Category: VA

ASC Blaming Appraisers For Low Home Values in Communities of Color 64

ASC Blaming Appraisers

The Appraisal Subcommittee, because they were directed to do so, has produced a report, which frankly and explicitly lays the blame for low market values of homes in ‘communities of color’ directly at the feet of independent appraisers involved with mortgage lending. You will start seeing accusatory slanted media reports about this report. ABC news already has distributed it. A TV station in San Francisco has aired a story already. Yes, the report casually mentions actual facts that GOVERNMENT policies and procedures promulgated segregated and extraordinarily unfair housing issues in the US, from the 1930’s into the early 1960’s. The...

Call to Comment; AMC Disciplinary Action; VA Looking for Appraisers 1

Call to Comment; AMC Disciplinary Action

1. A Call to Comment has been issued. 2. VA is looking for Appraisers. 3. AMC Disciplinary Action Snowballs into Multiple States… A Call to Comment has been issued. The FTC is asking for public comments on the consent decree by the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board. The time line to comment is short and ends on July 22, 2021. VaCAP asks each of you to take a few minutes and read the consent decree as well as the analysis provided by the FTC before commenting. The link for the Federal Register that contains all the information can be found...

The Greatest Recession - The Hesitance to Accept Modified Appraisals 18

The Greatest Recession

The Greatest Recession is now spreading across the US. The investor’s hesitance to accept modified appraisals without interior inspections will prevent the real estate market from leading this country out of “The Greatest Recession” now spreading across the US… Appraisers provide an essential financial service according to the verbiage I’ve read from The Department of Homeland Security and various sources. We are exempt from “stay at home” orders. The State of Colorado has defined appraisal services and appraisers as providing an essential financial and professional service. Colorado says that appraisers are exempt from stay at home orders. An abundance of...

Exterior Appraisals & Temporary Appraisal Guidelines During COVID-19 16

COVID-19 Temporary Appraisal Guidelines

Fannie and Freddie are giving preference to desktop appraisals over exterior appraisals, which quite frankly, is completely backwards from what most appraisers believe to be a more reliable appraisal. HUD and the Veterans Administration, on the other hand prefer exterior appraisals…

Veterans Administration on Hybrid Appraisals - Protecting Veterans 8

Veterans Administration on Hybrid Appraisals

See the announcement by the Veterans Administration basically telling lenders and appraisal management companies we are going to protect our Veterans with sound appraisal practice. …the person providing property information to the appraiser must have entered into an agreement with the appraiser to do so. …the person who provides to the VA fee panel appraiser information must sign the appraisal report in the “Appraiser” section of the left side of the appraisal report. Assisted Appraisal Processing Program (AAPP) This section authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Secretary to issue guidance explaining the conditions under which VA permits VA fee...

Data and Verification Sources Are Critical 11

Data and Verification Sources Are Critical

The genesis for this essay began when I heard from another appraiser that a VA report reviewer rejected the comparables “DOC Number” on the Verification Source(s) line. The reviewer said the “DOC Number” was not acceptable as a Verification Source. In fact, VA has said in a newsletter to appraisers that “… Assessor’s File Number may never be used as a Verification Source.” I disagree with that position, and this essay explains why. It also explains what appraisers should do to provide credible Data and Verification Source(s) in reports. Caveat: I don’t do VA assignments. I decided that a deeper dive...

Appraisal Fee Transparency Falls Short - Appraisal Complexity Ignored 9

Appraisal Fee Transparency Bill Falls Short

No system that continues to allow (or limit) defining appraisal complexity to the lender or AMC will ever achieve reasonable, or fair compensation for the appraiser…. We need to do much better than “half a loaf” in our appraisal legislative efforts. Especially when that half loaf does no more than enshrine continued price-fixing by lenders; with the support & blessing of REVAA… WorkingRE published news of recent House of Representatives action. The Bill addresses consumer disclosure of AMC fees among other issues. While the American Guild of Appraisers applauds the efforts of those that worked in good faith on this,...

Loans Affected by the $400,000 Appraisal Threshold Increase 2

Loans Affected by the De Minimus Increase

NCUA is advocating for an increase in the de minimus to $400K for loans provided by Credit Unions… The $400,000 de minimus is now ‘official’ but it doesn’t apply to most appraisals. Here’s an article from HousingWire, published on 10/8/2019, which correctly states when this change took effect, which you should read. From the article: Now, it’s important to note that the new rules do not apply to loans wholly or partially insured or guaranteed by, or eligible for sale to, a government agency or government-sponsored agency. What that means is that loans sold to or guaranteed by the Federal...

The Raising of the De Minimus and Its Impact on the Appraisal Industry 11

De Minimus Impact on the Appraisal Industry

THREE changes to the de minimus have been experienced, with very little negative impact to appraising as a whole… Folks, anytime there is a major change proposed or activated within the appraisal profession, many appraisers go into hyperventilation mode. The action taken on August 20, 2019, by the FDIC to raise the de minimus LOAN VALUE from $250,000 to $400,000 has had such an effect among many, but it may not be as dire as anticipated. An appraiser sent this 2018 HousingWire article to me earlier today: Within the body of the article, this is stated, which is taken from...

Subject Street Scene Photos' Policy - Appraisers Blogs 13

Street Scene Photos of the Subject Property

Appraisers, the discussion of subject photos occurred recently on a forum I read. How many of you know the street scene “view” policy of FHA and FNMA? How many of you were trained to just take ONE photo from the very front of the subject, looking down the street in one direction or the other (without having the subject in the photo)? Is that ‘good enough’ for a lender to know the context of where the subject is on the street? If a ‘street view policy’ between agencies is more strict for one, would it be appropriate to adopt that policy for...

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