Category: Appraisal

Case Dismissed - Update on Llano Cases against Appraisers 2

Update on Llano’s Lawsuits Against Appraisers

And the house came a tumbling down… case update… Most of you already know the background on Llano and its wave of appraiser litigation. So we won’t spend a lot of time repeating past details here. Let’s just say that karma appears to be alive and well in 2016. For those of you who are not aware of what Llano has been doing, we’d recommend you go to www.frea.com and search past blog posts for information on Heritage Pacific, Savant Claims Management, Llano, and the Ganter brothers. It won’t take time for you to get up to speed. Here are...

Appraisal

Valligent New $40 Alternative Valuation Assignment 31

Valligent New $40 Alternative Valuation Assignment

Valligent, an AMC with ‘national’ presence, is soliciting appraisers to complete a new alternative valuation product on behalf of their GSE clients. There is nothing wrong with doing these. Any appraiser can. But any appraiser who does these assignments is required to comply with USPAP’s Record Keeping Rule. Which means keeping a Workfile for every assignment. In order to do these alternative valuation assignments, you need to comply with USPAP Standard 3, because you ARE providing a report review service. Even though Valligent is sly about not really revealing that aspect. The SOW for these assignments, which I highlighted below,...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

16

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

The Decline of Appraisers 26

The Decline of Appraisers

The problem is not simply that too many appraisers are retiring. Very few appraisers are entering the profession. In Illinois, the drop in real estate appraiser trainee applications went from 1,231 in 2005 to only 55 in 2015. That’s an over 95 percent decline. This drastic reduction in new entrants is being seen in states across the country. Many appraisers welcome the shortage, which has already driven up fees in many areas. But many believe the celebration is shortsighted. A decline in the number of appraisers threatens the integrity of lending and undermines the stability of the real estate market…

AI / AMC / American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies

Where is all the mortgage work 14

Where is all the Mortgage Work?

We should be busting with mortgage work. Where is all the mortgage work? I talk to appraisers and they all ask the same question. With the looming spring market and low interest rates, we should be busting with mortgage work. But the appraisers I know tend to get a reasonable and customary fee of above $400. So is it going to the bottom third? Now don’t get me wrong; I am quoting 2 to 3 weeks due to our back log. But outside of VA’s it’s everything but first mortgage work. I am fine with it because it’s less hassle....

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

Autopsy of a Failing AMC 16

Autopsy of a Failing AMC

The autopsy has revealed… Appraisers and others, I have previously reported about a Seattle area AMC, who I and others believe, is just about to ‘officially fail.’ This AMC claims to be registered in many states, places orders ‘nationwide,’ and uses both “Staff” (1099) appraisers in the metro areas, and independent vendor appraisers (also 1099) in other areas. I am purposely not reporting the AMC’s name. Even though it’s a terrible situation for many appraisers, the AMC deserves some courtesy as they attempt to stay afloat. They have taken steps to do so. But with no expectation from observers with...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Mortgage Rates Approaching all Time Lows 2

Mortgage Rates Approaching all Time Lows

Mortgage rates are approaching all time lows…again In case you have not been following mortgage lending rates activity, mortgage rates are again very close to what we experienced in the second quarter of 2013. Here’s the link to a Mortgage News Daily e-newsletter article. From the article: Mortgage rates were widely available at 3.5 percent for much of the day today. At any other time from the middle of 2013 through the end of 2015, that’s not something that very many people thought they’d be able to say (or read, or think!). A few lenders had been dabbling in quoting...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / AQB / The Appraiser Qualifications Board

Titanic market value big data 9

Market Value in the Age of Big Data Infallibility

“Practically” unsinkable! This isn’t a topic I generally spend a lot of time on. Partly because I am ‘uneducated’ (sans college degree) and partly because it bores people to death. Despite this I ask you to bear with me. It all started while I was listening to my favorite local radio stock market gurus on the way to wash my car. An expert from the firm of Dewey Fleecem & Howe (DF&H), or some such firm, was explaining the current stock market instability in a historical context. Since our inception as a nation, DF&H reports that we have had 45...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / The American Guild of Appraisers

Urban or Suburban 8

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

First American Financial and ACI software 13

Software Provider Conflict of Interest(s)?

ACI software & “restricted appraisals” that suffer from schizophrenia… It’s been awhile since I reviewed or researched influences affecting products offered by appraisal software providers. It’s hardly been a number one priority lately. However, I just noticed something I’ve missed for I can’t even begin to guess at how long. Like many appraisers, I use a variety of software providers. Some do some things better than others, or easier. It’s usually been a matter of preference. I started out back in the 1980’s with Formfil PC+, back on my old DOS based system. It was a decent appraisal software. Pretty...

a la mode / ACI / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisers News

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