Help Regulators Take Proper Aim, Appraisal Institute Tells Congress CHICAGO (July 14, 2011) Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, the Appraisal Institute’s president-elect on Wednesday told lawmakers their intent was “right on target” and asked them to “guide the regulators’ aim” in implementing consumer-friendly real estate appraisal guidelines. Sara W. Stephens, MAI, told members of the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity that the Dodd-Frank Act passed by Congress last year is not being properly implemented by federal regulators. Among other highlights, the Act calls on appraisal management companies (AMCs) to pay “customary and reasonable” fees to residential...
Yesterday, the GAO released its analysis of the Real Estate Appraisal Profession and its regulatory framework titled Residential Appraisals: Opportunities to Enhance Oversight of an Evolving Industry. Full report can be reviewed or downloaded below. Summary of analysis: Real estate valuations, which encompass appraisals and other estimation methods, have come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the recent mortgage crisis. The Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) mandated that GAO study the various valuation methods and the options available for selecting appraisers, as well as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which established appraiser...
A shift of regulations intended to prevent lending companies from influencing — or worse, inflating — home values during the appraisal process nearly put an entire industry of people out of work during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, according to industry experts. But what happened to independent home appraisers is a topic that almost no one talks about outside the real estate industry. After a parade of subprime home loans and shoddy lending practices by mortgage lenders brought the real estate market to its knees, the real estate-appraisal process was targeted in an effort to protect consumers....
a la mode, maker of the appraisal industry’s most popular formfilling software, last week released an update to its WinTOTAL Aurora software that includes compliance features with the government sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). The UAD is part of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP), requiring a standardized dataset from all appraisers contributing to the GSEs’ loan portfolio. With this update, WinTOTAL Aurora joins a la mode’s TOTAL 2011 as the only publicly available appraisal formfillers currently able to comply with the UAD guidelines. WinTOTAL Aurora touts new UAD-specific features like in-line form popups, in-field guidance and real-time...
Ownership Interest in an AMC At the NAR midyear Legislative Meeting in DC, the question of the appraisal epidemic and the problems associated with AMCs and HVCC were discussed. David Stevens, the current President of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the immediate past commissioner of FHA, brought up the appraisers’ geographical incompetence, a violation of the Standard. The question is, ask Frank Garay & Brian Stevens, hosts of the TBWS Daily Show, why is he bringing this up now, when he is the President of MBA and cannot do anything about it. And why didn’t he voice his concerns while...
AARO concerned about potential problems or complications with enforcement resulting from UAD May 11, 2011 Mr. Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency Dear Mr. Pollard: On behalf of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to you individually, the FHFA, Mr. Robert Murphy of Fannie Mae, and Mr. Mark Simpson of Freddie Mac for affording representatives of AARO the opportunity to attend a “train the trainer” seminar introducing the “Uniform Appraisal Dataset” (UAD) in Washington, DC on March 7, 2011. During...
Serious concern over misapplication and misinterpretation of Uniform Appraisal Dataset requirements April 29, 2011 Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency… Re: Uniform Appraisal Dataset Dear Mr. Pollard: Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you and representatives from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac on February 17, 2011 and March 10, 2011 to discuss the Uniform Mortgage Data Processing (UMDP) initiative and the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). We applaud your efforts to bring about more consistent appraisal reporting. However, in light of our discussions and further examination of the publicly available documents...
This video, posted by a la mode, introduces UMDP terms, key players and processes involved in complying with the UMDP. The UMDP was created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to standardized requirements for delivering appraisals intended to provide more accurate analysis of the loans that are to be securitized through Fannie or Freddie. It has three major parts: the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) and the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD). The UAD and the UCDP is discussed in the below video. The ULDD does not go into effect until next year.
Required as of September 1, 2011, the Uniform Appraisal Dataset or UAD changes how appraisers fill out the URAR and 2055. a la mode UAD solution let the appraiser fill out the form as easily and quickly as possible. There are no pop up windows with okay or cancel buttons. Clicking into a field simply expands part of the form if necessary where appraisers can check any boxes, select any appropriate pull downs, and fill out any additional comments. Tabbing or clicking out of the field will automatically combine the appraiser’s answer in the exact format that the GSEs need....
Dave Towne developed this UAD Quick Reference Guide (QRG). The UAD is the most significant change to report preparation since national forms were adopted in the early 1960’s. His reference guide condenses the current 37 page UAD Appendix D manual into 5 basic ½ sheet pages, plus a conversion chart for the site size (since many counties report small sizes as a digital portion of an acre). It is organized so that appraisers can reference page 1 & 2, depending on which page in the report is being worked on. Definitions and other details are also included, taken from the...
