The Appraiser's 90-Day Plan to Reduce AMC Dependency
If you're doing 70-80% AMC work right now, you already know the math doesn't work well. You know non-lender work pays more. You've probably read an article or two about estate attorneys and divorce lawyers.
And you haven't done anything about it.
Not because you don't want to. Because you're appraising. You're doing inspections. You're writing reports. You're dealing with revision requests. And "start marketing for private clients" keeps getting pushed to next week.
I've watched this pattern with hundreds of appraisers over the past decade. The intention is real. The follow-through dies under the weight of daily production.
So here's the plan that actually works. Not a list of aspirational goals. A week-by-week action plan that takes about 4 hours per week and fits around the fact that you're still doing appraisals full-time.
Before You Start: Know Your Numbers
Before day one, answer three questions. Write the numbers down.
What percentage of your current work is AMC? If you don't know exactly, estimate. 70%? 80%? 90%? This is your starting point.
What's your average AMC fee after their cut? Not the fee on the order - the amount that hits your bank account. For most appraisers, this is $275-375.
How many reports per month do you complete? Count last month. This gives you your current capacity.
These three numbers establish your baseline. In 90 days, you'll compare them to where you end up.
Days 1-30: Build Your Foundation
The first month isn't about getting clients. It's about becoming findable.
Week 1: Your online presence.
If you have a website, update it to mention non-lender services explicitly. Add "estate appraisals," "divorce appraisals," and "private party appraisals" to your services page. If you don't have a website, get one set up - it doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to exist, mention your services, and show up when someone Googles "estate appraiser [your city]."
Claim or update your Google Business Profile. Add "Estate Appraisal" and "Divorce Appraisal" as services. Upload 5-10 photos of you working (your truck, a property exterior, your inspection kit - real photos, not stock images). Write a description that mentions your non-lender specialties. This takes about 2 hours total and it's the single highest-ROI marketing action an appraiser can take.
Week 2: Build your prospect list.
Identify 30 estate and probate attorneys in your market. Use your local bar association directory, Google, and your state's attorney licensing database. Write their names, firms, addresses, and email addresses in a spreadsheet. (Or use Appraiser Machine's prospecting tools to automate the search.)
Also identify 10 divorce/family law attorneys using the same sources. You now have a list of 40 prospects. That's your outreach list for the next 60 days.
Week 3: Send your first 10 letters.
Use the estate attorney introduction template from How to Get Estate Attorney Clients. Customize each one with the attorney's name and firm. Send 10 letters this week - email, physical letter, or both.
You're going to feel uncomfortable. Every appraiser does. You're not a marketer. You're an appraiser who's sending professional introduction letters. That's all. One appraiser I work with described it as "the most awkward 30 minutes of my week that turned into the most profitable decision of my career."
Week 4: Follow up and send 10 more.
Follow up by email with the 10 attorneys you contacted in week 3. Send 10 new introduction letters to the next batch on your list. Join your local bar association as an associate or allied member if available - some bar associations have directories where you can list as a resource for attorneys.
Month 1 goal: 20 attorneys contacted. Google Business Profile live. Website updated. By the end of month 1, you should have 1-3 responses and possibly your first non-lender order.
Days 31-60: Build Momentum
The second month is where the foundation starts producing.
Week 5-6: Continue outreach and start following up.
Send your remaining 20 letters (the divorce attorneys and the rest of your estate attorney list). Follow up on all previous contacts - a brief email checking in. Phone calls to any attorneys who responded positively but haven't sent work yet.
Aim for 10 new contacts and 10 follow-ups per week. Total time: about 2 hours per week.
Week 7: Complete your first non-lender appraisal.
When your first estate or divorce order comes in, over-deliver. Perfect the report. Deliver it a day early if possible. Follow up with the attorney after delivery to make sure the report met their needs. This first impression determines whether you become their go-to appraiser or a one-time vendor.
Week 8: Ask for referrals and reviews.
After delivering your first non-lender report, ask two things. First, ask the attorney if they have colleagues who also need appraisal services - a warm referral from one attorney to another is the most effective introduction. Second, ask satisfied clients to leave a Google review mentioning the type of work (estate, divorce, etc.). These reviews help you show up in future searches.
Month 2 goal: 40 attorneys contacted total. 2-5 non-lender appraisals completed. First Google reviews from non-lender clients. Your AMC percentage should be starting to shift - maybe from 75% to 65-70%.
Days 61-90: Systematize
The third month is about turning outreach from a project into a system.
Week 9-10: Create your ongoing rhythm.
Outreach is not a campaign that ends. It's a weekly activity that continues as long as you want non-lender work to grow. Establish a Friday afternoon routine: 30 minutes sending new introduction letters, 30 minutes following up on previous contacts, 30 minutes updating your prospect list, 30 minutes on any other marketing activity (updating Google Business Profile, writing a market update for your attorney contacts).
Four hours per week. That's the system. It doesn't sound like much because it isn't much. The compound effect is what makes it work.
Week 11: Raise your fees.
By week 11, you should have completed several non-lender appraisals and have a sense of what the market supports. If you started at $500 for estate work, raise to $550. If you started at $600 for divorce work, test $650. The market will tell you if you've overshot - but in most cases, you haven't.
Week 12: Evaluate and plan the next 90 days.
Compare your numbers to your baseline. What percentage is AMC now? What's your average non-lender fee? How many non-lender clients do you have? How many are repeat clients?
Appraisers who follow a plan like this consistently — sending letters, following up, delivering well — are positioned to shift their AMC mix meaningfully within 90 days, with non-lender revenue growing each month after that.
Month 3 goal: 1-2 recurring attorney relationships established. 5-10 non-lender appraisals completed. Fee schedule set and published. Weekly outreach rhythm established. AMC dependency reduced by 15-25%.
The Obstacles (And Why They Don't Matter as Much as You Think)
"I don't have time." You're spending 5-7 hours on each AMC appraisal that pays $300. Four hours of marketing per week can generate estate clients paying $600 each. The math favors the marketing time, even at the expense of one AMC order.
"I'm not good at marketing." You're not running a marketing agency. You're sending introduction letters to attorneys who need your professional services. The template is provided. The list is buildable. The follow-up is a brief email. If you can write an appraisal narrative, you can write an introduction letter.
"I tried this before and it didn't work." Was "tried" 5 letters with no follow-up? That's not failure - that's not enough volume. The system works when the effort is consistent. Ten letters a week, every week, for 12 weeks. That's the minimum effective dose.
"I'm too close to retirement." This is actually the best time to build non-lender relationships, because a practice with attorney clients and systems is sellable. A practice with only AMC work isn't. (More on this in Is Your Appraisal Practice Worth Anything?.)
What 90 Days Actually Looks Like
Here's the realistic version. You send 10 letters in week 3. Two attorneys respond. One sends you an estate appraisal in week 6. You deliver it, and the attorney is happy. The second attorney sends you a divorce appraisal in week 8. You ask both for referrals. One refers you to a colleague. By week 12, you have 3 attorney relationships producing 4-6 appraisals per month at $550-700 each.
If the math plays out — and it depends on your market, your follow-through, and the relationships you build — that could mean $2,200-$4,200 per month in new revenue. From 4 hours of marketing per week. With no AMC taking a cut.
It's not dramatic. It's not overnight. It's 90 days of consistent, modest effort that can compound into a fundamentally different practice.
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Jon Barrett
Jon Barrett is the founder of Appraiser Machine and has spent over a decade working with independent appraisers. He's built 300+ appraiser websites, co-led a national appraiser mastermind group, and talked with hundreds of appraisers about what's actually working in their practices. He built Appraiser Machine because the operations side of running an appraisal practice was still stuck in spreadsheets and duct tape - and appraisers deserved better.
