Category: Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

Verisite Photo Appraisal Report... Is the Door Open Wide for Fraud? 42

Verisite Photo Appraisal

Appraisal Photo Report for use on loans, pick and choose pictures… Is the Welcome Mat Down and the Door Opened Wide for Fraud? “What Appraisers Need to Know about Property Data Collection” is a topic of discussion in the latest Fannie Mae Newsletter. The article describes how property data is being collected and being sent to Fannie Mae to determine the type of valuation that is needed on a property. It discusses Appraisal Modernization, Desktop appraisals, Scope of Work and USPAP. It even references The Appraisal Foundation Video on Inspections & Hybrid Appraisal Assignments. Well, Fannie Mae is the last entity that should be discussing...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / The Appraisal Foundation

Mueller Sample Bifurcated Appraisals. YOU Decide! - AppraisersBlogs 48

Mueller Sample Report. You Decide!

A recruiter for Mueller Services, Inc. (Mueller Reports) contacted a VaCAP member about joining their team as a W-2 employee to complete bifurcated appraisals. Our member communicated with them and received samples of their product.  During the course of the communication, the recruiter mentioned, via email: In the past 30 days, we have had 23 cases in Virginia as a whole and expect that number only to increase. A quick check on the Department of Professional Occupational Regulations (DPOR) website revealed Mueller Services, Inc. is not registered as an appraisal firm. In fact they are not registered at all. In Virginia, to operate an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Trending / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

How Does ADA Affect Appraisers? Being an Appraiser With a Disability 9

Being an Appraiser With a Disability

Here are some thoughts on something I know nothing about, but want to get some answers. How does the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) affect real estate appraisers? This act exists to help those with disabilities to have the same advantages of those who do not (at least as much as possible). At the time it first past, there was grumbling from those who had to spend the money to retrofit their buildings into compliance. There were cheers from those who before could not access buildings, elevators, stairwells who now could. My opinion is that the benefits outweighed the costs...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

COD at The Door? - Can Appraisers Collect at the Door? 28

COD at The Door?

Can Appraisers Collect at the Door (COD)? In the past, it was common for appraisers to collect their fees directly from the borrower at the time of the property visit (i.e., at the door). I would take credit cards, checks, or cash while at the door. Many years ago, this was common. Now, however, that rarely happens and we usually have to wait 30- to 60-days for payment from the AMC client. So recently, when I got a COD order from HUD, I was really surprised. In fact, I thought something was bogus. I needed to check this out since...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Another Draft to a USPAP Draft! Everyone Should be on Their Toes... 13

Another Draft to a USPAP Draft!

Well, don’t toss your reading bifocals in the wastebasket just yet. Apparently, there were so many negative issues with the THIRD exposure draft to the 2020-21 version of USPAP, that the ASB jettisoned it, and will move forward with a FOURTH draft. Everyone should be on their toes, ready to peruse this stellar document when it is released not long from now! Can’t we, please, establish a set of reliable and understandable procedures, and leave them in place for 5 years minimum? Please! Here’s the announcement issued on February 8, 2019, after the ASB meeting in Scottsdale, AZ: (From the Appraisal Foundation)...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / ASB / The Appraisal Foundation

Hybrids' Indicated Value & USPAP Coup de Grace, Better off at McDonalds 29

I’d Be Better off at McDonalds

…they provide no documentation as to how their algorithm produces this indicated value… I had to “jump in the pool” and see what these bifurcated appraisals are all about. The names have been withheld to protect the guilty. I recently completed a “bifurcated” report for one of the AMC’s providing this type of service. The form is to be completed on their site and they recently upgraded to the “new and improved” report on their portal as of January 1, 2019. The subject is sited in an urban location and while not an anomaly per se, does display features such...

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

Third Party Inspectors, Hybrids... Spelling Out the Consequences 10

Hybrid Assignments, the Consequences

The concept of a third party providing one or more functions in an appraisal assignment is nothing new. Back in the 1970s and 1980s there were plenty of appraisers who used somebody else to do the sketch or to take the pictures or to pull comps. The “appraiser” put all of the pieces together and signed the report. Then came USPAP in 1989. Licensing followed shortly thereafter. Today, there are a number of lenders and AMCs who believe that they’ve invented something no one else has ever considered. The bifurcated or hybrid appraisal process. To be clear, we’re not talking...

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

What's Happening With the New Forms? 11

What’s Happening With the New Forms?

Many of you are aware that the GSE’s are in the process of evaluating the entire appraisal process, including the existing ‘forms.’ This initiative was announced in 2nd Qtr 2018, and reps from both FNMA and FrMac made presentations at various appraiser conferences and other places through the year to gather info and suggestions from all appraisal forms users. This new initiative was never intended to be an immediate make-over; instead, the GSE’s said it was to be an approximate 3 year process. In December 2018, the GSE’s released their Executive Summary (see PDF below) describing what’s been accomplished so...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / UAD / Uniform Appraisal Dataset

What If the Algorithms Are Wrong? Weapons of Math Destruction... 12

What If the Algorithms Are Wrong?

Algorithms are everywhere… “Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more — but they don’t automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: “weapons of math destruction.” Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.” “Algorithms are opinions embedded in code. It’s really different from what you think most people think of algorithms. They think algorithms are objective and true and scientific. That’s a marketing trick. It’s also a marketing trick to intimidate you with algorithms, to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / ASC

Is SmartExchange a Problem & Resulting in USPAP Non-Compliance? 27

Is SmartExchange Not USPAP-Compliant?

Is Smartexchange Resulting in USPAP Non-Compliance? This blog is likely going to stir up controversy. It is likely going to have a few folks calling me a loyalist to a la mode, or other similar things. Am I a loyalist? I do not see myself as such, but a la mode has been the only software that I have used in my career for residential form reporting. I do use ACI in the corporate setting as a reviewer and manager in my firm. I like and consider many of the staff at a la mode to be my friends, and I have had long relationships...

a la mode / ACI / AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News

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