ASA and NAIFA Send Joint Letter to FHFA, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Expressing Concerns on HARP Program Reliance of AVMs and Requesting a Meeting On October 25, the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA) submitted a joint letter in response to yesterday’s announcement by the FHFA and the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) involving greater reliance on automated valuation models (AVMs) to value collateral property. In the letter, ASA and NAIFA expressed concerns regarding the GSEs quality control standards being used to ensure...
Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to “attract more eligible borrowers who can benefit from refinancing their home mortgage.” The announcement was made in conjunction with the government sponsored enterprises (GSE), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HARP will now allow borrowers to refinance even if they are underwater. According to the Wall Street Journal, only 894,000 borrowers have used HARP, of which 70,000 were underwater. FHFA announced several enhancements to HARP, including eliminating the appraisal requirement. The appraisal is no longer required if a reliable automated valuation model (AVM) estimate...
FDIC’s lawsuit against CoreLogic – eAppraiseIT… FDIC Reiterates Threat that Appraisers Are the Legal Agents of AMCs in a Late – Filed Brief CoreLogic, parent of the AMC formerly known as eAppraiseIT…The FDIC is now contending that independent contractor appraisers are the legal agents of appraisal management companies (AMCs) in both of its cases against LSI Appraisal and CoreLogic. Based on this contention, the FDIC asserts that the AMCs should be liable for all damages attributable to the alleged negligence of their panel appraisers. The FDIC first asserted this argument in a brief filed in its case against Lender Processing...
VaCap Second Letter to Attorney General Cuccinelli Regarding UAD 08/29/2011 Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II Office of the Attorney General 900 East Main Street Richmond, VA 23219 Re: September 1st Implementation by GSEs Dear Sir: In a letter dated July 19th, 2011, the Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals (VaCAP) brought to your attention the serious concerns that we have about the impending implementation of new appraisal reporting requirements by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), which are The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac control a very large percentage...
VREAB Letter to FHFA Calling for Postponement of UAD Implementation August 29, 2011 Mr. Alfred M. Pollard, General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency Dear Mr. Pollard: At its August 16, 2011, meeting, the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board (Board) received public comment from a number of Virginia appraisers expressing their unease with the September 1, 2011, implementation of the Uniform Appraiser Database (UAD) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). These and other Virginia appraisers have concerns that conforming to the UAD might lead to misleading appraisal reports as the UAD’s...
HUD Unveils New Web-Based Mapping Tool to Display Nearly Half of U.S. Foreclosed Properties WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today launched a new web-based mapping tool displaying the location of all foreclosed properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). These foreclosed homes collectively account for nearly half of all real estate-owned or REO properties in the U.S. HUD’s REO Portal is intended to help local communities, homebuyers and responsible investors to acquire these properties and accelerate efforts to stabilize local housing markets. This new mapping tool will be of...
