“I’m one of those that are willing to resist the trend to eliminate the ‘art’ portion of our profession and to refute the pretense that everything we do can or should be quantifiable and repeatable statistically.”

You mean you can’t prove site, GLA, bedroom, location and other adjustments using regression analysis? Who knew? I know who didn’t know. The morons at Fannie Mae.

Got to go local. I have some local clients (in house loans) that state 1004MC not required. They are fully aware that it’s worthless!

Maybe it IS time for all of us to start treating it as literally as it is printed. Then when FNMA starts getting 90% of the reports in with MCs that are found to be meaningless, maybe it will give them incentive to correct the bad form! I disagree with accepting something just because we APPEAR to be stuck with it. Remember when the pre URAR forms were changed and the 1025 was initially eliminated in favor of the 1-4 URAR? The 1025 got replaced VERY fast after all the complaints.

I’d probably start with an AI Dictionary of RE Appraisal definition of competitive market area and “neighborhood” and just report on the 1004MC that data is not compiled as defined; and then use my preferred alternative methods. Others may prefer to search by the SAME RANGE as their comparables. If size is +- 10%-use that in 1004MC; if it is 25% then use THAT in 1004 MC. Id use same distance parameters too.

I’m one of those that are willing to resist the trend to eliminate the ‘art’ portion of our profession and to refute the pretense that everything we do can or should be quantifiable and repeatable statistically.

Lets remember that almost any trained and truly experienced real estate agent can go into their “farm” area and probably ‘eyeball’ or guesstimate from the curbside about values, and be within 90% to 100% accurate most of the time. PURE art and experience based. There’s a lot to be said about the art side of our profession. It too relies on a computer. One that no one can even come close to replicating so far. Its does a lot of those ‘scientific comparisons ‘ in the background-subconsciously. It does not make the results less valid.