Category: Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals

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

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

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

Exterior Appraisals & Temporary Appraisal Guidelines During COVID-19

March 29, 2020

COVID-19 Temporary Appraisal Guidelines

Fannie and Freddie are giving preference to desktop appraisals over exterior appraisals, which quite frankly, is completely backwards from what most appraisers believe to be a more reliable appraisal. HUD and the Veterans Administration, on the other hand prefer exterior appraisals…

AI / American Society of Appraisers / American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News

COVID-19 Pandemic and Exterior Appraisals - Appraisers Blogs

March 17, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic & Exterior Appraisals

Everyone, not just appraisers is getting bombarded with information on COVID-19. So much of the information differs, it is hard to know what is real, hype or hysteria. So much has been shared within the appraisal groups on social media that there are more conversations about COVID-19 then appraisals. VaCAP is a volunteer organization of appraiser professionals. We are not medical professionals and are just as confused as most of you. Each and every one of us is different. We have different levels of health and different people living in our homes; some may have compromised immune systems, some maybe...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Trending / VaCAP

March 11, 2020

Unsolicited Appraisal Request

…an unsolicited appraisal request instructing payment be collected at the door… Well who said 2020 would be a nice calm year for appraisers? VaCAP has been receiving messages from appraisers about some of the crazy dumb stuff lenders and amcs are doing. What is scary is the things we are hearing are very reminiscent of 12-15 years ago. A long time VaCAP member forwarded an appraisal request to us he received via Mercury Network. All was good with the order, turn time, fee; all good except for one little issue, payment was to be collected at the door from the...

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