The chief of the Brookings Institution, a retired four-star general, resigned last month under investigation of lobbying on behalf of a foreign government and then covering it up. If the allegations are true, it means the think tank, under the general’s watch, was secretly taking illicit cash from at least one outside interest group at a time it was engaged in research that irreparably damaged the reputation of the nation’s real estate appraisers. Astute appraisers wondered whether Brookings might have also been influenced by any well-placed donations from other groups, such as the powerful lobbies of the Realtors, home builders,...
Appraisers, back in April, I was notified by someone “close to the action” of appraisal report submittals to the GSE’s, that many Desktops are being submitted back to lenders TOTALLY WRONG by the assigned appraisers! These reports are being captured and evaluated in the current Desktop observation and testing phase of the UCDP evaluations. Lenders use the UCDP as an initial report Quality Control check so that any problems can be identified, and sent back to the appraiser for correction, before the last submittal is used for the loan. The UCDP ‘sees’ every report for a particular property address, and keeps track...
What makes equity so invidious as a governing tenet is that it involves not just helping people of one racial or cultural group but it has the effect of knocking struggling members of disfavored groups out of the game. One type of parlor game relies on players’ ability to maintain their memory, logic and articulation – all while getting blotto. These alcohol-fueled “think and drink” games are highly challenging. Even Britain’s royal family engages in such diversions if Netflix’s “The Crown” is to be believed. The games have names like “Bizz Buzz,” “Ibble Dibble,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Roman...
How Does an Eminent Domain Attorney Critique and Review An Appraisal Upon Which His Client’s Just Compensation Is Based? Attorneys representing property owners and appraisers responsible for documenting the value of the property being taken often work together in an eminent domain case. The appraiser develops an independent opinion of value for the property through an appraisal, and the attorney ensures that the appraisal is sufficient to support a just compensation determination in what is essentially a legal proceeding. The stakes can be high when a client’s valuation conclusion rests on a weak or improper appraisal. If the property owner’s...
…concerns that appraisers could be sued for making floor plans of a home… I’m an AI “member” (because I pay membership dues) even though I’m not supposed to say it that way. Technically, I am an Appraisal Institute Practicing Affiliate. Regardless, an AI email earlier on 6/29/22 had this news: Supreme Court Rejects Floor Plan Case; Appraisers Vulnerable The Supreme Court on June 27 rejected a case involving the use of floor plans in marketing materials. Multiple real estate firms petitioned the court to review the case, contending the Eighth Circuit incorrectly ruled that using floor plans in marketing materials...
The Doomed Quest to Reform a corrupt West Virginia Licensing Board “Board members earn money working for a law firm that files lawsuits against appraisers,” said one West Virginia appraiser… Readers of DC Comics will be familiar with Bizarro World, a cube-shaped planet that is home to a weirdly inverted version of reality. The planet is governed by the Bizarro Code, whose ungrammatical main tenet is, “Us do opposite of all Earthly things!” But “Bizarro World” doesn’t nearly describe a scheme in which a West Virginia occupational licensing board has joined hands with a law firm that has managed to...
Don’t say that the subject property is ‘within’ a particular City or Town due to the postal ZIP Code that applies to the street address unless that is accurate. The actual location may be miles away from there. Appraisers, this article was prompted by my ‘coming in contact with’ several appraisal reports where different regional appraisers report the physical location of the subject property “in” a particular City associated with the postal ZIP Code for that City. Actually, the property was not “in” the City at all. It was in the County. Since I observed this inaccuracy among appraisers who...
Free webinar on how to protect yourself against discrimination claims on 6/30/22, and today there will be a forum on “Racial Bias in the Home Appraisal Process”… OREP is sponsoring a free webinar on how to protect yourself and your business against discrimination claims. Leading trial attorney Craig Capilla has handled nearly 1,000 appraiser cases in his career and has been on the frontlines defending appraisers from lawsuits, state board complaints, and now, HUD Fair Housing (Discrimination) complaints. Capilla began his legal career working for Illinois’ professional regulation agency as a real estate prosecutor and since then has become one...
Stealthy vice again masquerades as public virtue. The head of yet another government-subsidized nonprofit was found funneling cash to cronies while raking in obscene compensation. The nation’s long-suffering appraisers will recognize the pattern in a porcine publisher they are forced to frequently slop as frenzied Beltway porkers go whole-hog on the swill. Revelations surfaced recently about a New York City nonprofit receiving government subsidies to aid the homeless. The nonprofit then lavished a garden of earthly delights on its boss and his cronies. Jack Brown, the chief executive of CORE Services Group, a New York City provider of services...
Fannie makes its subsidies for blacks explicit, but they don’t appear to extend to other racial groups such as Hispanics and Asians. Low-income white borrowers are also excluded. Last week, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac announced actions that aim to make it easier to buy a home and close the racial homeownership gap. Their Equitable Housing Finance Plan for 2022-2024 outlines a range of pilot programs that remove barriers blacks face when buying or renting, and keeping homeowners and renters at home: Valuation Modernization aims to support an equitable appraisal process for Black households and communities of color Expand Appraiser...
