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Glenn Beck and the rest of the “Entertainment Media”:

“In my opinion, 70% to 80% of appraisals that were done during the housing boom are probably not worth the paper they’re written on because the appraisers…were rewarded with more volume…”

Jonathon Miller, New York Appraiser during interview with Glenn Beck

I am sure many of you watched the interview Glenn Beck gave to Jonathon Miller. When someone first told me of it my initial thought was to lambaste the appraiser. I have thought on it for some time now, and I realize that while the percentage seems high that Mr. Miller quoted; for me to say he’s wrong I would be just as unfounded in my opinion. I hope that the percentages are not that high, but I truly do not know. I do think it is unprofessional of Mr. Miller to throw out such an unfounded estimation.

I applaud his courage to step out there, but he tossed us all under the bus whether he intended to or not. Mr. Beck, like every other talking head out there grabs the first person spouting numbers that sounds sensational enough to draw ratings and he lets one nut job paint a bleak portrait of an entire profession.

Why is there not more coverage of this issue in the media and amongst the candidates for office? The simple solution really boils down to the pressure from the lenders. No appraiser woke up one day and said “Gee, today I want to eat breakfast and then go commit mortgage fraud before my 2 o'clock massage.” The fact is there are immoral appraisers, but the lending industry, mortgage brokers in particular, made huge profits by trolling for inexperienced or unethical appraisers. Their pressure and willingness to push for the sake of a commission is what caused this.

The interview and segment was not all bad, but it did paint some mighty big brush strokes. I know of many ethical and upstanding residential appraisers. Why does Mr. Beck and the rest of the “Entertainment Media” not focus on the issues that really matter, oops I forgot they are busy covering dead movie stars with fake breasts and their custody issues.

I mean here we are:  a state level official has decided to strong arm Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into an agreement that will stall investigations into their failure to protect the public.  I may be wrong, but I thought that our Federal Goverment had oversight here and should step in to decide if a formal investigation is warranted.  I think Cumo is trying to do the right thing, however it looks like his proposal is full of loop holes.  These loop holes are not really benefitting the individual appraisers, or the public in general. 

I do toss out there that all “Entertainment Media” professionals to please hear the cry for you to shine some light on a real story that really matters. I am sure your ratings will not drop to the extent that you think to cover some news that impacts each and every American homeowner out there.

So what say you Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Anderson Cooper, and the rest of you folks who have glaringly over looked the Andrew Cumo led HVCC and subsequent IVPI proposal headed up by George Dodd and Pam Crowley? I think it is time for you to leave the un-needed concerns of the entertainment world and see that America is aware of something besides what jumps up ratings. I do believe that all of you are tired of being led by the hand to cover worthless topics. I would hope there are real journalistic principles in your collective and individual consciousness.

I would think that since many of you have reported on the sub-prime problems and how they have affected minorities you would think the possible changes news worthy. As appraisers we want the ability to fairly do our jobs so we can help honest Americans make sound decisions.

Anderson Cooper: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.ac.html?10

Bill O’Reilly: oreilly@foxnews.com

Glenn Beck: me@glennbeck.com