Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
I just got out of an interesting conversation I had with my CPA. Eventually, our conversation veered onto the topic of work. I was curious about what it takes to get into his field (not that I’m interested in getting into it at all). We talked about our respective professions and about changes occurring in the real estate appraisal field. We got into talking about what it means to be a CPA, which is different than being an accountant. A CPA is an accountant, but an accountant isn’t always a CPA. He said anyone can hang up a shingle and...
For all the talk about how important appraisers are to risk management by the GSEs, we really aren’t. There is a compelling blog post using AEI data by Ryan Lundquist over at Sacramento Appraiser Blog. Appraisal waivers have really exploded in recent years – especially during the pandemic. But how many are there exactly? Let’s look at actual numbers to walk away with some perspective. These stats are from January 2021 from AEI. QUICK SUMMARY: 47.4% of all Freddie Mac loans had a waiver 44.5% of all Fannie Mae loans had a waiver Waivers are far more common during refinances...
An appraiser shared the following with us. Amrock is requiring all appraisers on their panel to complete a diversity, equity and inclusion training by April 19, 2021. Amrock Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training Requirement: You’re Cordially Required to Take Part in This Training Hello, As an organization, we firmly believe in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) for everyone – and we’ve taken a stance through the implementation of our DE&I Strategic Plan. As part of that plan, all Amrock team members have completed an online Cultural Competency Training. We’re now extending that requirement to all our Amrock...
If not for all the Political Correctness speech prohibitions, I could earn a living as a comedian off my family tree stereotypes alone!… One of the saddest things about Political Correctness is that we lost the ability to laugh at ourselves, including our racial stereotypes. One of my old diving partners was black, and he and I could tease each other. No, “N-word” wasn’t part of it, but things like him saying CP Time, etc. were ok and also white stereotypes were fair game. I keep waiting for some of my less restrained speech to get me labeled as a...
What are racially restrictive covenants? Are racially restrictive covenants valid and enforceable?.. There has been considerable discussion about ‘bias’ applying to appraisals on forums, and elsewhere, since the Congressional hearing in 2019 where appraisers were blamed for racial bias by the rep from the Brookings Institute. That rep vilified appraisers as being the culprits in the lending process, which is mostly bogus. Unfortunately, now that the charge has been made, appraisers and appraisal organizations are now forced to play on the defensive side of the ball, rather than being proactive and disclosing what actually transpired, on offense. I sense appraisal...
What once was a ‘three year’ project to redesign and implement revised appraisal forms has morphed into one taking far longer. Actual implementation and use of ‘new forms’ are not scheduled to happen until (presumably) early in 2024, but could be extended even further. By 2024, the currently used ‘forms’ will be 19 years old, and the current UAD overlay entering ‘teenage hood’ at 13. For context, the current Planet Mars Perseverance Rover mission to successfully plan and land scientific instruments took only 9 years! Details for the ‘forms redesign extension’ are based on the announcement from Fannie Mae (and Freddie...
What is the actual reason USPAP was extended without warning for an additional year? Don’t get me wrong. I am all for longer USPAP cycles or doing updates on an as-needed basis in an industry that changes very little. As I’ve mentioned before, Dave Bunton of TAF said during the ASB public call on February 19th that USPAP was extended another year because of COVID – yet that makes no sense. Zoom calls are ubiquitous these days, so COVID is not a legitimate reason – we can argue that TAF is MORE efficient with Zoom. I bring this up specifically...
…how to prevent a low appraisal in the first place… As real estate brokers in New York City, many buyers ask us what options exist if the appraised value comes below the contract’s purchase price. We explain how the appraisal rebuttal process works and how to prevent a low appraisal in the first place. Here are the most frequent questions buyers ask us. For this reason, we will draft this article like a Q&A. What happens when the appraisal is below the purchase price? What to do when the appraisal comes too low? How to contest a low appraisal? Can...
Bill A5185 and AMC Bill A5146 introduced to the state legislature in New Jersey show just how much state legislators don’t understand the appraisal profession. Valuation Legal warned us about this back in December: Appraiser and AMC Laws to Include Prohibitions Against Discrimination. From Bill A5185: 2. a. Prior to the initiation of a residential property appraisal, a holder of a license or certification under P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-1 et seq.) or registration under P.L.2017, c.72 (C.45:14F-27 et al.) shall provide a property seller with a document, in a form and manner prescribed by the board, informing the property seller of...
FTC vs LREAB Update The Supreme Court has denied the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board’s petition to intervene in the administrative case for price fixing by the FTC. The FTC trial is scheduled to proceed on April 20, 2021. VaCAP is closely following this case and will update you as it proceeds. To view all the activity for this case, go to the FTC’s webpage here. Working RE Appraisal Survey Let your voice be heard on what is customary and reasonable fees for your services. Working RE is conducting the annual fee survey. We have been asked to help distribute...
