Category: AVM

The Partisan Battle to Eliminate Dodd Frank 15

The Partisan Battle to Eliminate Dodd Frank

Dodd Frank created the illusion… I had a different “take away” from the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee “Modernizing Appraisals” hearing. My impression was that there were two simultaneous hearings by the same people in the same place. There was the actual televised hearing with disparate prepared speeches, and then there was the real underlying reason for the hearing. The partisan battle to eliminate Dodd Frank. I try very hard to take a non partisan approach to the issues facing appraisers when writing about or for the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA). Obviously AGA is a union organization, though as I’ve...

AGA / AI / AMC / American Society of Appraisers / APB / Appraisal

Freddie Mac Criminal Aspects of Its Appraisal Free Mortgages 38

Freddie Mac Criminal Aspects of Its Appraisal Free Mortgages

Freddie Mac is opening itself up to over 150,000± potential individual lawsuits… This is a response from Mike Ford to Kenneth Harney’s article, “Freddie Mac planning appraisal-free mortgages”. I represent the American Guild of Appraisers, #44OPEIU, AFL-CIO, and the real estate appraisal-related consumer and taxpayer interests of our more than fifteen million± AFL-CIO members, retirees and their families. I’m prompted to write this open letter regarding your recent well written & researched article, titled “Freddie Mac planning appraisal free mortgages”. Regrettably, it was too brief to cover several additional critical aspects of the issue, but I assume the Chicago Tribune’s...

ACI / AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

Property Inspection Waiver: Fannie Mae Offering to Waive Appraisals 48

Fannie Mae Waiving Appraisals

Property Inspection Waiver, getting back to the old days of fogging a mirror… Appraisers, Effective 12/10/16, FNMA will have a new program in place which will allow LENDERS to waive appraisals on certain refi’s, if it is offered through the automated Desktop Underwriter (DU) loan documentation process. See the attached PDF. Key points from the PDF (emphasis mine): Property inspection waiver (PIW) is an offer to waive the appraisal for certain refinance transactions. Property Inspection Waiver offers are issued through Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) using Fannie Mae’s database of more than 20 million appraisal reports in combination with proprietary analytics from...

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

The RPR® Epidemic – Online Valuations vs Trained Appraisers 11

The RPR® Epidemic – Online Valuations vs Trained Appraisers

Consumer protection goes right out the door as consumers learn to trust these online valuations over a local, highly trained appraiser. Realtor Property Resource® is a private automated system just for Realtor® members. They are making great strides in promoting this service, and more and more agents are using this system to create their CMAs to present to owners. I recently reviewed a report provided by the listing agent which included sixty-nine pages of every imaginable piece of information. To an owner, this must look very impressive. However, to anyone who understands what a “Comparable” sale is, this report was...

American National Standards Institute / ANSI / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models

Hybrid Appraisals – Why They Are Impacting Appraisal Employment 27

Hybrid Appraisals – Why They Are Impacting Appraisal Employment

How hybrid appraisals may impact your future Appraisers, A day or so ago, I found out about the rebranding of ZAIO into Clarocity, and their purchase of Valued Veterans AMC. The ‘new’ CEO of the Canadian/USA company, formerly ZAIO, now named Clarocity, was recently interviewed. Take the time to actually read this interview. If you have forgotten, ZAIO came into the US in about early 2008 or so with the intent to develop property data bases in most urban areas – with photos, that could be re-used by various entities. They sold ‘zones’ to a number of appraisers, expecting them...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models

Market conditions analysis 2

What Do You Suppose Might Have Caused This?

In my area, the Market Conditions data is basically worthless. Folks, One of the data analysis aspects I do in all reports is research sales trends of comparable properties, using MLS data, and making a graph to show report readers the actual market activity that has occurred over a long real estate cycle…usually 4-5 years back from the Effective Date. I use this to supplement, but not replace, the cruddy Market Conditions form, which poorly accounts for only 12 months of activity. In my area, the Market Conditions data is basically worthless. I’m sharing this because in the 8 years...

1004MC / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM

Standardized Data & Death of Residential Appraiser 30

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

Real, Real Estate Reform Needed 5

Real, Real Estate Reform Needed

What a crazy system we have grown into since Dodd-Frank. All this talk about “Big Data” and “Standardization” makes me want to scream! Enough is enough. Before we get to the appraisal process discussion, let’s talk about how real estate is priced all across this country. Realtors® price homes, period. No Big Data, no thoughts of mortgage risk, accuracy, consistency, transparency, and no one is looking over their shoulders asking “why” on every choice they make. No regression analysis, no quality or condition ratings, not too much of anything that resembles an appraisal these days. Yet, they are quick to...

American Measurement Standard / American National Standards Institute / AMS / ANSI / Appraisal / Appraisal News

5

Simply too BIG to Say No to…

If they can’t even get their own PACE Pro form right, how are these alternative “valuation” providers going to get something as complicated as the value right? First American, and to some extent similar large scale conglomerate “players”, supply everything to the transaction: from the Home Warranty for the buyer, to the escrow services, to the mortgage company, to the mortgage servicer, to the title company, to the appraisal management company, to the appraiser panelists, to the software company that DESIGNS the software used for PACE Pro and almost all other appraisal software (ACI), to the BPO providers, to the...

1004MC / AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models

AVMs can Never replace Appraisals 34

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

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