Category: Appraisal News

The problem is, when speed is demanded, proper analysis, verifications and reporting procedures are often compromised or not done by the appraiser just so an artificial timeline can be accommodated 18

Zoom, zoom, zoom is Good for Whom?

…we continue to ask for very quick turn times to outperform the competition… Appraisers, I received a message today from an appraiser who provided the email from an AMC (below). I have redacted the lender’s name (primarily to avoid getting my skin scorched), but it’s a big one in the US that you see in TV commercials, on radio, in print, and social media outlets. The email demonstrates the prevailing and long-running attitude among just about everyone connected to mortgage lending, whether they be AMC’s or direct placement lenders. It originates at the very top of these organizations. It’s a very...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

BREA is the Energizer Bunny of Appraiser Abuse - AppraisersBlogs 7

BREA the Energizer Bunny of Appraiser Abuse

The gift that just keeps on giving and giving. BREA is the Energizer Bunny of Appraiser abuse. Anyone following AppraisersBlogs knows I’m no fan of BREA. I helped Zach Schorr humiliate them in court on a daily basis, for five days in a row in mid-2017. That result was that the Administrative Law Judge found myself and codefendant (respondent) to have “credibly testified.”  The states witness to have “embarrassed” herself in testimony and original actions giving rise to the case; and very politely simply concluded that “BREA had not met the burden of proof” for one single charge or allegation....

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / The American Guild of Appraisers

Fannie Mae Invites VaCAP for a Sit-Down Discussion of Relevant Topics 9

VaCAP Sits Down with Fannie Mae

As many of you know Fannie Mae (along with Freddie Mac) has launched an initiative which they label “modernizing appraisals”. This initiative consists of two distinct facets: 1) “modernizing”, or redesigning the forms which are utilized and 2) “modernizing” the processes involved in producing a valuation including the inspection process, data collection, etc., up to the delivery of the completed report. In the pursuit of this goal Fannie Mae has pledged to leverage stakeholder input, and of course appraiser input is both valuable and critical in this regard. In gathering stakeholder input Fannie Mae reached out to VaCAP, and invited...

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

Difference Between Price, Cost and Value... What It's Worth 5

Price vs Value

The buyer never actually pays what something is worth… Nobody can deny that there are a lot of issues plaguing the appraisal industry at the moment. I want to talk about one issue that I sometimes see: the incorrect usage of extremely important terms. Many real estate professionals use certain terms interchangeably, even when they have significantly different definitions. Appraisers, unfortunately, are not immune in this crime against clarity. Today, I want to get back to basics and look at the actual definitions of three absolutely crucial terms in our industry: price, cost and value. I think you’ll agree these...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Waiving Appraisals, Lowering Appraisal Standards, & Raising De Minimis... 13

Waiving Appraisals & Lowering Appraisal Standards

Freddie getting aggressive in waiving appraisals & promoting appraisal free mortgages… Appraisers, Yes, I have a ‘dog in the fight’ with this article, as I have been an Appraisal Institute member since 2003 (along with other association memberships since). But this article provides explanations about changes to the appraisal process I have not seen elsewhere. Excerpt from “Dodd-Frank rollback weakens appraisal standards“ They started to evaluate whether they wanted to raise that appraisal threshold level from $250,000 to some figure… They left it untouched at $250,000 for residential, but they have increased the commercial real estate appraisal threshold level just in the...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

CAP in DC: Information in Hybrids & Liability, Past Due Invoices, HBU... 4

100% Liability for Information Relied Upon

…courts have ruled if the information is included in the report and relied upon, the appraiser is responsible for the information… Last week representatives from VaCAP attended The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Committee (TAFAC) and Industry Advisory Council (IAC) joint meeting. We promised a recap of the events, however, both The Appraisal Foundation and Jonathan Miller have already released a summary and did an outstanding job. To read about the event, simply follow this link. The one thing every appraiser needs to understand about the new hybrid product is their liability; specifically the appraisers has 100% liability for the report and the information...

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

Appraiser Disciplinary Complaints: Who is Filing Them? What for? 11

Entities Behind Appraiser Disciplinary Complaints

Appraiser Disciplinary Complaints: Who is Filing Them? What for? We were doing some research for a project and came up with some basic data that appraisers may find interesting about disciplinary complaints to state appraiser licensing agencies. Who files the complaints? What’s the basis? Well, here’s some data from claims reported to LIA Administrators & Insurance Services in the last three years: Source of disciplinary complaints reported by LIA insured appraisers, April 2015 to April 2018: 61%   Borrower or purchaser 16%   Seller 8%     AMC 6%     Lender 5%     Miscellaneous (litigation party, estate beneficiary, other appraiser,...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

Determining What to Charge for Appraisal Fees - Hard & Soft Costs - Imagecredit Flickr - Chris Potter 21

Retainer or Not?

Last month I asked appraisers if you ask for a retainer when doing vacant land private assignments, which tend to be more difficult than private ‘home on dirt’ residential assignments. For those who do private assignments on GP forms (NOT the stinking GSE forms!), do any of you request a retainer from the prospective client before you start the research? I do a fair number of private assignments, with about half of those vacant land (unimproved) assignments. Those are more challenging than ‘home on dirt’ assignments. Lots of initial research and perhaps a site visit is necessary before committing to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Mortgage Fraud, Alert - Appraisal Waivers & Hybrids' Liability Discussions 4

Mortgage Fraud on the Rise

Mortgage Fraud is on the rise. Fannie Mae has released a warning for California, but this could be happening anywhere. The National Real Estate Post (Frank Garay and Brian Stevens) have a short 6 minute video titled “Red Flag Fraud Warning from Fannie Mae” about the warning. Also on the video, markets with declining values have been discovered. Here in Virginia, appraisers have also noted some areas have taken a down turn over the past 4-6 months. Our purpose of sharing this with everyone is not to spread doom and gloom, but to remind each of us to really take...

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

Liability Risks of Hybrids to Appraisers and Others 12

Liability Risks of Hybrid Appraisals

“Hybrid Appraisals” – Speaking about the Liability Risks to Appraisers and Others at The Appraisal Foundation’s Joint Council Meeting “Hybrid appraisal” liability? I am looking forward to speaking about the subject at a joint meeting of The Appraisal Foundation’s two advisory councils — The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (composed of 60 non-profits and government agencies) and the Industry Advisory Council (composed of 35 business entities with interests in valuation). “Hybrid appraisals” (which provide a desktop value opinion from a licensed/certified appraiser relying on a physical inspection of the property by a third party) are being marketed by AMCs and technology companies...

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

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