Category: Appraisal Institute

Court Won’t Unseal Files on Washington Mutual Appraisal Scheme 0

Court Won’t Unseal Files on Washington Mutual Appraisal Scheme

A federal judge said he will not unseal files related to an alleged appraisal rigging scheme that Washington Mutual launched in an effort to favor mortgage lenders just before the 2008 market crash, Courthouse News Service reported Dec. 3. The case involves a federal class action suit launched in 2008 in San Jose, California, by Felton Spears Jr. and Sidney Sholl who claimed that Washington Mutual, Lender’s Service Inc. and appraisal management firm First American eAppraiseIT colluded in 2006 to create inflated mortgage-loan appraisals that allowed the bank to sell aggregated security interests in the properties at inflated prices. At...

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Adjustments – Your Opinion Doesn’t Count

Regulations state that appraisal adjustments cannot be based upon an appraiser’s opinion. According to federal and state law, adjustments must be based on support and evidence- proof if you will, and an appraiser’s opinion is not considered to be “support.” Many appraisers have failed to support their adjustments and as a result have had their licenses revoked, penalties assessed and lawsuits lost, all because the they failed to understand a single but important requirement. Think about your appraisals. Are the adjustments based on your opinion or do you have proof of the adjustment in your workfile? Then one day I...

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Proposed 2016-17 USPAP Changes

Comments Requested for Additional Proposed Changes to USPAP 2016-17 USPA The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board has issued a third exposure draft of proposed changes to its 2016-17 edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, and is seeking feedback on the proposed changes by Oct. 10. Among the proposed changes is an adjustment to the definition of report, which currently is defined as “any communication, written or oral, of an appraisal or appraisal review that is transmitted to the client upon completion of an assignment.” The proposed definition would read “Any communication, transmitted to the client or to...

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CFPB Fines AMC for Inflated Appraisal Fees 2

CFPB Fines Lender, AMC for Inflated Appraisal Fees

The CFPB has ordered Amerisave and Novo to pay $14.8 million… The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Aug. 12 that it fined mortgage lender Amerisave Mortgage Corp., its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Company, and the organizations’ collective owner, Patrick Markert, $19.3 million for allegedly luring prospective borrowers with misleading interest rates and trapping them with inflated appraisal fees. The CFPB claimed that the lender and its affiliated AMC violated the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act by enticing tens of thousands of borrowers with deceptive advertising and then illegally overcharging them for third-party services. The...

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Real estate appraisers stats 3

Drop in US Real Estate Appraisers Slows: AI Research

80,500 Total number of active real estate appraisers CHICAGO (July 31, 2014) – The number of active real estate appraisers in the United States fell less than 1 percent in the first half of 2014, the Appraisal Institute announced today, lower than the average annual decrease of 2.6 percent over the past six years. Research conducted by the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers found that as of June 30, the total number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. stood at 80,500, down from 81,050 on Dec. 31, 2013. A broader analysis suggests the rate of...

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Appraisal USPAP Definition 0

Illinois Considers Bill to Clarify BPOs, CMAs

When and how BPOs and CMAs may be performed by brokers & managing brokers Legislation that would clarify several aspects of an Illinois law governing broker price opinions and comparative market analysis has passed the state legislature and currently is under consideration by Gov. Pat Quinn, the Appraisal Institute reported July 23. SB 3044 adds definitions of both BPOs and CMAs to the state’s Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act and its Real Estate Licensing Act, and clarifies when and how BPOs and CMAs may be performed by brokers and managing brokers. The bill was sent to Quinn June 27, and...

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Freddie to Host Multifamily Appraisal Webinar

Freddie Mac will host a webinar June 26 that will highlight upcoming changes to its multifamily appraisal requirements. Freddie’s new requirements, which take effect July 1, will address tying together an appraiser’s multifamily data with their conclusions. Examples include: Tighter guidelines around the use of property condition assessments and environmental report drafts; Discussions around local market data in the capitalization rate analysis; Elimination of net income multipliers or adjustments to net operating income in the Sales Comparison Approach; Supplemental discussion of the risk of reassessment of property taxes including a quantifiable chance of a reassessment; and Documentation of the number...

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PADS - Appraisers Running for Exits 8

PADS – Appraisers Running for Exits

We urge appraisers to review the PADS Model Current economic trends suggest your appraisal practice will not survive beyond 2015. Appraisers are running for the exits, with many moving into Ad Valorem, and some into cost estimating.  Client accounts you thought were safe have been converted to ether and dispersed among a dark refinancing void. You’ve gone from completing six appraisals per week to camping by your email, in hopes of an AMC broadcast assignment appearing. Where you once had time to think about accepting the assignment, you now have less than 2 seconds to accept, because like you, ninety...

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State of the Appraisal Profession & Residential Market Overview

In March, I once again traveled to Modesto, CA, and attended the Annual Spring Conference of the Appraisal Institute’s Northern California Chapter. This month, I will share some useful and interesting information from the presentations. The conference focuses on the California market, but many of the presenters also covered topics related to the national market. The first session was “State of the Appraisal Profession”; the speaker was Lance Coyle, MAI, and SRA who is national president-elect of the Appraisal Institute. He started by giving a brief history of the profession and pointed out that significant changes came to the profession...

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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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