When I talk to our appraisers about legal matters affecting them, many of them want to know which lenders file the most claims against our appraisers. My current answer for who is No. 1 on that list is easy: Nationstar Mortgage in Dallas, Texas, formerly known as Centex Home Equity, is asserting the most claims. It appears that Nationstar employs a staff whose job function is to make claims against appraisers on the rotten loans in Nationstar’s portfolio and to pursue appraisers with calls, emails and letters demanding money, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Nationstar was identified, as of March 2007, as the 8th largest subprime loan originator. In 2006, the company was purchased by Fortress Investment Group. Fortress is a New York City-based hedge fund manager. It went public in February 2007 and is traded under the symbol FIG.


Peter Christensen

I am an attorney and principal of the Christensen Law Firm. The matters that I handle and the clients whom I serve are focused on valuation services. My work ranges from the regulatory and structural details of providing valuation services to professional liability and disciplinary issues.