucopia of valuation products to fill every niche — from lending to mortgage insurance. Though appraisers scoffed at many of the appraisal alternative valuations when they first hit the market place, there is a growing trend of appraisers getting into alternative valuation.

A Chicago-area real estate investor, the president of a Colorado real estate financing company and a licensed appraiser were indicted for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans totaling more than $750,000 by selling three residential properties in Chicago to nominee buyers.

Two plaintiffs sued First American eAppraiseIT, alleging the company conspired with Washington Mutual Bank and Lender’s Service Inc. to inflate the appraised value of their properties so that Washington Mutual could sell the security interests attached their mortgage loans at an inflated price and violating RESPA Section 8. They also filed a motion for class certification, which the court granted.

Scott Rager acknowledged that a lot of appraisers might be unhappy with him providing collateral evaluations to supplement his appraisal business. He’s more concerned with doing a quality job and keeping clients happy than the judgment of his peers.

Your 10th birthday is a big one. By that time, you’ve learned a few things, gotten the feel for how life works and made a friend or two along the way. But it’s just the beginning. A lot has changed since Valuation Review hit the appraisal scene in 2002. Starting out as Appraisal Intelligence, the publication saw early success in an industry that was undergoing a massive change.

Scott is the first to admit that he can take a few liberties in his appraisal career that aren’t an option for most appraisers. That doesn’t mean that Scott doesn’t work just as hard to make his own ends meet. In fact, full blown appraisals are hard to come by in Scott’s local Northeast Ohio market. He makes up for it with alternative valuation products, many of them being collateral evaluations.