An appraisal management company coordinates appraisal ordering, panel management, and quality-control functions between lenders and appraisers.
An appraisal management company, often called an AMC, is a firm that coordinates appraisal ordering, panel management, and quality-control functions between lenders and independent appraisers.
An AMC matters because many borrowers assume the lender directly picks and manages every appraiser. In practice, an AMC often sits in the middle of that process and helps handle assignment, communication, and review steps.
It also matters because the AMC is not the same thing as the appraiser. The appraiser produces the valuation opinion. The AMC helps administer the workflow around that valuation.
Borrowers usually encounter the AMC after applying, when the lender orders the appraisal during underwriting.
The term becomes practical if the borrower is waiting on valuation progress, asking who is coordinating the order, or trying to understand why appraisal communication does not always go directly through the loan officer.
A lender orders an appraisal for a purchase loan. Instead of contacting an appraiser directly, the lender sends the order through an appraisal management company that assigns an eligible appraiser and reviews the completed report before delivery.
An appraisal management company differs from an Appraisal because the appraisal is the valuation report and process, while the AMC coordinates the administrative side of ordering and reviewing that work.
It also differs from a Broker Price Opinion (BPO). An AMC is a coordinating company, while a BPO is one type of value estimate.