“I do bank work.”
It’s like an uncomfortable confession by many fee appraisers.
The disconnect between chief appraisers and fee appraisers isn’t just a communication gap.
It’s a relationship problem.
One rooted in old assumptions, reinforced by lack of communication and made worse by appraisers working in the shadows.
This issue isn’t across the boards since some chief appraisers having solid relationships with their fee panel. However, they’re the exceptions.
But here’s what doesn’t add up. Many of these same appraisers rely on bank work for 50%+ of their income.
The issue is fees.
Some appraisers panic when work slows and gut their fees just to stay busy.
That mindset, “at least we have work” is devaluing the profession.
This attitude conditions clients to expect low fees and reinforces the dismissive “bank work” label, keeping the profession trapped in a cycle of low value and even lower respect.
The willingness to race to the bottom on fees creates this rift.
But here’s the thing: we need each other.
And more importantly, we’re better together when that relationship shifts from compliance to collaboration.
What if we treated bank work not as second-tier, but as the high-trust, recurring business opportunity it actually is?
What if the chief appraiser wasn’t seen as a gatekeeper, but as a strategic ally, someone who can help elevate your practice, not suppress it?
What if we stopped pretending this was a vendor/client transaction and admitted what it really is: a partnership.
Contrary to what fee appraisers think, chief appraisers don’t want super low fees.
What they want is good quality consistent reports. Fee appraisers would be surprised how many different stakeholders in the bank rely on their report.
The typical report review kickback is 40%, that’s a sign of Walmart pricing.
Chief appraisers: invest in your vendors. Know them, mentor them, raise the bar together.
Fee appraisers: stop undercutting your own value.
The path forward starts with humility and ends with trust.
And maybe, just maybe, less “I do bank work” and more “I help banks manage risk with precision.”
Words matter.
Relationships matter more.
