Category: Appraisal Subcommittee

Appraisal news for real estate appraisers and real estate professionals regarding Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC). News relating to the Appraisal Industry.

The Lack of Transparency in Appraiser Compensation 12

The Lack of Transparency in Appraiser Compensation

The current system of bundling appraiser compensation with third-party fees can lead to confusion and frustration for both appraisers and consumers.  In their letter to the ASC, NAR highlighted the importance of appropriate compensation for appraisers. They stated that fair and reasonable compensation is critical to attracting and retaining high-quality appraisers, as well as allowing them to invest in their skills and education. However, the current system lacks transparency when it comes to reporting appraiser compensation. The issue lies in the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) form, which requires an aggregate appraisal fee to be reported. This means that the fee...

Recap of the 4th Appraisal Bias Hearing 9

Recap of the 4th ASC Appraisal Bias Hearing

On February 13th, 2024, the fourth ASC appraisal bias hearing took place. For those who were unable to attend, the video of the hearing has been included below. The hearing was a crucial event for the appraisal industry, and it is important for all appraisers to be aware of the discussions and topics addressed. The panel of witnesses included: David Bunton, President, The Appraisal Foundation E.C. Neelly IV, Executive Director, Mississippi Real Estate Appraisal Board Maureen Sweeney, Principal, Maureen Sweeney, Real Estate Appraiser Ltd. Melissa Tran, Director, Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board Jillian White, Chief Executive Officer, Appraisal Insights...

Are the Courts a Remedy for Nation's Financial Truth-Tellers? 8

Are the Courts a Remedy for Nation’s Financial Truth-Tellers?

Politicized boards and commissions with little accountability to the electorate want to deplatform these truth-tellers at every turn.  This month, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Regulatory State. Financial analysts, fiduciaries, auditors and appraisers should take heart. Those targeted by a growing number of independent agencies, boards and commissions may now immediately challenge an agency’s constitutionality in federal court without having to submit to a drawn-out administrative process that frequently serves only the interests of the agency being challenged. The decision couldn’t have come soon enough, as an army of assorted technocrats, believers, grand viziers, cronies, hustlers...

How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted 21

How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted

At the crossroads of it all is a campaign to weaken or eliminate valuations… The nonprofit is now exploring ways it can set standards for automated valuations… Expect greater distortions from Freddie and Fannie’s plodding and committee-driven foray into automated valuations.  Sometimes when the hair on the back of your neck stands up, there’s a reason for it. The nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market has been nationalized. This coup occurred in broad daylight and gradually. With Freddie and Fannie now in their second decade in federal conservatorship, the prospect that they will ever again be subjected to the watchful eye...

Look in the Mirror 15

Look in the Mirror

The phrase “take a look in the mirror” is a common idiom used to encourage self-reflection and introspection. It is a powerful statement that can evoke a range of emotions and reactions from individuals, from contemplation to defensiveness. At its core, the phrase is a call to examine oneself honestly and objectively. It asks us to step back from our assumptions, biases, and preconceptions and consider our behavior, choices, and beliefs in a critical light. When we take a look in the mirror, we are forced to confront our flaws and shortcomings, but also to recognize our strengths and achievements....

The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap 77

The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap

Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem… Blaming appraisers for the income gap is as ridiculous as blaming appraisers for gun violence and gas prices. I watched the January 24, 2023 ASC Appraisal Bias hearing. Comments were requested after the hearing. This letter is my comment. I’ve been a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California for 40 years. I’ve been a licensed California Certified Residential Appraiser since licenses were first offered in 1993/1994. I’m a Latino woman who speaks English and Spanish. I appraise property in the diverse county of Los Angeles and...

ASC Data Breach Involving Social Security Numbers 8

ASC Data Breach Involving Social Security Numbers

On October 13, 2022, the Appraisal Subcommittee discovered a data breach that occurred on the new ASC.gov website. The incident involved Social Security Numbers. They made an announcement on January 24, 2023 and have contacted all State Appraiser Regulatory Agencies concerning the data breach. They are also notifying all individuals whose Personal Identifiable Information had potential for exposure. Those appraisers who could have had their data exposed will be offered credit monitoring to prevent identity theft. The Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) is contacting all State Appraiser Regulatory Agencies concerning a data breach that occurred on the ASC.gov website. Please note: This...

Bias & Discrimination in Reports 11

Bias and Discrimination in Reports, Yes or No?

Appraisers, should we include discussion of B&D in our reports? Wait, What?? Bondage and Discipline? No, not that. Bias and Discrimination. Yes, it must be addressed very clearly. Now, before you blow a cork or throw your mouse at the computer screen, let’s examine what’s really been impacting ‘us’ for the past 4 plus years. One of our peers, who’s become somewhat famous for the way articles are written about appraisal and other topics, had a recent article ‘rebroadcasted’ in AppraisersBlogs, FTX Bought Government’s Silence; Did Fintechs Buy Attacks on Appraisers? A statement in that article exposes some of what has...

Racket at Attorneys General Group Will Ring Familiar to Appraisers 1

Attorneys General Shady Business

Racket at Attorneys General Group Will Ring Familiar to Appraisers The nation’s licensed real property appraisers will recognize a scheme run by a nonprofit known as the National Association of Attorneys General. It will remind the former of the abuses visited on them by a tiny, free-spending 501(c)(3) publisher and its captured federal minder. The National Association of Attorneys General describes itself as a nonpartisan national forum for America’s state and territory attorneys general and their staff members. The group has close ties with trial lawyers, who bring tort cases on behalf of the states’ top law enforcement officers and...

Hit Pieces & Diatribes Against Appraisers Based on Census Tracts 15

Diatribes Against Appraisers

What’s even more frustrating to me is none of the well-known appraiser organizations have offered any public rebuttal to any of these hit pieces, or explained how the appraisal process works as a way to defend appraisers… Census Tract data delineating RACE of the population is the only ammunition the people doing these hit pieces can use to attack appraisers. Appraisers, this is a long article but it’s important, as it reveals how you are being discredited in the work you do. Yet, ‘we’ must begin doing some introspection of what we are or have been doing, and make necessary...

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