In March, I once again traveled to Modesto, CA, and attended the Annual Spring Conference of the Appraisal Institute’s Northern California Chapter. This month, I will share some useful and interesting information from the presentations. The conference focuses on the California market, but many of the presenters also covered topics related to the national market. The first session was “State of the Appraisal Profession”; the speaker was Lance Coyle, MAI, and SRA who is national president-elect of the Appraisal Institute. He started by giving a brief history of the profession and pointed out that significant changes came to the profession...
One of the hottest topics right now in the appraisal world is that of non-lender work. I am probably asked a question concerning non-lender appraisals a couple of times per week, at least. “How do I do more work for attorneys?” “How do I go about marketing to home owners?” “I want to work with more real estate agents, but I am not sure how to garner their trust.” Okay, so that last one was not a question, but you get the point. Financial appraisal work through AMCs or local banks has slowed a great deal over the past few...
CoStar accuses the “John Does” of violating CoStar’s copyrights by contributing photos or other information obtained from CoStar to the CompStak database… In the last week, CoStar Realty Information has filed several lawsuits against commercial appraisers and real estate brokers for intentional copyright violations and fraud relating to the alleged use of CoStar property data and photos without proper registration/payment. If you use CoStar, be sure you are doing so properly and within the terms of your license agreement. Examples of the types of alleged situations that have led to CoStar’s recent and past copyright lawsuits are: (1) sharing IDs/passwords, (2) obtaining an...
…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...
Individual right to possess and carry firearms The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms. In the twenty-first century, the amendment has been subjected to renewed academic inquiry and judicial interest. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision, expressly holding the amendment to protect an individual right to possess and carry firearms. In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Court clarified its earlier decisions that limited the amendment’s impact to a restriction on the federal government, expressly holding that the Fourteenth Amendment applies...
In 2012, AI requested the removal of the references to the AOs and FAQs from the Commission’s regulations…. On April 8, the Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors completed action on rulemaking that removed the Advisory Opinions and Frequently Asked Questions of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice from being incorporated by reference into the state’s appraiser licensing and certification laws. The move addresses the Appraisal Institute’s long-standing concerns about increased regulatory burdens placed on professional appraisers. Prior to this rule change, the AOs and FAQs were considered by the Commission to be...
Fannie Mae’s new “Appraiser Quality Monitoring” initiative that creates an appraiser “do not use list” or “blacklist” has alarmed many working appraisers, especially since at least a portion of the process is automated. Placing an appraiser on a Fannie Mae exclusionary list would effectively end a career, therefore, it is critical that appraisers…
A group of Real Estate Appraisal experts committed to the preservation, protection and enhancement of the appraisal industry has formed the Appraiser Prosperity Coalition (www.AppraiserProsperity.com), a merger of industry insiders and government affairs professionals dedicated to fighting for the legislative and regulatory changes needed to rebuild the industry in the wake of damaging legislation. As you know, in an effort to remove value pressure from Real Estate Appraisers, the Dodd-Frank law affirmed a move made by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct to transfer most real estate appraisal ordering power from the hands of the 250,000+ Loan Officers in this...
A voice to this lone wolf profession “Voice of Appraisal” is a show designed to deliver the most up to date news and information for the working real estate valuation professional. The show provides top analysis of real estate trends and issues that affect appraisers nationwide. Our no-nonsense approach to appraisal, real estate, banking and politics creates a cutting edge program that provides an insight into the appraisal profession that is seldom heard. The past 25 years of appraisal organizations, affiliations, coalitions, and designations have left our industry splintered and broken. We have become a group too caught up in...
A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 2): Appraisal Independence Violated History is an important reminder to us all of what went wrong and what went right. When history is known we tend to skip the mistakes we made. We can either choose the right path for the wrong reason, the right path for the ‘right’ reasons and, we can take the wrong path in a similar manner. The MARKET needs to take the right path for the ‘right’ reasons. In years of late 1998 and 1999 several ideas were brought forth to a Forum filled with Individual Appraisers carrying...
