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...
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...
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...
Let’s Get Back to Real Appraising: We have all encountered the glass is half full / half empty perspective. This perspective could be applied to everything life throws at us. The appraisal industry is no different. We are hearing a lot of doom and gloom over Fannie Mae’s Property Inspection Waivers (PIW) and Freddie Mac’s Automated Collateral Evaluation Program (ACE). On the surface the glass appears half empty. Well, the glass is definitely half full; maybe even 3/4 full. We can now get back to real appraising……. No more UAD, No more 1004mc, No more scope creep, No more false...
To keep my finger on the pulse of the real estate appraisal community, I like to check in on Facebook groups dedicated to our profession. A little while ago, I noticed that the same question was coming up over and over again; ‘can you use the subject as a comparable sale?’ When you work in a big, metropolitan area, this isn’t really an issue. Real estate appraisers in those places would probably dismiss this idea out of hand; they’re going to have plenty of comparables to use in their valuation process. In rural areas like the one in which I...
What happens when an AMC does not pay or closes its doors & should funds collected for appraisals be kept in escrow? 54.1-2021.1 of the Code of Virginia requires AMCs to post a $100,000 bond or letter of credit. Appraisers may be able to file a claim against the bond or letter of credit and receive funds if they have not been paid. Directly from the statute: Ҥ 54.1-2021.1. Appraisal management companies; license required; posting of bond or letter of credit. In addition to the filing fee, each applicant for licensure shall post either a bond or a letter of credit...
Appraisers Going the Way of the Buggy Whip Makers? Ken Harney has another article all appraisers should read: Refinancing mortgage? Maybe you don’t need that appraisal after all This discusses and discloses the Fannie and Freddie initiatives to eliminate appraisals ON CERTAIN TYPES OF LOANS. Of course, the loan sellers/salespeople are all in favor of speeding up the process, eliminating costs, and promoting a ‘better relationship’ for their loan customers. Appraisers, on the other hand, are wary of the processes which rely on dated property info kept in giant data bases, and disinterest by ‘those with the gold’ to really...
