Category: Appraisal Organizations

Broker Price Opinions BPOs 1

Downturn in Market Leads to Upturn in BPOs

BPOs as an alternative to appraisals! Over the last year, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of broker’s price opinions (a.k.a. comparative market analysis, broker’s estimate of value, etc.) that are being performed by real estate brokers and salespeople, in lieu of appraisals. While BPOs were previously used for very limited purposes, they are now being used as valuation products in the finance arena, primarily for the review of distressed properties prior to short sales or foreclosure. They are also being used in areas previously unimagined several years ago, including segments of the commercial market. The increase...

One Small Step for an Appraiser; One Giant Step for the Profession of Real Estate Appraising 4

One Small Step for an Appraiser; One Giant Step for the Profession of Real Estate Appraising

On August 10, the Arizona Board of Appraisal dismissed the USPAP violation complaint filed by Chase Bank against John Dingeman on initial file review. Why is this newsworthy? Because it represents a major victory for appraisers everywhere. Dingeman, has been fighting strong arm tactics employed by Chase Bank in an attempt to force him to violate Client confidentiality by discussing details about an appraisal on a no-defunct loan that Chase acquired. Dingman took his fight right to the street starting a petition on Change.org and other outlets to share his story with fellow appraisers. We are happy to also report...

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Mortgage Originators: Appraisals a Huge Concern

Early results released Aug. 20 from the 2012 Loan Originator Survey conducted by Mortgage Daily revealed that the real estate appraisal process is considered one of the most frustrating issues for mortgage loan originators. Respondents also cited the Dodd-Frank Act as having a big impact on their business. The results are only preliminary because the survey is ongoing and won’t officially close until Sept. 15. Respondents must be mortgage originators registered in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. The survey showed strong opposition to current appraisal requirements, with many respondents having made negative comments about today’s appraisal environment. Most...

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Gordon Cowden Children’s Fund

Morning Appraisers, I am writing to you in sadness, but yet, with hope. One of the victims in the Aurora theater killings was Gordon Cowden, a fellow appraiser. He was taking his two teenage daughters to the movie and he was gunned down. REAA has opened a memorial fund to help his family. Along with the natural grief and pain, they are facing the possibility of losing their home. On our home page of www.reaaca.org is a donate button that takes credit cards and pay pal accounts. We are in the process of fine tuning the page with

Sanitizing appraisal images 1

Picture This! If You Dare!

Images of personal items and people must go! Crime and Punishment The appraiser who took the interior image below is currently serving a ten year sentence in the Fair Housing Maximum Security Prison outside of Atlanta. The charges ranged from willful imaging of stockings hung with care to wanton display of a nutcracker and malicious showcasing of Micky and Minnie without their written consent. Actually, the image below was taken by yours truly about a decade ago and somehow survived the underwriting process. The mythology of what constitutes a Fair Housing violation continues to vex this profession like some movie...

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Supervisory Appraiser & Trainee Appraiser

AQB Issues Proposed Supervisory Appraiser and Trainee Appraiser Course Objectives and Content Outline The goal of the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (Criteria) is to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice by establishing minimum education, experience, and examination requirements for real property appraisers. On December 9, 2011, The Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) adopted changes to the Criteria that will become effective January 1,2015. These changes represent minimum national requirements that each state must implement no later than January 1, 2015. One of the changes adopted by the AQB requires that both Supervisory Appraisers and...

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AI Asks HUD to Withdraw Section 8 Provision Eliminating Appraisals

The Appraisal Institute and the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers issued a comment letter July 16 in response to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule on regulatory changes to their Section 8 Voucher Program. The rule proposes to eliminate an existing requirement that an appraisal be used to determine initial rent contracts to a Section 8 building owner. HUD cited a “lack of availability of state-certified appraisers” and “increased expenses in order to acquire state-certified appraisers” as the reasons for eliminating the appraisal requirement. In their joint letter, AI and ASFMRA asked HUD...

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Appraisal Practices Board: A Free Resource for Appraisers

The genesis of the Appraisal Practices Board was the collapse of the housing market in 2008… Congressional Hearing Provides Opportunity to Clarify Purpose – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29, 2012. Washington, DC – The Appraisal Foundation (TAF), a non-profit education organization dedicated to professional valuation, testified yesterday before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. The hearing, entitled Appraisal Oversight: The Regulatory Impact on Consumers and Businesses, focused on the Appraiser Regulatory System in place today and whether there is need for modifications or improvement of this system. One issue discussed...

Drive By Upgrade 0

Drive By Upgrade

How many times have you received a drive-by assignment only to come across a view from your car like the image below? This was my view back in the summer of 2004. I notified my client that they needed to upgrade to a full interior/exterior inspection appraisal. The loan officer had a fit. “The house is over 4,000 square feet. They just put $100,000 into a new addition and installed a massive new deck!” barked the loan officer. “Then I definitely need to get inside,” I said. She cancelled the order. When they took back the house in 2008, none of...

Appraisal Complaint Hotline to Open This Year 2

Appraisal Complaint Hotline to Open This Year

Appraisal Complaint Hotline The Appraisal Subcommittee, a federal monitor of state bodies responsible for governing valuations, will open an appraisal complaint hotline by the end of the year, HousingWire reported July 2. The appraisal complaint hotline, required by the Dodd-Frank Act, will allow homebuyers, real estate agents, lenders and others in the industry to file complaints about appraisers and appraisal management companies. “ASC member agencies are currently working to finalize the details for how they will handle the referral of a complaint from the hotline,” ASC Executive Director James Park noted in House testimony, HousingWire reported. Park reported that a...

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