All of these "alternative evaluations" are an attempt to reduce the fee of the appraiser… All this talk about alternatives to a full appraisal needs some common business sense added to the conversation. At the end of these comments I will include some of my background and you can make your decision if you think I am qualified to put my 2 cents in this discussion. I have said this before and I will say it again, the lenders (AMC included) just want an Appraisers signature and their E&O insurance with a value and they want it as cheap as...
Hensarling Lays Out Principles for Housing Finance Reform, Expresses Support for Bipartisan Approach “I stand ready to negotiate….with any other stakeholder that shares my belief that America deserves a sustainable housing finance system, and deserves one now.” WASHINGTON – House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) today outlined reforms to fix America’s broken housing finance system. During a speech at a conference on the future of the U.S. housing market, Chairman Hensarling said he would work on a bipartisan basis to come up with a reform package provided it included certain key principles. He also pointed to a proposal authored...
Lenders are having a problem finding enough appraisers to fulfill the number of ‘alternative’ reports… This is my follow-up to the previous essay about FIVE different types of ‘hybrid’ reports. You need to know some background about why I’m writing about this. I’m acquainted with a highly skilled appraiser/instructor of 40+/- years in the trenches. I had the pleasure of meeting this appraiser in glitter gulch in 2008, again in 2013, and we have stayed in touch over the years. I greatly respect this appraiser’s opinions and willingness to contribute cogent remarks in-person, when teaching, and via various forum posts, etc....
If the ASC grants the request for appraisal waivers, the precedent will have been set for other banks to follow… TriStar Bank has requested appraisal waivers for the entire year of 2018. According to the bank, they are having difficulty getting appraisals in the Nashville area and there is only one Certified General Appraiser in the the locality in which they are headquartered. Below is an excerpt form their letter to the ASC. They offer options in lieu of appraisals: Obtain an estimated value from a Realtor, selected from a small group of trusted Realtors who are not involved in...
….getting a suggested listing price based on a computer and not a licensed professional’s skill, is the new trend and it is very bad for consumers…. “Since then, we’ve become RPR’s biggest fans. It has helped grow our business because it has given us more credibility.” A recent article talks about the benefits of using the Realtor® edition of online home valuations. This growing trend is frightening for home owners as more and more agents rely on computers to price real estate instead of using their time, skill, and research to calculate home values the right way. When it comes to...
Should you disclose portal fees… Appraisers, Some of you know that I have written numerous times about my viewpoint that disclosure of the ‘back end’, and sometimes 'front end' portal fees we appraisers must pay to deliver a completed report to a particular client should be disclosed. You don’t have to report the FEE, only that you had to ‘pay a fee’ to obtain the assignment. If you don’t pay the fee, you technically cannot complete the assignment. My viewpoint has always been, and will remain, that if you cannot technically ‘complete’ an assignment without paying a delivery fee, then the net...