AMC Consolidaton – Class Valuation (formerly Class Appraisal) of Troy, MI is acquiring Landmark Network, of Van Nuys, CA. This document does not say ‘when’ it will occur, or if the transaction has concluded, but the way it is written, the implication is that it’s a “dun deel.” Anybody have any scuttlebutt on which of the hundreds of the remaining AMC’s might be next to be consolidated with another one? Landmark Network’s email: Hello! Eleven years ago, I set out to create a different kind of appraisal management company. One that truly valued our appraiser partners while embracing the efforts...
The OCC, Board, and FDIC (collectively, the agencies) are inviting comment on a proposed rule to amend the agencies’ regulations requiring appraisals for certain real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold level at or below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate-related transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Consistent with the requirement for other transactions that fall below applicable thresholds, regulated institutions would be required to obtain an evaluation of the real property collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The proposed rule would make conforming changes to add transactions secured by...
Audit amc’s for C&R payment compliance nationally… A wrongful denial of that immunity is effectively unreviewable because it subjects states and related entities to the indignity of defending sovereign action through protracted litigation. Delaying appeals or orders denying state action immunity will interfere with their regulatory freedom by distracting officials from their duties and hindering their discretionary actions. Please allow me to help with a summary of the past 10 years in the appraisal industry. Amc’s are billion dollar companies and they circumvent many long standing ethic and spirit of regulatory compliance laws in states where they operate. They shop...
States Support Louisiana Real Estate Appraiser Board against the FTC States (and appraisers) are very interested in the outcome of the LREAB vs FTC to protect their own sovereign actions. On July 11, 2018, the states of Mississippi, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, and Utah filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit supporting the Louisiana Real Estate Appraiser Board. See the entire brief here or below. The outcome of this will impact each and every one of us. As we reported a few days ago, one lender, BB&T, has opted to step up...
…specific prohibited direction to appraisers involved in federally regulated transactions… Improper direction to appraisers as a new special lender condition Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen: The following article appeared in a recent online post at https://appraisersblogs.com/appraisers-asked-2-overlook-weed-cultivation (also copied to this letter following our inquiry). We consider the original author to be a credible source. Due to the serious implications of any appraisal management service giving such specific prohibited direction to appraisers involved in federally regulated transactions we believe it to be our duty to bring this to your collective attention. We respectfully request that each Federal Regulatory Agency review this issue...
Definition of FRT simply does not reflect the majority of the mortgage lending environment… So what exactly is a “federally related transaction”, or FRT for short? Wait, that’s not the right question. Let’s start here: What is NOT an FRT? It’s not a mortgage loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. It’s not lending underpinned by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs home loan program. It certainly isn’t a loan that’s sold to a Government Sponsored Enterprise (or GSE), like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Just considering a loan for sale to those two entities is enough to fall outside the...
Are you curious about the salary range for appraisers in the United States? Click this link for info on salary ranges for Real Estate Appraisers. Rising fees across the country has fueled the growth in appraiser income. That’s a good thing! Why should we be the only ‘workers’ to have their income potential held down by lenders who don’t want to pass on true costs of doing complicated appraisals to their bank clients – the actual mortgage loan consumer – while EVERYTHING else has increased? Thankfully over the past two years that has changed, as most appraisers across the US...
Fee Survey Results & Fee Increase…. Appraisers have certainly been hearing a lot of negativity lately and we finally have some good news to share. The Veterans Administration has completed its fee survey. This is good news as the VA now considers $525 as the normal fee for non-complex properties in Virginia. This equates to a 16.5% increase from the previous fee of $450. To see the new fee schedule for Virginia, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia, please click here or see table below. The fees become effective 09/01/2017. Greetings, The purpose of this communication is to...
Clear Capital suggests that the VA consider the use of a desktop appraisal On April 4, 2017, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs held a hearing on “Assessing VA Approved Appraisers And How To Improve The Program For The 21st Century.” The hearing was designed to “assess VA’s current appraisal process, as well as specific difficulties for timely appraisals in highly rural areas”, as well as to investigate possible technological solutions to mitigate timeliness issues. Much of the hearing focused on two areas: The requirements for becoming a member of the VA appraiser panel, and the baseline requirements for comparable...
Big Corporations like CoreLogic are like sharks… This morning, as I do every morning, I made some coffee and began work on one of the two appraisal reports that were soon to be due. The first was for an AMC known as Speedy Title and Appraisal Review Services. This appraisal management company is owned by CoreLogic. From their website “CoreLogic is an Irvine, CA based corporation providing financial, property and consumer information, analytics and business intelligence. The company analyzes information assets and data to provide clients with analytics and customized data services. The company also develops proprietary research, and tracks...
