Category: Appraisal News

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Appraisal Institute Warns Appraisers About Liabilities When Working with Some AMCs

CHICAGO (May 12, 2011) – The Appraisal Institute today cautioned real estate appraisers about signing agreements imposed by some appraisal management companies that seek to hold residential appraisers responsible for AMCs’ actions. Its president warned that consumers could be the ultimate losers. “Appraisers should be very careful about signing any agreement, especially one that makes them responsible for another party’s actions,” said Appraisal Institute President Joseph C. Magdziarz, MAI, SRA. “While there are some fine AMCs doing business today, many AMCs shift liability onto appraisers. For many professional appraisers, it’s simply not worth the risk.” Magdziarz, as president of the...

AI / AMC / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

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FDIC Files Appraisal Complaint Against LPS and CoreLogic

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has filed a complaint against Lender Processing Services and CoreLogic related to appraisals performed for Washington Mutual, HousingWire reported May 11. The FDIC is seeking to recover roughly $283 million in losses allegedly tied to appraisals that an LPS subsidiary and a CoreLogic affiliate conducted for WaMu. The FDIC took WaMu into receivership in 2008 and facilitated its sale to JPMorgan Chase. WaMu had a total of $307 billion in assets at the time. HousingWire reported that regulatory filings by the two companies indicate that the FDIC alleged LPS Appraisal LLC and CoreLogic Valuation Services,...

AI / AMC / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

NAR Releases Statement on Appraiser Independence 3

NAR Statement on Appraiser Independence

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a statement supporting the independence of appraisers and the appraisal process on their website while expressing their concerns about interference in the appraisal process. The NAR Appraisal Committee will meet this Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 8:00 A.M at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC. One item sure to be a topic of discussion is the recently released Statement on Appraiser Independence. NAR Statement on Appraiser Independence “The role of the appraiser is to provide an independent and impartial analysis of real property. This analysis is a critical component of...

AMC / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees / NAR

ASB Letter to FHFA Regarding Uniform Appraisal Dataset 3

ASB Letter to FHFA Regarding Uniform Appraisal Dataset

Serious concern over misapplication and misinterpretation of Uniform Appraisal Dataset requirements April 29, 2011 Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency… Re: Uniform Appraisal Dataset Dear Mr. Pollard: Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you and representatives from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac on February 17, 2011 and March 10, 2011 to discuss the Uniform Mortgage Data Processing (UMDP) initiative and the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). We applaud your efforts to bring about more consistent appraisal reporting. However, in light of our discussions and further examination of the publicly available documents...

Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / ASB / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / The Appraisal Foundation

TAVMA Letter RE C&R Fee Stipulation & Appraisers Online Petition 1

TAVMA Letter RE C&R Fee Stipulation & Appraisers Online Petition

TAVMA strongly disputes the substance of the on-line petition Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Re: Interim Final Rule – Customary and Reasonable Fee Stipulation Dear Ms. Johnson: The Title Appraisal Vendor Management Association (“TAVMA”) wishes to express its views about the misinformation being disseminated by appraisal organizations and publications about the Federal Reserve’s Interim Final Rule and Appraisal Management Companies (“AMC’s”). TAVMA is a national trade association of real estate settlement services providers including many leading appraisal management companies. Some appraisers continue to attack AMC’s by asserting that the DOD Frank Act, TILA...

AMC / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

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Bills Prohibiting Use of Distressed Sales as Comparables Die

Proposed legislation in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and Nevada seeking to prohibit use of foreclosures and short sales as comparables in developing opinions of residential real estate value appears to have failed. Two bills missed procedural deadlines, one has been amended and the other was withdrawn by its sponsor. Appraisal Institute chapters in all four states played key roles in defeating the bills, which would have resulted in each state’s legislative body dictating the real estate valuation process. The Nevada bill missed a procedural deadline for passage and is dead for this session. In testimony prepared for an April 1 hearing...

Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Political Action / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

Landsafe appraisal service agreement - appraisers are gatekeepers 4

Aren’t Appraisers the Gatekeepers of our Collective National Equity?

LandSafe Appraisal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, recently released its latest “Appraisal Services Agreement” to its panel appraisers. The agreement includes, among others, indemnifications of LandSafe against any liability, and loss of intellectual rights. If this goes through and appraisers agree to sign this new agreement, other AMCs will follow LandSafe’s lead and produce their own version of Appraisal Services Agreements. LIA Insurance has reviewed the new LandSafe Appraisal Services Agreement. The review is available to LIA’s insured appraisers and READI members but others can also view it by registering with code 201700. The whole idea of appraisers as...

AMC / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

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DaVinci for Android is here!

DaVinci for Android is here and you can dowload it now for free in the Android Market. Anyone with a Smartphone or tablet with Android 2.1 or later can download it. Click here to go to the DaVinci download page in the  Android Market. Click here to download the WinTOTAL update from the labs page. This will allow for file syncing between WinTOTAL and your device. With DaVinci for Android you can: Fill out an entire 1004 from the field by simply tapping on the screen, or use Android’s “talk-to-type” feature to fill out the report using your voice Create QuickLists within DaVinci...

a la mode / Android / Appraisal Equipment / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisers News

AGA Meets With Rep. Barney Frank to Discuss Fed's Rule on Appraiser Independence & Reasonable & Customary Fees 1

AGA to Discuss Appraiser Independence & C&R Fees

…excluded from Reasonable and Customary fee surveys… The American Guild of Appraisers (AGA) / Guild 44 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO met with Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) on April 14 to discuss the Guild’s concerns with the Federal Reserve Board’s Interim Final Rule (Rule) regarding Appraiser Independence. With the implementation of the Rule issued April 1, 2011, the Federal Reserve has introduced faulty regulation that implicitly fails to capture Congressional intent to reform the appraisal process and Appraiser Independence and the necessity to promote the use of market driven, Reasonable & Customary (R&C) fees for various...

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

Lenders May Still Profit Most from Appraisal Fees 3

Lenders May Still Profit Most from Appraisal Fees

Lenders May Still Profit Most from Appraisal Fees, writes Kenneth Harney WASHINGTON — When you pay $450 to $550 at settlement for an appraisal on a  home purchase or refinancing, do you assume that all or most of the money is  going to the appraiser who comes to the house and performs  the valuation? That’s logical, but probably not correct. Despite new Federal Reserve  regulations that took effect April 1 requiring lenders to pay appraisers fair  fees, growing numbers of them say they are still being offered $200 to $250 —  even as low as $134 —  for work that...

AMC / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

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