Category: Appraisal News

Appraisal Fees Back in the Spot Light 5

Appraisal Fees Back in the Spot Light

FTC vs LREAB Update The Supreme Court has denied the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board’s petition to intervene in the administrative case for price fixing by the FTC. The FTC trial is scheduled to proceed on April 20, 2021. VaCAP is closely following this case and will update you as it proceeds. To view all the activity for this case, go to the FTC’s webpage here. Working RE Appraisal Survey Let your voice be heard on what is customary and reasonable fees for your services. Working RE is conducting the annual fee survey. We have been asked to help distribute...

Train Us and Trust Us - AVM Use Formula Based on Inaccurate SF Data 9

Train Us and Trust Us

The most weighted technique in most automated valuation programs comes down to one over-simplified formula, based on a guesstimation from an outside source that has no interest in the real estate system… Dear FHFA: Please accept the following comments in regard to Question A1.4. The response also includes comments on several additional questions. Thank you for taking the time to review these thoughts. Technology has made so many improvements in the last decade and we now have the chance to truly improve our home valuation system. With that being said, the last piece of the quality puzzle starts at the...

Opinion of an Insider on the New Form - Appraisers Blogs 13

Opinion of an Insider on the New Form

An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. There’s been a lot of mis-information about the new FNMA form posted so i thought i might clear the air a little bit. Being a software provider i’m in the loop but i can’t disclose every thing i know due to confidentiality. That being said i’m just the messenger and don’t shoot the messenger. the new form is not to put appraisers out of business. if they weren’t providing the new form, then i’d be worried. the previous forms were designed for a typewriter....

Advisory Opinion 16 Could Be a Game Changer for Appraisers! 22

Advisory Opinion 16, a Game Changer?

The Appraisal Foundation has issued an exposure draft for Advisory Opinion (AO) 16. Advisory Opinion 16 is Fair Housing Laws: Avoiding Bias in Real Property Appraisal and Appraisal Review Development and Reporting. Unlike other exposure drafts, the text of the AO opinion has been rewritten. The traditional strike through of word or phrase changes is nonexistent. The Appraisal Foundation acknowledges “the Advisory Opinion was extensively rewritten”. Comments on the changes are due to The Appraisal Foundation by March 31, 2021 via SurveyMonkey or email, asb@appraisalfoundation.org. Although an Advisory Opinion is not a standard of practice, it does express what is...

Passing State Laws Mandating Fair Housing Continuing Ed for Appraisers 41

Blaming, Punishing Appraisers in State Laws

Will the same states that do this for appraisers also mandate similar Fair Housing and Fair Lending courses for lenders, loan officers, mortgage bankers… Are you aware that US States are beginning to ‘require’ appraisers take required courses in how to treat people fairly, by requiring such a class for every license renewal period?? Here’s the law from New York state: 19 NYCRR § 1107.2. is amended as follows: Section 1107.2. Individual continuing education requirements (a) For State license and certification periods that commence on or after January 1, 2000, real estate appraisers and real estate appraiser assistants who hold...

Unaffordable Affordability? Avoiding the Cobra Effect - Appraisers Blogs 4

Unaffordable Affordability?

If we value higher, what about affordability?… A great deal of economic, social, and political talk has been around affordability of housing. To explore this topic, it may be helpful to ask some questions. Good policy starts with the right questions. In simplest terms, some people have the resources to have nice homes in nice neighborhoods, others have just tolerable homes for shelter. And others have no homes at all. We call them “home-less.” More recently, we have become aware of the connection of poor housing and groups of certain ethnic categories. Discovery. There is association between housing status and...

USPAP 2020-2021 Extension Effective Through 2022 - Appraisers Blogs 4

USPAP 2020-2021 Extension

2020-21 USPAP Extension – Does this mean USPAP will be on a three-year cycle going forward? USPAP has been extended for one year, effective through December, 31, 2022. This is the Appraisal Foundation news release, issued on Feb. 19, 2021: Media Contact: Amy Timmerman (202) 624-3048 amy@appraisalfoundation.org BREAKING: 2020-21 USPAP Extended for One Year (Washington, DC) February 19, 2021 – The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) announced today that the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) will be extended by one year. The 2020-2021 USPAP will now be effective until December 31, 2022. “USPAP...

Are You Laying Bricks, Putting up a Wall, or Are You Building a Cathedral? 3

Are you Laying Bricks or Building a Cathedral?

…laying bricks today, putting up a wall, or are you building a cathedral?… If you have been doing appraising for any time at all, you have likely experienced some of the more irritating aspects of our profession: the AMCs, the call backs, or one of my personal favorites, a Realtor’s protest “the idiot appraiser doesn’t know it’s supply and demand! I have a buyer!” An old folk story helps me through days like these, and it goes like this: A traveler came upon three men working. He asked the first man what he was doing, and the man said he...

CoStar Higher Offer to Buy Corelogic - Appraisers Blogs 1

Bids to Acquire CoreLogic

I heard from a number of appraisers about their adverse situations involving CoStar… It was announced on Feb. 4, 2021 that CoreLogic will be sold, with the transfer happening in the April-June 2021 time frame. See Inman news service article, “CoreLogic Acquired By Stone Point Capital, Insight Partners For $6B – Inman”. From the article: The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to shareholder approval. See another news source here. CoreLogic currently owns several companies with ties to appraising: A la mode – appraisal report software Columbia Institute – appraiser education service provider Matrix...

Incenter Appraisal Management to Pay Appraisers Within One day 59

IAM AMC 24-Hour Fast Pay for Appraisers

Last week we received an email from an AMC PR company. The email stated that Incenter Appraisal Management (IAM) has implemented a new 24-hour fast pay model and is paying their appraisers within one day of completing the appraisal report. Has anyone heard of or done business with Incenter Appraisal Management? Do they pay C&R fees or do they blast orders to find fast and cheap appraisers? Do they have a scoring system, tech upload fees, background check fees, etc.? The email stated they do not bid or charge tech fees. Back in November, VaCAP published their email solicitation where...

xml sitemap
blank