they own it now! How do we stop this?!

“The Cloud”.  Strangely synonymous with selling rainbows.  Hardline or bust, own it or leave it, leasing is for the birds.

It’s an excellent idea and one that is currently being considered. The problem is that it is FNMA itself that demands alternative forms, in response to pressure from cheaper-faster-mortgage broker & originating lender advocacy.

We could design one that strongly facilitates or emphasizes USPAP compliance, only to have FNMA reject it because it doesn’t flow with their data mining software.

Well said Don.

BTW FMV and MV have different definitions in IRS and Treasury Regulations; along with many states official definitions. FMV started as an accounting concept adopted by the legal profession because it sounded better. I urge all appraisers to make the distinction. Check Calif. definition for FMV per state code (CCR). www,mfford.com value definitions tab. I absolutely LOVE method or definition “B”.

Newbie-not to mention that when they go web based, software that we used to buy will now become RENTED software and if we want access to OUR professional work product down the road, we will have to ‘rent’ their product for another year at the same price we used to buy it for.

I will NOT rely on cloud based software for my professional work product & work file where I’m required to keep ALL records for a five year period.

How dumb is that?

Bill, In So. California (only), in 1970’s a townhouse was always a condo in which the land under the specific unit was also owned as well as the airspace above it. Stacked flat Condos were valued lower-no individual land ownership. Strictly airspace.

Builders then went to manipulated higher selling townhouse “style,” where row type townhouses were built over common area garages…some of which had further separations inside them for private G2s (usually owned) but I have seen both owned and exclusive right via easement. It was a marketing ploy. Nothing more. Anti ‘condo’ market stigma. Individual lots still not owned but the “townhouse” description was usurped for pure condos that happened to have two stories.

Too many (local) appraisers and agents didn’t know the distinction and it disappeared over the years. Eventually it came to mean no one above and no one under…until they started building townshouse “style” units on top of stacked flat units on top of common area semi subterranean garages. Clear? Everyone with me?

The DRE Commissioner’s Sub Division Final Public Report was often the deciding descriptive factor for appraisers…until it too stopped being reliable (or honest, in it’s descriptions)..

Orange County Ca is a further exception.

(1) OC never used to provide GLA for anything. SFR OR condo. In recent years they started doing so. Think about that one for PIWs and AVMs. Less than half have any credibly reported gla.

(2) Condos have always had TWO APNs there. One for the unit and one for the common area plat map. Unit plats did not show interior dimensions like most of the rest of the state counties do. Practice was to find a look alike unit in mls where agent listed GLA guesstimate for comps.

(3) Savvy appraisers knew about a small company with brilliant tract searching software called Inside Tract by Dean Rathenburg (erg?) He had all original builder floor plans with dimensions and stated sf.

Go ahead FNMA-do ANY PIW condo waiver with AVM or hybrid in OC and see what you get! Did I mention developers ALSO created the attached row house sfr (NOT a condo) but it obviously has CC&Rs for access and maintenance. Some are PUDs and some are not. Literally no different than the 1970’s townhouse description I noted above except that it is an sfr (by official sub division distinction and map act public report). So, whats the legal ownership interest in real estate that our FNMA AVM is reporting for these?

In Long Beach CA an appraiser friend owned a 900 SF condo. County records had it as 1,200 sf based on a doubling of 600sf 1st floor area for the two story (loft) units. They never did have builder unit plats for second story (legal living area lofts where the one bedroom and second bath is). Appraiser owner notifies County they are wrong re sf. County comes out and measures specific unit. Changes records for that unit only. Now exact model matches will show 1,200 sf which will result in AVM under valuation for the 900 sf unit. The honest appraiser owned unit where the gla was corrected will be compared with units where (obviously) male owners think 900 SF is 1,200 sf.

FNMA NOW tell your federal regulators how “leveraging” your forty years of Big Data will accurately handle ALL of the above instances.

Cites above are COMMON issues faced by appraisers every day in every part of the country. Specifics vary from case to case, but analyzing these type of things are what appraisers do and Big Data CANNOT do.

I get it Koma. In the past week within a few blocks of each other, I’ve appraised a detached condominium, and an attached non-condominium home. The detached condo was overpriced (agent compared to traditional detached non-condo homes), and the attached non-condo home was under priced (agent compared to traditional attached condos). To confuse things further (garbage in), public records falsely indicate attached homes (non-condo) under a use code of condominium. With agents and public records often misidentifying the property type, how would anyone with confidence expect a computer to solve this local issue. For the record, and as taught to me on day one of my appraiser training, locally all properties regardless if attached or detached that have an APN number that end with anything from 01 to 99, are of a condo form of ownership.

Did a drive-by and state the GLA comes from the county tax assessor with sketch. Before you ask this county does not allow copies to be made of their information. Comes back saying well are “on-line sources” shows something different. Performed a full appraisal (different property) state that I measured the property, included my sketch, photos and check that it is in line with what the county assessor has. Comes back well are “on-line sources” show something different. Really? Really? REALLY!

Thanks for letting me vent.

P.S. In computer science, garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) is where flawed, or nonsense input data produces nonsense output or “garbage“. The principle also applies more generally to all analysis and logic, in that arguments are unsound if their premises are flawed. Source: Wiki

When Alamode goes web based, and they have all of our millions of appraisals in their database, Corelogic will just buy the entire company.

Corelogic ? If they dont, they will soon. Along with Alamode. And just about anyone else calling the shots in our industry

Newbie check and see who owns ACI

How many decent, otherwise honest home owners filed false (unmerited) complaints against an appraiser base don a zillow based misconception of value?

don

Umm who was it…Zillow CEO had a zestimate on his house at 1.4 million and it sold for 1 million I believe. Man gotta love those numbers their providing. But according to a recent Illinois judge ruling in a case against Zillow, that Zillow’s information is just the first step nobody really relies on that information they provide. Yea how many RE agents has this judged talked to or how many appraisers hear those numbers when the go out to observe a borrowers property.