How in the heck is Zillow supposed to discern QUALITY of these homes, and then magically produce a presumed value, when there is no actual data upon which to base a decision? Maybe it’s done with smoke and mirrors, rather than eyes? Appraisers, I was busy churning out reports, and didn’t have time to send out this bit of news about Zillow earlier: Zillow is watching: New algorithm uses photos of your home to check quality and curb appeal. Zillow is now claiming “it” can discern QUALITY of a home, just by looking at various photos they obtain from various sources! They...
…a laundry list of ‘pile on’ purported USPAP “violations” were fabricated deriving for the above oversights ‘confirmed’ by the out of area review appraiser… In fighting or appealing a false complaint filed against you as an appraiser, truth, factual evidence and professional competency is no longer enough! More important than all these things, is conformity to the detailed technical rules of a state’s administrative law procedures. In short, in many if not most cases, appraisers MUST HIRE AN ATTORNEY to represent them before any administrative board. Anything less, is playing with fire and your professional career. Worse, E&O won’t cover...
Appraisal management companies do not understand the nuances of the appraisal profession, nor do they understand the challenges many rural properties bring. The Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals has submitted an official comment to the ASC opposing the State wide appraisal waiver request in North Dakota. VaCAP has submitted a public comment expressing concerns over the much larger consequences in allowing such a request. A blanket waiver of appraisals up to $500,000 for a 5 year period will have a devastating impact on housing, not only in North Dakota, but across the country. We envision a snowball effect with other...
No shortage exists other than too few appraisers willing to work for drastically discounted fees that would also be willing to overlook the complexities of rural appraising in their completion time estimates. Nowhere in the ND proposal is there an assurance that in return for waivers, consumers would not be charged one dime for appraisal or appraisal related AVM fees. “Rising costs” is a deceptive claim to hide bankers desires to usurp appraisal fees for themselves. Perhaps they would call them evaluation fees to warrant charging $600 to $1,500+ for 30 second AVM analysis fees. Dear Mr. Park: RE: Appraisal...
Gosh… I’m really sad to bring you this news (sarcasm). Brian Coester Loses in Court! About 2 years ago, Georgia appraiser Mark Skapinetz, sued CoesterVMS.com, Inc. and Brian Coester for hacking his email account. The Judge ordered a summary judgement in favor of Mark Skapinetz on all counts. Excerpts from the HousingWire article: Coester will likely be forced to cough up damages as a judge ruled against him Monday in a lawsuit brought on by Mark Skapinetz, a subcontracted appraiser who worked for CoesterVMS. …a two-year legal battle between Coester and Skapinetz, who sued alleging violations of the Stored Communications...
What is it going to take for every appraiser to comment on Town Hall concerning the proposed Guidance Document on hybrid appraisals? Even if you have no intentions of ever completing a hybrid appraisal, it is important for you to place a comment on Town Hall concerning the document and these questionable products. If appraisers are not willing to step up and take a stand against actions that are contributing to the next housing crash, who will? If you have seen any of the samples floating around on the blogs and forums, you realize very quickly, these products are not credible...
Appraisers don’t use race… Race is NEVER considered during a valuation Last week in a congressional hearing on the future of the appraisal profession, some research was used to suggest appraisers are showing racial bias and essentially undervaluing black neighborhoods. I was not expecting the conversation to go that way during the hearing and I’ll admit I’m deeply concerned about the emerging narrative of appraisers being racists… In the congressional hearing a panelist talked about a study that shows black neighborhoods are devalued by $48,000 compared to otherwise similar white neighborhoods. That’s alarming and society needs to have some serious...
Appraisers, I belong to several appraiser forums, with active participation among appraisers. On Wednesday June 12, 2019, per a forum posting, the MetroList MLS (which uses Rapattoni data) was hit from an outside cyber-attack. This MLS provides service in central California around the Sacramento region. The cyber-attack caused property data to become unavailable via web sites – to appraisers and real estate agents. The MLS posted this message: The MetroList computer network that supports Prospector MLS is down as a result of a cyber-attack. The MetroList team is working at a very fast pace to resolve and restore services as...
Time to get on my soapbox and complain about a complaint filed against me (not a charge, but merely a complaint). I did an appraisal of a multi-family property near my office. The property owner/borrower called me to complain about the appraisal since it came in far less than she thought it should (not unusual). Clearly, I could not answer her questions since she was not the client. This upset her greatly, so she filed a complaint with the State. The complaint had no basis in substance. In fact, the complaint was that my appraisal was too low. Since neither...
Stop unfair, deceptive, and abusive iBuying tactics. Consumers are being mislead into believing that heavily funded real estate iBuying platforms are cheaper and easier than using a Realtor. Sign and Share this petition demanding that there be clarity for consumers on these deceitful iBuying platforms. Click HERE. Summary: Real estate agents, and the buyers and sellers they have faithfully represented for decades, are under threat from a small number of technology companies looking to disrupt the real estate industry. This movement began back in 2004 when companies like Trulia and Zillow were formed, and has recently neared a tipping point...
