Category: Collateral Underwriter

Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth 40

Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth?

Is THAT free enterprise? I’m surprised anyone in the business today sees any minimum pricing proposal as being anti-free enterprise. Contrary to popular belief we have not had free enterprise in the GSE appraisal process since HVCC first reared its ugly head. AMCs ‘telling’ us to pick a number from $250 to $350, or that ‘THEY pay’ $325 per 1004 is NOT free enterprise. I’m an old timer (1986) that was brought up on what used to be AIREA (now the AI) & SREA (now gone) positions that free enterprise and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibited us from ‘even discussing’...

The Realities of Regression - Imagecredit Flickr - Walfer X 6

The Realities of Regression

The use of Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU) tool by lenders has created some “hot topics” for appraisers. Durbin is encouraged by the use of CU and thinks it will be a good thing for the appraisal profession. One of these topics is the discussion around how to clearly show the methodology the appraiser used to arrive at the adjustment values. In this presentation Durbin proposes the use of “Regression Analysis” (RA) as a solution to this problem.
Durbin lamented there is a perception that appraisers make subjective, anecdotal, arbitrary, and unscientific adjustments. Now that CU will be looking at adjustments…

AMC's “My Way or the Highway” Attitude 47

AMC’s “My Way or the Highway” Attitude

Apparent appraiser abuse by AMC’s… As Chairman of the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA) National Appraiser Peer Review Committee, I have had the opportunity to see and hear directly about many cases involving alleged, as well as apparent appraiser abuse by AMC’s. These cases ranged geographically from California, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, Maryland, and District of Columbia. As a QC consultant to a smaller appraiser owned AMC, I have also seen low fee spreadsheets from a variety of lenders that had 90% listed at the SAME APPRAISER fees: $495.00 (which INCLUDED the AMC...

Enhancements to Collateral Underwriter (CU) Are Coming - Imagecredit Flickr - Alan Levine 4

CU “Enhancements” Are Coming

CU risk score, flags and messages Appraisers, In about 6 weeks, Fannie Mae will make available to LENDERS only, and probably by default indirectly, to their AMC agents, enhancements or improvements (in their opinion) to the Collateral Underwriter electronic review process. None of the Collateral Underwriter background info,  especially about Fannie Mae’s ‘additional comps’ selection process, is shared directly with appraisers.  But when these are returned to appraisers in the form of a Quality Assurance request from the lender or AMC, appraisers are expected to drop everything and immediately review those for applicability in the appraisal report. Pay attention to the...

Appraisers Participation Needed - NMAC Tackling BPO & CU Issues - Imagecredit Flickr - Miles Heller 2

Appraisers Participation Needed – Tackling BPO & CU Issues

The appraisal industry was blindsided once again only this time by the AG’s office when they determined that the Real Estate Appraiser Board cannot regulate BPO’s. The New Mexico Appraiser’s Coalition and the Rio Grande Chapter of the Appraisal Institute sent a joint letter to the Appraisal Board prior to a hearing that was held in January to discuss the BPO language in the Appraiser Act. Although we feel we provided enough information to guide the Board, the Attorney General Representative at the meeting made the determination that the Appraisal Board had no jurisdiction over the BPO product. Even though...

Freddie Mac Proprietary Messages in the UCDP Scheduled for June - Imagecredit Flickr - Patrick McFall 2

Freddie Mac Takes a Bite of the Apple

Freddie Mac Proprietary Messages in the UCDP Not wanting to be left home from the party, Freddie Mac has announced that on June 30, 2015 it will begin providing new feedback on appraisals submitted to it via the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP). Like Fannie Mae’s system, the messages will be delivered to those lenders seeking to sell residential loans to Freddie Mac. Most of the feedback will be in the form of warnings which essentially alert a lender there are some inconsistencies between the submitted appraisal report and data that Freddie Mac already possesses (like public records). For example,...

Appraiser soon to be jailbird - convicted of a felony for incorrectly reporting the last sale date of property in an appraisal used to defraud a lender in a mortgage fraud scheme 4

Appraiser Soon to be Jailbird for Fraud

In a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme Appraisers, An appraiser in NY state has been convicted of a FELONY for incorrectly reporting the last sale date of a subject property in an appraisal report, which was used to defraud a lender in a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. You can read the full story here. Per the info in the story: “Essig is the owner and operator of Essig Appraisals, an appraisal company that specialized in residential appraisals. According to statements made in Court today during Essig’s plea, Essig admitted that he made a false entry in an appraisal that...

Appraiser GLA vs Assessor GLA 8

Appraisers’ GLA vs Assessors’ GLA

GLA in your appraisal reports being questioned Appraisers, today (4/30/15), Freddie Mac released a document showing Warning and Fatal codes that will trigger if certain items are found in your reports sent to Freddie Mac through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), as of June 30, 2015. In 25 pages of codes, only 4 are ‘fatal’ and those are for items you should not be overlooking. See the PDF below and take a moment to look over the document. The very first ‘warning’ code is this one, which has two variations: FRE1001 The gross living area for the subject property ([GLA] sf)...

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It’s Not a Comp, It’s a Sale; Stop Fannie Mae Lies!

It is merely a SALE… Appraisers, Something’s been gnawing at my craw ever since January when FNMA’s wonderful Collateral Underwriter (CU) was unleashed to the world. And before that, when FNMA’s Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) process was introduced to judge the work of appraisers. No one else has written about this. No one has even mentioned it. So I will:  It has to do with the word “Comp” which is used liberally by Fannie Mae (FNMA). What exactly is a “Comp?” In FNMA’s world, it’s any property that they obtain, either by their vast AVM process which examines millions of...

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Helpful Appraisal Tips From the Seattle Chapter of the Appraisal Institute

Last Fall I had the pleasure of attending the annual conference presented by the Seattle Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. I was able to sit in on some interesting educational sessions. With all the conversation in industry surrounding CU and other initiatives directly impacting appraisers, I felt highlights from the educational sessions would be beneficial. The following information is from a presentation by Clark Dickson with HomeStreet Bank called, “Appraising for Lenders in Today’s World.” Mr. Dickson’s presentation was about appraisal quality and what it takes to have your appraisal be acceptable in today’s lending environment. He said that everything...

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