The story of this single mother’s harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD’s negligent oversight exposes deep flaws in the FHA appraisal and loan review process. After sacrificing for years to rebuild her credit and earn the right to become a homeowner, this borrower found her dream home in the country – or so she thought. During the home inspection, several issues were flagged. The seller, an investor who had purchased the home in an estate sale, was unaware of the septic system’s location. The seller agreed to have the tanks pumped so the location could be determined....
Shane Lanham, a Maryland appraiser, has found himself in a difficult situation as he is being sued in The United States District Court of Maryland. However, he is not backing down and fully intends to fight these allegations through trial. In addition, he is countersuing the accusers for defamation and seeking $500,000 in damages. Lanham firmly believes that the accusations of racism against him are baseless and he has engaged a consultant with significant experience in handling such cases. To ensure he has the best chance of success, Mr. Lanham has engaged a consultant with extensive experience in similar cases....
An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a complaint against me with my state appraisal board. Here’s what happened. The Report In June of 2021, I completed an appraisal for a conventional purchase. The appraisal was ordered by an AMC on behalf of a lender. At that time, the real estate market was still being wildly affected by the COVID pandemic. Remote work was in full swing, and consumers were desperately seeking to get out of the cities. Prices for all types of residential properties were rising rapidly,...
Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....
Does a mortgage lender have liability to the borrower for a negligent appraisal? As residential property prices plateau or decline in various markets and as borrowers have financial problems with fewer financing options, there are more legal claims being filed by borrowers against appraisers and lenders in relation to appraisals for loans made in recent years. Essentially, the cases are situations of “buyer-borrower remorse.” Leaving aside the appraiser’s potential liability, does a mortgage lender have liability to the borrower for a negligent appraisal? An Ohio appellate court recently said “no.” It ruled that the lender did not owe the borrower...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has started investigating alleged appraisal discrimination. This is a new development, as federal investigations had so far exclusively been by HUD. The CFPB is an aggressive investigator, and AMCs, large firms and lenders should be wary. For the last year, 40% of my legal work has been occupied by issues concerning alleged discrimination – balanced between representing parties in fair housing investigations and helping clients improve compliance and decrease risk. It’s the CFPB that makes me most anxious for clients in the future. I addressed some of the details of what I’m seeing in...
Free webinar on how to protect yourself against discrimination claims on 6/30/22, and today there will be a forum on “Racial Bias in the Home Appraisal Process”… OREP is sponsoring a free webinar on how to protect yourself and your business against discrimination claims. Leading trial attorney Craig Capilla has handled nearly 1,000 appraiser cases in his career and has been on the frontlines defending appraisers from lawsuits, state board complaints, and now, HUD Fair Housing (Discrimination) complaints. Capilla began his legal career working for Illinois’ professional regulation agency as a real estate prosecutor and since then has become one...
“[The builder] filed a grievance against me… and threatened to file a grievance every time I or others appraised below purchase price.” California and Nebraska couldn’t be more different, but both clearly want their states to be more like the fictional town of Lake Wobegon – a place where all the men are good-looking, all the children are above average and all properties appraise at or above their sale price. Parts of California Assembly Bill 948, which was signed into law in September, read like something from the satirical news site The Onion. The statute requires the state’s appraiser enforcement...
How much vetting have you done on the appraisal management company? How involved are you as the lender in the day to day activities of the appraisal management company?… The world has changed and most everything in our lives involves technology. The technologies available to each of us are tools. They are not a more reliable means, merely more convenient. Human thought and analysis is still required in every aspect of life. When the Final Rules of the Dodd Frank Legislation went into effect, many lenders chose to use appraisal management companies with the false idea they had no liability for...
…appraisers believe that the bifurcated model and the use of unlicensed, untrained and unaccountable contractors for key elements of collateral assessment will adversely affect the health and welfare of the housing finance system, increase their own liability and damage the public trust… It is the goal of the Federal Financing Housing Agency (FHFA) to ensure the health and welfare of the housing finance system. FHFA oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and has, for the time being, paused the testing and development of bifurcated appraisals that bypass the participation of licensed appraisers (FHFA Puts Brakes on Fannie’s Bifurcated Program). I...
