Category: Federal Housing Administration

Violating Appraisal Independence - Appraiser Intimidation & Coercion 14

Violating Appraisal Independence Through Harassment, Intimidation & Coercion

It shall be unlawful… to engage in any act or practice that violates appraisal independence… Appraisers, I have written the info below, which you may use if you desire to send to your clients and local real estate offices. It’s time for all appraisers to stand up to this kind of very adverse behavior, done by and promoted by many real estate brokers/agents across the US. I have been chastised multiple times by brokers, and in one instance that I know of, was excluded (by the lender who told me) from doing another assignment when I didn’t appraise a prior...

Proposal to Eliminate the VA Fee Panel 26

Proposal to Eliminate the VA Fee Panel

VA Fee Panel – The Appraisal Institute does not believe that a move to a lender select program, such as those found in the conventional or FHA mortgage markets, would  improve timeliness, nor would it be in the best interests of veterans. On May 18, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a legislative hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. 7735, Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Act of 2022. The bill is sponsored by Representative Mike Bost, R-Illinois, the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Veterans...

Biased Appraiser? Judging an Entire Profession by Anecdotal Evidence 28

Biased Appraisers? I Don’t Think So

To judge an entire profession by anecdotal evidence is equally both stupid and harmful… The entire emphasis was on “anecdotal evidence” which is not documented or supported. Story after story was told about how appraisers had produced a “biased” report. No documentation and no evidence to support their claims was presented. Folks, after discussing this topic with and learning more about the appraiser who wrote this following essay, I have decided to distribute the essay below as a way to further support what we appraisers do in our work, and to expose the fallacies that have been presented to date...

Sales Comparison Approach is Racist, as per Academics 26

Sales Comparison Approach is Racist

“…the modern appraisal industry perpetuates racial inequality through its continued use of the “sales comparison approach”… the sales comparison approach persists as the dominant method of assessing home value… the sales comparison approach — the most used method for contemporary residential appraisals — perpetuates inequities through maintaining historical hierarchies and current racialized definitions of comparability…” Appraisers, here’s a YouTube video that you MUST view. This person’s, Dr. Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, PhD, work is one of the key reasons why there is so much chatter about racist appraisers in the US. Her discussion of her book ‘Race Brokers‘ begins at the 8:30...

Scope Creep & the Imploding of Rules Have Little to Do With Appraising 24

Scope Creep & the Imploding of Rules

…the imploding rules then implemented, and the scope creep that evolved because the cart was leading the horse, has severely lessened the reliability of ALL appraisals in my opinion. ANSI, while certainly worthy of discussion and taking a position on, will not solve the real “appraisal problem” that we all have. It really isn’t an effective tool anyway, but what the heck do I know. Being one of those AG certified from the very beginning, too early to get trained by anyone above me, since 1992, and licensed in real estate since 1971, and a broker since 1991, in a...

Is This Room a Bedroom? 3

Is This Room a Bedroom?

I often see discussions on various forums about “is this room a bedroom”, or similar comments. In case you’ve never seen the IBC requirements, I found this on a set of building plans for a new house: IN EVERY SLEEPING ROOM, PROVIDE AN EMERGENCY EXIT WINDOW WITH MIN. HT. OF 24″ AND MIN. WIDTH OF 20″ AND NOT LESS THAN 5.7 SQ.FT. OF OPENABLE AREA AND NOT MORE THAN 44″ FROM FLR. TO SILL So to decipher: A BEDROOM egress window sill must be no more than 44” above the floor. The opening height of the window must be no...

AEI Research Critique of Freddie Mac's Misleading Appraisal Gap Report 6

AEI Research Critique of Freddie Mac’s Misleading Appraisal Gap Report

More great research from AEI. This is an analysis of Freddie Mac’s misleading and basically defamatory paper on Appraisal Gap. When government related entities release misleading information like this they are attacking and defaming real estate appraisers. The hate real estate appraisers have received because of this paper and Andre Perry’s paper is relentless. Another problem with releasing misleading data and conclusions is that it actually hurts the people they are trying to help. Facts show that the real cause of the wealth gap between blacks, whites and Latinos is the income gap. It has nothing to do with appraisals...

VA Unofficially Says NOPE to ANSI Measuring Protocol 16

VA Unofficially Says NOPE to ANSI

The other agencies, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA, USDA, ONAP, VA have NOT (yet) adopted this ANSI measuring protocol. Appraisers, an appraiser I know sent an email to the VA asking if VA was going to require appraisers to adhere to the ANSI Z765-2021 Measuring Standard as of April 1, 2022. The appraiser received an ‘unofficial’ response back from a person within the VA connected to processing appraisals, which said: “The short answer is, no.” I say this is ‘unofficial’ because to-date, I have seen nothing “official” from VA about this topic. Only officials from within VA know whether or not they...

ASC Blaming Appraisers For Low Home Values in Communities of Color 64

ASC Blaming Appraisers

The Appraisal Subcommittee, because they were directed to do so, has produced a report, which frankly and explicitly lays the blame for low market values of homes in ‘communities of color’ directly at the feet of independent appraisers involved with mortgage lending. You will start seeing accusatory slanted media reports about this report. ABC news already has distributed it. A TV station in San Francisco has aired a story already. Yes, the report casually mentions actual facts that GOVERNMENT policies and procedures promulgated segregated and extraordinarily unfair housing issues in the US, from the 1930’s into the early 1960’s. The...

HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism Against Black & Minority People 72

HUD Dismisses Claims Alleging Racism

…white America (government) keeps trying to ‘fix’ Black People who are not broken in the first place! We’ve all heard of redlining. No one doubts it existed and MAY still exist, among private lenders. It’s hard to accept major national banking corps would risk it but it IS possible. Having said that, there is ZERO percentage or benefit for any appraiser to engage in it. None. Another appraiser in Los Angeles, who is a great researcher, posted addresses of the properties involved in half a dozen complaints alleging racism by appraisers and so-called ‘white washing’ of the houses producing subsequent...

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