Monthly Archive: October 2017

Hacked! Are We to Rely on FNMA to Keep Our Private Tax Info Protected? 12

Is Your Private Tax Info Protected?

Even the Pentagon gets hacked! Do Consumers really KNOW how their loan application data is being handled? Having worked for IRS, I know it is against the law for any government employee to divulge specific (identifiable) taxpayer information without exceptional effort to get advance approval. There is no legal way for that personally identifiable taxpayer information to get into the public domain without the taxpayers specific written permission for it. Even inside IRS, we were required to protect the identification of the taxpayer in any case related situational discussions where we sought each others advice. We could talk about the...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Tax Reform & Appraisers Responsibility to Verify Data - AppraisersBlogs 12

It’s All About the Details…

The National Association of Realtors is encouraging all members and citizens to contact their representatives concerning tax reform. Congress is considering many tax reforms including the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction. See their website for further details on how the middle class can be impacted. Excerpt from NAR Tax Reform Call for Action: I urge you to oppose any tax reform plan that would weaken the tax incentives for owning a home, such as the mortgage interest deduction. Additionally, please do not let a tax reform plan increase taxes on middle-class homeowners through the elimination of the state and...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / NAR / National Association of Realtors

Reliable Is the Ugly Lie of Hybrid Appraisals Scope of Work 11

Lies, Damn Lies and More Lies

These so-called accurate and ‘reliable’ data sources are factually wrong… I was reading the Scope of Work contained in a sample Hybrid Appraisal, one of now dozens being promoted by multiple AMC’s, lenders, software developers, etc., which seem to be sweeping the secondary lending arena these days. It says… Identified and verified subject characteristics from a reliable data source such as MLS, County/City records, GIS, and online data sources. – Researched comparable sales and listings from reliable data source such as MLS, County/City records, etc.” “Reliable” is the ugly lie and supposed truth promoted by very naive or unaware people...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

Markets & Big Data Fool Proved Forecasting 10

I Got It Wrong…

“…after forty years of studying markets, I got it wrong…” As time goes on, the one thing that appears to be both a societal and financial markets constant, is our inability to learn from our past mistakes. Late, a couple of nights ago (10/23/17), while channel surfing, I happened on an economics program intended to explain the financial crisis of 2008. My apologies for referring to a programming without its name or network. Instead, I had to consider the person who was the primary focal point of the program: Hyman Minsky (see link to The Economist here). Before reading the...

a la mode / AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Software

Salary Range for Real Estate Appraisers in the US? 29

Average US Appraiser Salary

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...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / The US Department of Veterans Affairs / Trending / VA

Palm Beach AMC Solicitation Blast & Appraiser's Response 16

Appraiser’s Response to Palm Beach AMC

Palm Beach AMC, thank you for your blind/bulk solicitation. Just out of curiosity, why do you think I would share that kind of personal & confidential professional information with a firm I never heard of? I don’t even know what kind of fee schedule you are used to paying? You offer no references of any kind, yet you expect I will extend credit to you for thirty days? Without exception, THAT means that you will use MY fee to pay YOUR overhead for thirty days before you even consider sending MY fee to me. Firms that do not segregate appraiser...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Comps Sharing & Big Data By Appraisers For Appraisers 28

Big Data Assisting Appraisers

Big data comps sharing assisting appraisers… I admit to having a dog in the fight. Maybe even a pony, camel, or even a pure bred Clydesdale horse… On 10/09/2017, the owner of alamode software informed customers of a significant new change in how ‘comps’ can be added to a current report – which will be implemented sometime early next year. Read his message here. This is significant because the ability of ‘Big Data’ is being put to work ASSISTING appraisers, rather than being withheld from us as is done with the GSE’s highly touted Collateral Underwriter – even though ‘we’...

a la mode / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models

Community Bankers Voice Their Concern About Real Estate Appraisal 19

Bankers Concerned About Appraisals

Community bankers said appraisals are becoming a concern… A survey was distributed by state banking regulatory agencies in April and remained open through July. More than 600 community bankers from across the U.S. lent their voices to this year’s survey, and those views are captured in this volume. Responses are summarized and presented in following five major areas: Local market conditions; regulation and supervision; small business lending; management structure and succession planning; and technology. The responses provide context for the data gathered through the survey and highlight some of the dierent challenges faced by community banks in different states. The...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM

Driver for Appraisal Inspections? Do You Need an Appraiser Driver? 9

Do You Need an Appraiser Driver?

Using a Driver for Appraisal Inspections… Anyone who’s followed me for a while knows that I have three main aims. I want to help real estate appraisers make their business more efficient, more effective, and generate more money. People almost always assume that making more money relies only on cutting costs. This is completely inaccurate. If you become more efficient and more effective, and work smarter instead of working harder, then you’ll start boosting your income. In the past, one of the ways in which I’ve made my work more efficient, and in effect spent money to make more money,...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Business Development

Properties Editing Tool of Collateral Underwriter 4.2 Misinterpreted 17

Misinterpreted CU Update Message

Where the EDITs are used, they are within the "model properties"… Folks, This is the message many appraisers have seen over the past week or so, which came from FNMA: “During the weekend of Dec. 9, we will implement Collateral Underwriter® (CU™) 4.2, (which includes) the ability to edit the subject and appraiser-provided comparable sales property characteristics. CU 4.2 will also provide mortgage insurers (MIs) with access to CU. Lenders will be able to give their MI risk partners access to appraisal-specific data by providing them the Doc File ID generated at the time of appraisal submission.” As so often happens...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter / CU / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

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