A few weeks back, VaCAP asked appraisers to start a conversation with agents and brokers about the ACE & PIW Waiver Programs being used for purchases. This is an opportunity for appraisers to gain more non lender work. As it turns out, appraisers are not the only ones that are concerned about these program. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) sent a letter Director Melvin Watts of the Federal Housing Finance Agency expressing concerns over the use of these programs. Specifically siting lack of transparency on how the use of these programs will ensure a safe and sound housing market....
Call Congress about Fannie/Freddie’s Risky Appraisal Waiver Program! VaCAP has received the following from the Appraisal Institute. Please contact your representative concerning Fannie and Freddie. Appraisers, Appraisal Organizations and NAR are all uniting to stop this. Make your voice be heard. Contact your representatives today. All, FYI — An action alert has been set up for appraisers to call their members of Congress relative to the GSE appraisal waiver issue. Click here to find the contact information of your member of Congress. Please let me know if you need assistance or have any questions. Bill Garber Director of Government and...
Using MLS photographs for comparable sales… In its September 2017 Bulletin, Freddie Mac updated its appraisal requirements. One change worth noting is the use of MLS photographs for comparable sales. Freddie Mac now allows copies of MLS photographs to be used for comparable sales without an explanation from the appraiser. While most appraisers welcome this change, others believe that this is another step to remove the appraiser from the process. One appraiser commented: “Anyone that thinks this is great should think about the long term. Freddie is now saying you don’t need your own pictures to prove you did an...
What happens after you file a claim against a defunct AMC’s bond? One appraiser has shared the response received from Western Surety Company, the company that issued the surety bond on TCValuations. “Western Surety Company is in receipt of several claims to date. If the amount of claims exceeds the penal sum of the bond, Western Surety Company will be required to do a pro-rata distribution of funds or file an interpleader action. In an interpleader action, the court will decide the amount that is due each individual claimant and generally represents a pro-rata amount of each individual claim based on the total...
Assignments Funneled Back Through HouseCanary & Your Data Appraisers, CU from the GSE’s was thrust on appraisers in 2011. Since then, the giant sink hole designed by the ‘enterprises’ has gobbled up millions of home data elements. And in some cases, this data has been used AGAINST appraisers – who have no direct access to it, even though ‘we’ are the ones supplying the data. But they are not the only entity doing this. A company named ‘HouseCanary’ has also been amassing more millions of data points about US properties. During 2017, HouseCanary has had $64 MILLION dollars of investor funding...
Transcontinental Valuations has gone out of business and stated that it can pay only 25% of the amount owed to each appraiser. VaCAP has been forwarded the following email from the North Carolina Appraisal Board. Please use this as a reminder to watch your receivables. No appraiser should go unpaid for their work! From: NCAppraisal Board [mailto:n…@ncab.org] Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 10:20 AM Subject: Transcontinental Valuations (NC-1174) On August 23, 2017, we sent out an email letting you know that Transcontinental Valuations has gone out of business. Since then, the Board received a cancellation notice from the bond company...
I want to talk today about one of my biggest pet peeves in the whole real estate appraisal industry: geographical competency. We belong to an industry in which large numbers of people are failing to make a living, and being forced to leave. It’s sad, but it can be reversed. One of the major changes that is needed regards geographical competency. We throw this phrase ‘geographical competency’ around a lot, and pretend that it means something. Does it really? Well, if you go and take a look in USPAP, I don’t think you’ll find it there. You’ll find the competency...
No matter how you sugar coat it, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been stealing data from independent appraisers for years. The information gathered by licensed appraisers and delivered to their clients, is sold to one of these two GSEs, who then store all the data under the auspices of appraisal quality review. Appraisers are not even allowed to see the info because it’s only for the lenders who hire the appraisers in the first place. Now armed with years of appraisal data (which I firmly believe is gathered illegally and an entire industry is virtually blackmailed into having no...
ICAP (and 36 other industry groups) signed a Letter To The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Over The New Appraisal Waiver Programs ICAP along with 36 other industry groups signed a letter to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to raise concern over the new appraisal waiver programs recently implemented by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the “Government Sponsored Enterprises.”) The letter states that these programs will create unnecessary and unacceptable risks for taxpayers and homeowners, and they come at a time when markets are at all-time highs – when risk mitigation should be tantamount. The...
For a quiet Holiday Week and the first week of school for many localities, many things to report: VaCAP has learned Treasure Valley Factors is no longer accepting “Managed Appraisal Services Inc.“ invoices. Treasure Valley Factoring has been highly promoted by Phil Crawford and many appraisers utilize their service. VaCAP does not know the reasoning behind their decision, but we can only assume it is risk based, or this AMC simply is not paying. This could be a sign of things to come. Be mindful of your receivables and take early action the first sign of trouble. It is a business...
