Category: Appraisal Organizations

November 26, 2018

Open Letter to Taxpayers

An Open Letter to Taxpayers Dear Ms; Mrs. & Mr. Taxpayer: In a recent article published by Housing Wire; authored by Ben Lane (November 20, 2018) it was reported that our federal “regulators” are at it again. “At what?” One might ask. Facilitation of increased LOAN FRAUD & consumer deception with Taxpayers yet again left holding the bag. Click here for the article Back in 1994 (actually it started in 1989-91 when FIRREA was being drafted) the Fed agreed that the loan threshold for banks when an appraisal of real estate would not be required was $250,000. That was roughly...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

November 23, 2018

Proposal to End Appraisal Requirement

Regulators’ Proposal to End Appraisal Requirement on Some Home Sales of $400,000 and Below… The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve released a proposal that would increase the appraisal requirement from $250,000 to $400,000, meaning that certain home sales of $400,000 and below would no longer require an appraisal. According to data provided by the FDIC, the agencies estimate that increasing the appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $400,000 would have exempted an additional 214,000 residential mortgages at regulated institutions from the agencies’ appraisal requirement in...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / FDIC / ICAP

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November 21, 2018

Coester VMS Bank Accounts Seized!

VaCAP has been informed the bank accounts of CoesterVMS have been seized. We have received the following email from one of our members. From: *****@coesterappraisals.com> To: Sent: Tue, Nov 20, 2018 10:02 am Subject: CoesterVMS: Accounts Recievables** -I am e-mailing to provide clarity on a letter you may receive from FVC Bank sent by Gilbert Kennedy and Patrick Gil from Shapiro Sher. The letter was sent to provide instructions on account receivables and the proper way of handling them for CoesterVMS as of 11/14/2018. Immediately both Patrick and Gill will be your point of contact for any questions or concerns...

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

November 20, 2018

Is It Possible to “Prove” an Adjustment?

We read articles and advertisements on how to prove an adjustment. Is this possible? How wonderful it would be. To prove an adjustment, just push a button and bam! Out comes the correct answer. How could we have we missed this? …prove an adjustment, just push a button…Of course, if such a simplistic and exact answer was possible – anyone could push that button. An AVM run, a BPO agent, an “evaluator”, or anyone else. Who needs all that USPAP competence and integrity stuff? Even a lender-appointed hybridized “field inspector” could just push the button. The whole process could even skip working with the licensed appraiser completely!...

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

VREAB to Discuss Concerns Surrounding Hybrid Appraisals

November 16, 2018

VREAB to Discuss Hybrid Appraisals

…concerns on the negative impact on the real estate market… The Virginia Real Estate Appraisal Board Committee on Hybrid Appraisals will meet on Wednesday November 28th @1:00 PM. We ask that all appraisers attend and share your comments on these products. If you are unable to attend we ask that you submit your comments to the VREAB to be shared with the committee. Concerns on if these products comply with: 54.1-2011 which states any assistance by an unlicensed person must be directly supervised by a licensed appraiser. 54.1-2009 Definition of an appraisal which states an appraisal is an opinion, analysis...

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

November 15, 2018

Adjustments: Now What?

So, what are these methods and techniques? We’re told to “support” our adjustments. We hear words like “prove” your adjustments… as if there were some magic formula which can give an exact, correct, and absolutely true number. It used to be so easy… Our trainer gave us a sheet with the “right” adjustments. Simple. USPAP Standards Rule 1-1 says we must be aware of, understand, and correctly employ recognized methods and techniques. What are they? Who recognizes them? How do I apply them? So, what are these methods and techniques? Let’s look. In The Appraisal of Real Estate (ARE) p.46, it says: “Qualitative analysis techniques may also be...

AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

November 9, 2018

You Are Out of Here…

The New York Stock Exchange has removed Ditech Holdings from trading due to their share value and volume of shares. According to a HousingWire article, Ditech shares are less than $1.00. It’s been a swift fall in the stock price department for Ditech. When the company emerged from bankruptcy, it began trading under a new symbol, “DHCP.” See the article here. Please watch your receivables. The market is slowing and there is chatter about late payments from several amcs and lenders in social media appraisal groups. Save the Date: The VaCAP conference will be held February 7-8th in Northern Virginia! More...

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

November 7, 2018

Appraisers Tell Their Stories at AppraiserFest

The entire presentation was filmed and many appraisers were interviewed to tell their stories… Wow…That About Sums it Up! The first ever AppraiserFest has come and gone. Elliot Eisenberg, Bill Black, Jonathan Miller, Ryan Lundquist, and Maureen Sweeney all on one stage; it does not get better than that! This will be a tough act to follow. VaCAP was represented by three Executive Board members and several other members. There were several others from Virginia as well. From as far as Alaska, appraisers came to listen, learn and participate. The central theme of the conference was appraisers; specifically why you...

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

November 1, 2018

Appraiser’s Response to MyAMC

Thank you for your invitation to join your panel. I read all your details. They are addressed in the following: I find it unlikely you retain top appraisers nationwide if you think $350 is a reasonable fee in my area. Did you arrive at that by buying Corelogic’s purported ‘independent survey’? I don’t accept 30 day billing from any unproven clients with unspecified volume. Provide a copy of your current Dunn and Bradstreet rating along with a guarantee of a minimum of 25 orders per month, and I will consider deferred billing. Otherwise you would have to pay me by...

ACI / AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

October 27, 2018

Human Real Estate Appraisers Unnecessary?

“Real estate appraisers will not exist in the future.” – Reasons Behind Matt Rider’s Projection and Why He’s Wrong Technology in real estate is advancing to a point where any user can “pull up a property’s data together” and create an appraisal. This is the main point raised by Franklin American Mortgage’s Chief Information Officer Matt Rider in his interview with National Mortgage News. He claimed that as a result, real estate appraisers wouldn’t exist in the future. See interview here. Rider’s projection seems to be based on society’s increasing dependence on Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI). According to...

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