Category: Appraisal Management Companies

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Announcing VT Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey Release

Dear Appraiser Colleagues, Awhile back, you responded to a request from VaCAP to supply your e-mail address to participate in an upcoming Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey to be conducted by the Virginia Center for Housing Research and the Virginia Tech Program in Real Estate. This communication is to notify you of the survey’s eminent release. Please look for it to be sent to you via e-mail in the next couple of days. Your participation in the survey is vital to the success of this endeavor. Please take the few minutes necessary to complete the survey; it should only take...

Good news appraisal profession 5

Good News….For a Change?

Appraisers to be paid within… It is all-too-rare that we hear positive news regarding the appraisal profession. There is an awful lot of complaining that goes on, most of it justifiable, but little good news that gets shared. Part of the problem is that there is no central source for information regarding our profession which appraisers might utilize in order to find out what is going on across the country and affecting our profession, and could be used to enhance our industry and our citizens in our own state. From what I have seen, most of any good news is being...

Where Did All the Good Appraisers Go - Imagecredit Flickr - gerlos 5

Where Did All the Good Appraisers Go?

The good appraisers are leaving mortgage appraising as fast as they can. Thus far the housing industry has been applying “Band-Aid” solutions to the bigger real estate crisis. There are several problems going on at the same time, all contributing to the big picture, which is bleak to say the least. One true crisis in the real estate industry is an “information crisis.” This information problem, trickles down to appraisals, lenders, and ultimately, mortgage investors. Standardization, national guidelines, and disclosures are the only way back from this nightmare (i.e. the RESPA disclosure. One fee on the good faith estimate for...

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Non-Lender vs. AMC Appraisal Work

One of the hottest topics right now in the appraisal world is that of non-lender work.  I am probably asked a question concerning non-lender appraisals a couple of times per week, at least.  “How do I do more work for attorneys?”  “How do I go about marketing to home owners?”  “I want to work with more real estate agents, but I am not sure how to garner their trust.”  Okay, so that last one was not a question, but you get the point. Financial appraisal work through AMCs or local banks has slowed a great deal over the past few...

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs 5

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

Maryland Removes References to USPAP Advisory Opinions 0

Maryland Removes References to USPAP Advisory Opinions

In 2012, AI requested the removal of the references to the AOs and FAQs from the Commission’s regulations…. On April 8, the Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors completed action on rulemaking that removed the Advisory Opinions and Frequently Asked Questions of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice from being incorporated by reference into the state’s appraiser licensing and certification laws. The move addresses the Appraisal Institute’s long-standing concerns about increased regulatory burdens placed on professional appraisers. Prior to this rule change, the AOs and FAQs were considered by the Commission to be...

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Newly Formed Appraiser Coalition Seeks Positive Change for the Industry

A group of Real Estate Appraisal experts committed to the preservation, protection and enhancement of the appraisal industry has formed the Appraiser Prosperity Coalition (www.AppraiserProsperity.com), a merger of industry insiders and government affairs professionals dedicated to fighting for the legislative and regulatory changes needed to rebuild the industry in the wake of damaging legislation. As you know, in an effort to remove value pressure from Real Estate Appraisers, the Dodd-Frank law affirmed a move made by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct to transfer most real estate appraisal ordering power from the hands of the 250,000+ Loan Officers in this...

A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 2): Appraisal Independence Violated 2

Appraiser Independence Violated

A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 2): Appraisal Independence Violated History is an important reminder to us all of what went wrong and what went right. When history is known we tend to skip the mistakes we made. We can either choose the right path for the wrong reason, the right path for the ‘right’ reasons and, we can take the wrong path in a similar manner. The MARKET needs to take the right path for the ‘right’ reasons. In years of late 1998 and 1999 several ideas were brought forth to a Forum filled with Individual Appraisers carrying...

Appraiser Independence Appraisal Independence 4

A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence

A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 1): Where Do We Go From Here? Buyer Beware! Where is the Value? (PART 1) In the years of 2007/2008, the ideologue of, “Appraiser Independence” had become popular for the real estate market’s economic agents and the processes it relies on to function properly. The idea gained respect, due to the perseverance of Real Estate Appraisers carrying out their Independence, during the decade of 2000-2010. The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) was introduced according to prevailing design and initiative:  the advancement of a market in need for an inspired and renewed sense of...

Small Towns and Rural Areas Appraisal Requirements 3

Rural Areas & Small Towns Appraisal Requirements

A common misconception of Fannie Mae’s Appraiser Independence Requirements (AIR) is that lenders are required to use third-party vendors or appraisal management companies (AMCs) to ensure compliance. In fact, lenders are not required to use an AMC or any other third-party vendor to order appraisals…

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