Author: Guest Author

On Appraisals, Should You Follow the Money? 6

On Appraisals, Should You Follow The Money? Asks Kenneth Harney

Follow the Money Some appraisers are being paid less than half the fee, while the balance flows to an appraisal management company. Washington – The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on a real estate issue that gets to the core of the agency’s purpose: Bringing clarity and better disclosures about the often opaque and costly fees that homebuyers, sellers and refinancers are hit with at closings. One of the disclosures now under review might surprise you: appraisal charges. Why do they need clarifying? Doesn’t just about everybody who applies for a mortgage, whether it’s to buy a house...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

Wanted: Angry Appraisers 12

Wanted: Angry Appraisers – BankRape

Wanted: Angry Appraisers Experienced residential appraisers have spent the past 30 months wishing for change and wondering if it would ever come.  Most were fooled into believing that justice could be found by writing to politicians, signing petitions, and waiting for their state agencies and appraisal organizations to fix the problem. Nearly two years passed and the remaining appraisers continue to tread water while scanning the horizon for signs of a rescue. Appraisers awakened on April 1, 2011 (Appraiser Fool’s Day) with renewed hope, only to find that the tiny clause within Dodd Frank, “customary AND reasonable fees” had been altered at...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees

Could New Surety Bond Laws Really Curb Problems with AMCs? 4

Could New Surety Bond Laws Really Curb Problems with AMCs?

Could new surety bond laws really curb problems with Appraisal Management Companies? Unfortunately, a fair share of real estate professionals don’t know much about the surety bond process and how it helps regulate the industry they work in. However, with the recent implementation of new surety bond requirements for appraisal management companies, understanding how surety bonds work should be a growing interest for a number of real estate professionals. 1. Appraisal Management Company bonds function as legally binding contracts. When Appraisal Management Companies purchase a surety bond, they’re entering into a legal contract. Each surety bond that’s executed binds three...

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

8

Appraisers Regulated out of Commission

A shift of regulations intended to prevent lending companies from influencing — or worse, inflating — home values during the appraisal process nearly put an entire industry of people out of work during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, according to industry experts. But what happened to independent home appraisers is a topic that almost no one talks about outside the real estate industry. After a parade of subprime home loans and shoddy lending practices by mortgage lenders brought the real estate market to its knees, the real estate-appraisal process was targeted in an effort to protect consumers....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

0

Who Is the Donkey in the Assessment?

The more clever title would be the nickname of this farm animal or the first three letters of assessment.  Your choice. Real estate values have gone down, everyone knows that. Just ask the homeless man on the street who a few years ago was more than likely the town’s leading real estate agent, who back then could sell ice to eskimos and to top it off and really cash in, could franchise his venture through the funding of a Worldwide bank that had it in their business plan that if we get to big to fail then the tax payers will...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Real Estate Assessment / Tax Appeal

Reasonable and Customary Fees - Who to Call? 4

Reasonable and Customary Fees – Who to Call?

Who to Call? Fellow appraisers, peers, coalition members and all who work as professional real estate appraisers, we ask for your help. Federal Law known as the Dodd-Frank Act went into effect on April 1, 2011. It clearly states and intends that real estate appraisers be paid “Reasonable and Customary” fees for appraisals performed by state licensed and certified real estate appraisers. Reasonable and customary, generally means what appraisers in a geographic area are generally paid based on a survey of such fees. The survey is supposed to be of fees paid by such entities as the Department of Veterans...

AMC / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

3

The Dawn of a New Era in Appraising

A new frontier in appraising is upon us… Approximately 30 years ago the automobile industry began to introduce computers into cars and since that time they have never been the same. What was once considered a rather simple procedure – tuning up your engine or even changing the spark plugs – has become an almost impossible project for anyone, except the highly trained automobile technician. Today nearly every aspect of your car is aided or controlled in some manner by a computer. Digital radios with CD players, climate control systems, cruise control and pollution control devices are just a few...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisal Technology

1

Real Estate Appraisers in 2011

Now that we are entering the new year, real estate appraisers in any U.S. market must start looking to increase their marketing efforts and reach to find new clients. Although the last few years have been difficult for any real estate profession, there are always new opportunities to be found. We are certain that 2011 will be a stability year, housing markets are finding footing and there have been increases in home buyer demand throughout the country. Home inventories are higher than ever and prices are the lowest we have seen for a decade. Whenever the economy is shifting and...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News / Business Development

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