Category: Fannie Mae – Freddie Mac

Standardized Data & Death of Residential Appraiser

May 9, 2016

The Death of the Residential Appraiser

Standardized data & the death of the residential appraiser (as we know it today)… Those that know me on a personal level and that have worked with me over the years have had to hear me talk endlessly about the pending death of the residential appraiser. The other day I eluded to it at the end of another long post. I figured it’s time to share the thoughts with everyone. First off, I come from a long career in corporate America and spend 20 years working in everything from manufacturing, order administration, marketing, sales, and engineering. One thing always held...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Collateral Underwriter

March 22, 2016

AVMs Can NEVER Replace Appraisals

AVMs Can NEVER Replace Appraisals & why FNMAs vaunted CU AVM is flawed! Yesterday (March 15, 2016), an appraiser called me to discuss a complex assignment he had. One of his comparable sales was reported in MLS as having sold for $3,469, 898. It was in range with his other comparable sales for his subject property. It was the most similar comparable property. When he went to verify the sale price with our Los Angeles, California subscription-equivalent to “public records” he discovered a shocking discrepancy he couldn’t explain. RealQuest (CoreLogic) showed the full value sale price as $17,665,455! So what...

1004MC / AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

March 7, 2016

Desirable, Rite or Rong?

Desirable, banned or permitted? I was caught up in a minor ‘dispute’ last week when a review appraiser wacked my knuckles when I described a ‘neighborhood’ as being “Desirable.” My original message was re-distributed on various forums and I’ve tried to read all comments to see how I might learn from this episode. Lots of appraisers offered their input. Some supportive and positive, some cautionary, and some who believe much of what we have to deal with is pretty trivial. “Banned words” were originally identified in the Fair Housing Act law many years ago (not the EEOC law as I...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

February 23, 2016

Collateral Underwriter, What’s Under the Hood?

Collateral Underwriter – Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) FNMA has a fascination for first patenting garbage, & then implementing it as policy! FNMA simply LIED! Collateral Underwriter IS an automated ‘appraisal review’ despite disclaimers. It was never intended as anything else. Read the patent application below. Before I get into the details, I want to ask each reader to forward this to every appraiser you know. This concerns FNMA’s patent of the seriously flawed techniques and underlying support for their Collateral Underwriter (CU) Risk Rating “System”. It’s time for appraisers to take action against the unreliable system which is unfairly...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

February 15, 2016

Urban… or Suburban?

Difference between Urban and Suburban locations Appraisers, Last week, I asked your input regarding why in many cases appraisers check suburban in the Neighborhood Characteristics when often the subject’s location is actually an Urban area (at least from the definitions perspective below). The example I used was from an actual report. The subject property is located within a city of 90,000 population. It has typical urban services, including police and fire protection, utility water deliver and sewer service. It is surrounded by competing subdivisions, nearby shopping, colleges, city administrative offices and business buildings. It is also close to Interstate 5,...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News / AQM / Collateral Underwriter

February 5, 2016

Big Data is in Real Estate

The only thing Big Data can’t do is smell. I got a call from my credit card company. Now I have been traveling a lot lately on business. Apparently, someone got my number and charged $199.53 at WalMart on Monday. I was not in WalMart, but a couple a weeks ago I bought a new TV at Sam’s Club. No question about the Sam’s Club purchase. How did they know I did not go to WalMart? I am truly amazed. The reason – BIG DATA! The banks are amassing massive amounts of data on you, me, everyone. They know more...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / CoreLogic Valuation Services

December 9, 2015

Incorrect 1004MC Form Trend Reporting

Appraisers, I have ‘come in contact with’ an appraisal report, produced by a Certified appraiser and its Licensed Trainee – working in the area near my office. It’s clear to me that these two appraisers do not understand trend reporting that this form indicates. By the way, I’m no great fan of the MC form. However, since we are required to use it, we better darn well learn to use it properly. Report what the trends on it show and not something obtained from elsewhere, sometimes called “PFA.” If we don’t, or choose to ignore what the form shows, then the ENTIRE...

1004MC / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

December 2, 2015

A Reality Check for Appraisers

I am not selling road-apples to my fellow appraisers… Appraisers as a group DO NOT PAY ATTENTION to what is going on within the profession OR seemingly unrelated areas that affect the profession. FNMA & Freddie ALREADY HAVE authority to fund loans without appraisals. This is in anticipation of an appraiser shortage. AI has appointed itself the ‘voice of all appraisers’ in America. They actually made the statement at the California TAF meeting in June that they speak for all appraisers interests AND that they put those interests of the entire profession above their own. (source-live meeting; TAF/ASB Redondo Beach...

AGA / AI / American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News

November 24, 2015

MC Form & Incorrect Reporting of DATA

Appraisers, Wednesday last week (11/18/15) WorkingRE published, via their e-Newsletter, an article I submitted to them as an ‘exclusive.’ I was in a jet to Las Vegas to attend the Appraisal Summit & Expo that day. In case you did not see the article, I’m letting you know about it here. You can access the WorkingRE version of the article here. I want to thank those appraisers who left comments on the WorkingRE site, included below the article, and to those appraisers who wrote me directly. Getting feedback is critical, and appreciated. And kudos to Isaac Peck, Editor and David Brauner, Publisher,...

1004MC / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / UAD / Uniform Appraisal Dataset

November 2, 2015

Adjustment Values, Frequency & Dollar Amount

Ever wondered what other appraisers are doing with adjustment values? Appraisers, Have you ever wondered what other appraisers are doing with adjustments in their reports? CoreLogic has done research over the past 3 years, using 1.3 MILLION+ reports, and has produced the graph attached here. You may want to print this for reference. This graph shows the percentage of time a certain feature is adjusted, and the average dollar amount of the adjustment for each of those. It’s rather interesting. The highest amount of adjustment, approximately $14,000, is for the Quality Rating. Not really surprising as to the amount, but the percentage...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News / AQM / Collateral Underwriter