Author: VaCAP Board

July 23, 2020

Wells Fargo at It Again!

Those fine outstanding law abiding people at Wells Fargo are at it again! This time the fraud is against the United States Bankruptcy Court and as usual, their very own customers. Wells Fargo’s explanation… The Covid-19 Pandemic! Wells Fargo is using the Covid-19 virus as the excuse for placing borrowers currently under Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plans in forbearance. The borrowers never asked for the forbearance and Wells Fargo filed a claim with the Bankruptcy Courts halting mortgage payments for the borrowers without their knowledge. According to the NBC news article: On April 29, without Harlow’s knowledge or permission, Wells Fargo told...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / VaCAP / Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals

July 20, 2020

Are ANSI Standards Changing?

American National Standard for Single-Family Residential Buildings, Square Footage – Method of Calculating, ANSI Z765-2020 VaCAP has just learned of a meeting on July 22 to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the square footage calculation under ANSI guidelines. The proposed changes were published for public comment which closed in March. The meeting, which is described as a virtual Consensus Committee Meeting is open to the public, however you must request the meeting credentials to attend. Again, VaCAP has just learned of this proposed change and apologizes for the last minute notice. See the press release below or on their website. Once...

American National Standards Institute / ANSI / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

July 7, 2020

The Con, The American Dream Dies…

The Con is a 5-part series in-depth investigation into the 2008 financial crisis. If you attended the Appraisers Economic Forum, better known as AppraiserFest, in San Antonio, Texas back in October 2018, you may recall a couple of guys with video cameras. Many of the appraisers attending were interviewed for this production. The 5 part docu-series premieres August 5, 2020. You definitely want to clear your calendar to watch. See the trailer below and sign up for updates here. From writer/director Eric Vaughan, producer Patrick Lovell and executive producer Adam Bronfman, The Con is an in-depth investigation into the 2008...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

CFPB Wants to Eliminate the Debt to Income Requirement - Not AGAIN

June 24, 2020

Playing Fast and Loose With Credit?

CFPB is moving forward with proposing to eliminate the Debt to Income requirement… Appraisers, prepare yourself for what we are about to share. The short sighted proposal is simply nonsensical from every angle. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to eliminate the Debt to Income requirement on Qualified Mortgages. You may recall this was proposed a while back and most of the profession objected strongly. Letters, emails and phone calls were made and this absurdity went away. Earlier today CFPB Director, Kathy Kraninger announced the CFPB is moving forward with proposing to eliminate the Debt to Income (DTI) requirement and...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / CFPB / Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

June 8, 2020

Fast Connections AMC Fined $2.8 Million

Fast Connections USA, Inc. & its President, Towhindul Hussain, were found guilty of hundreds of violations… Well it must be true what they say… Don’t mess with Texas! The Texas Appraisal Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) has issued a monetary fine of $2,801,500 against an appraisal management company. Fast Connections USA, Inc. and its President, Towhindul Hussain, were found guilty of hundreds of violations of Texas law and regulations. TALCB found Fast Connections contracted 274 appraisals in Texas without proper registration. These violations have a mandatory fine of $10,000 each. TALCB also found Fast Connections USA failed to pay appraisers...

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

May 27, 2020

Survey Says… Bifurcation is a DUD!

“It’s a dud” is the unofficial results on bifurcated appraisals from the OREP / WorkingRE Magazine Appraisal Bifurcation Survey in the print edition of Working RE Magazine that is hitting your mailbox now, an overwhelming majority of appraisers want nothing to do with these products. Less than 10% of the respondents stated they were open to bifurcation products as the appraiser and only slightly more, 13.64% were open to data collection assignments. Fees, liability and a detriment to the profession were the main reasons appraisers will not consider only the data collection assignments. The survey is still ongoing, but with...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Be Part of the Solution & Stop Being Part of the Problem!

May 8, 2020

Be Part of the Solution & Not the Problem!

Why would a professional licensed appraiser not want to be part of the solution? The Appraisal Foundation has posted the National Real Estate Appraiser Job Analysis Study. The survey is to determine the areas that are relevant to our daily functions as appraisers. This is our profession and appraisers are the best source of information on what we do and how we do it. The results will be used to determine the criteria necessary going forward for license examinations. We all have experienced revision requests from a reviewer who does not understand the appraisal process. What about those revision requests...

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

The Appraisal Community, an Asset During These Challenging Times

April 27, 2020

Appraisers Continue to Be an Asset

The appraisal community has come together… stand strong, be resilient and continue to be an asset to your clients during these challenging times… The appraisal profession came about because of the Great Depression and our relevance is still strong today. Exceptional circumstances such as the current pandemic create a need for temporary allowances for information gathering for the valuation of collateral. The appraisal community has come together to insure our clients’ needs are met. Be it extra precautions with masks and gloves or owner assisted property inspection software. Appraisers have once again adapted to market conditions in order to provide...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Technology

April 20, 2020

Ocwen Financial Is in Trouble

VaCAP concerned about Ocwen financial deteriorating condition… We have all been there; you are busy and you lose track of your accounts receivables. Suddenly, you have 45, 60 and 90 day past due invoices. VaCAP wants to remind you to pay attention not only to your receivables, but industry news to make informed decisions going forward. Two days ago HousingWire reported Ocwen Financial is in trouble with the New York Stock Exchange. According to the article, Ocwen stock has been trading below $1.00 for more than 30 days in violation of the NYSE rules. Ocwen runs afoul of NYSE after stock stays below...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / VaCAP / Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals

COVID-19 Issues Addressed & Interior Inspections Liabilities

April 15, 2020

COVID-19 & Interior Inspections Liabilities

Pay attention to Phil Crawford’s comments on interior inspections and the liability that goes with them… Fannie and Freddie have come out with updated guidelines for appraisals. There is much confusion on what is and what is not required. The below matrix simplified what is allowed by Fannie Mae. Additional questions and answers can be found on Lender Letter LL-2020-04. The unknown to the appraiser is the ownership of the loan. Appraisers must rely on the lender or amc for that determination. VaCAP wants to remind each and every one of you that regardless of what an amc or lender...

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