Help Regulators Take Proper Aim, Appraisal Institute Tells Congress CHICAGO (July 14, 2011) Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, the Appraisal Institute’s president-elect on Wednesday told lawmakers their intent was “right on target” and asked them to “guide the regulators’ aim” in implementing consumer-friendly real estate appraisal guidelines. Sara W. Stephens, MAI, told members of the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity that the Dodd-Frank Act passed by Congress last year is not being properly implemented by federal regulators. Among other highlights, the Act calls on appraisal management companies (AMCs) to pay “customary and reasonable” fees to residential...
Yesterday, the GAO released its analysis of the Real Estate Appraisal Profession and its regulatory framework titled Residential Appraisals: Opportunities to Enhance Oversight of an Evolving Industry. Full report can be reviewed or downloaded below. Summary of analysis: Real estate valuations, which encompass appraisals and other estimation methods, have come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the recent mortgage crisis. The Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) mandated that GAO study the various valuation methods and the options available for selecting appraisers, as well as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which established appraiser...
A shift of regulations intended to prevent lending companies from influencing — or worse, inflating — home values during the appraisal process nearly put an entire industry of people out of work during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, according to industry experts. But what happened to independent home appraisers is a topic that almost no one talks about outside the real estate industry. After a parade of subprime home loans and shoddy lending practices by mortgage lenders brought the real estate market to its knees, the real estate-appraisal process was targeted in an effort to protect consumers....
Client Kickbacks No, it’s not what you think. We’re talking about when a client kicks your report back to you because you did something wrong. Or did you? I was looking over a recent ServiceLink order that came in on a complaint. There were 32 requirements spelled out for the appraiser to follow. A four page order sheet with an 8 hour turn time for $200. Eerything was laid out from who could inspect to “your report must include photos of all 4 sides of the subject dwelling” (which is a cute trick for an inside rowhouse or townhome). Let’s...
The more clever title would be the nickname of this farm animal or the first three letters of assessment. Your choice. Real estate values have gone down, everyone knows that. Just ask the homeless man on the street who a few years ago was more than likely the town’s leading real estate agent, who back then could sell ice to eskimos and to top it off and really cash in, could franchise his venture through the funding of a Worldwide bank that had it in their business plan that if we get to big to fail then the tax payers will...
a la mode, maker of the appraisal industry’s most popular formfilling software, last week released an update to its WinTOTAL Aurora software that includes compliance features with the government sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). The UAD is part of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP), requiring a standardized dataset from all appraisers contributing to the GSEs’ loan portfolio. With this update, WinTOTAL Aurora joins a la mode’s TOTAL 2011 as the only publicly available appraisal formfillers currently able to comply with the UAD guidelines. WinTOTAL Aurora touts new UAD-specific features like in-line form popups, in-field guidance and real-time...
Ownership Interest in an AMC At the NAR midyear Legislative Meeting in DC, the question of the appraisal epidemic and the problems associated with AMCs and HVCC were discussed. David Stevens, the current President of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the immediate past commissioner of FHA, brought up the appraisers’ geographical incompetence, a violation of the Standard. The question is, ask Frank Garay & Brian Stevens, hosts of the TBWS Daily Show, why is he bringing this up now, when he is the President of MBA and cannot do anything about it. And why didn’t he voice his concerns while...
AARO concerned about potential problems or complications with enforcement resulting from UAD May 11, 2011 Mr. Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency Dear Mr. Pollard: On behalf of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to you individually, the FHFA, Mr. Robert Murphy of Fannie Mae, and Mr. Mark Simpson of Freddie Mac for affording representatives of AARO the opportunity to attend a “train the trainer” seminar introducing the “Uniform Appraisal Dataset” (UAD) in Washington, DC on March 7, 2011. During...
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...
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,...
