Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
Appraisers Expect Continued Growth: Appraisal Institute Survey CHICAGO, Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire: Appraisers anticipate continued growth in mortgage lending appraisals and in specialized areas of consulting, according to a recent survey conducted by the Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers. Commercial appraisers said the top five areas of growth in the next one to two years (in order of potential) are mortgage lending appraisals, land valuation, litigation valuation/forensic appraisal, real estate consulting (fee-based) and right-of-way/easements. Residential appraisers said the top five areas of growth are mortgage lending appraisals, review appraisal services, real estate owned/foreclosures/short sales,...
First of all, let’s be clear… it was not really a complete ‘shutdown.’ A large majority of federal workers were still at work, but for those who were furloughed, it was uncomfortable and scary for sure. Though the can has officially been kicked down the road for a few more months, we will face another ‘crisis’ soon enough. So, what can this debate teach us about appraising? It turns out… quite a bit. Why did Congress and the President choose to delay the real problem with our national debt and budget—yet again—rather than just deal with the problem? Why was...
Are AMC Bonds Working? Current AMC Bond Requirements Eighteen states now require AMCs to carry surety bonds to be properly registered to operate in those states. The required bond amounts vary from $10,000 in New Mexico to $100,000 in Washington. A list at the end of this post shows the required bond amounts in each state. Are AMC Bonds Working? The requirement for AMCs to carry bonds serves two purposes. First, the bond assures that if an AMC fails to comply with its financial obligations under a state’s AMC law, there will be funds available up to the limit of the bond...
I wish I never took that assignment One comment often encountered when investigating a complaint is “I wish I never took that assignment”. Another is “I should have walked away when I saw the property.” How can you avoid that uneasy feeling when completing an assignment? If this is a typical residential mortgage transaction, things may go fairly smoothly. If the assignment involves appraising a property in a divorce, estate, tax appeal, or anything that might end up in litigation, you should meet with your client to assess whether there could be trouble ahead. One way to avoid this type of surprise is to not consider assignments as being routine. Each assignment regardless of purpose or intent has...
Review Appraisers Need to be the Voice of Reason Having spent the day commiserating with my fellow appraisers, I have to admit the policies and procedures of most reviewers, underwriters and lenders have finally crossed the line from insane to inexplicable. It was bad enough, 23 years ago when an appraiser was asked to document two independent sources of data or to provide interior photographs to show each room. Then not to long ago some appraisal management companies started to believe that when FHA asked for two photos to show an oblique view, they actually meant the appraiser had to...
Many appraisers don’t know about or don’t understand the new FDIC and “regulatory agency” exclusions found in many appraiser E&O policies. Why is it relevant to know if your policy has an FDIC or regulatory agency exclusion of some sort? The main reason is because the FDIC sues appraisers for professional negligence — such lawsuits are discussed in prior posts: here and here. How do you determine if a policy being offered to you contains an FDIC exclusion? First, no policy sold by LIA in its appraiser E&O program contains any FDIC or similar regulatory agency exclusion. If you are...
Alternative Valuation Products and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice The Appraisal Foundation has drafted a white paper on Alternative Valuation Products and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). The white paper is intended to provide information to assist appraisers, users of appraisal services, and others, with a greater understanding of Alternative Valuation Products and their use in the marketplace. The paper also attempts to view these products in light of an appraiser’s USPAP obligations. All interested parties are encouraged to comment in writing before the deadline of December 31, 2013. Send comments to TA…@appraisalfoundation.org. Introduction In...
Remaining Vigilant Against Appraisal Fraud While recent studies show that appraisal fraud is on the decline, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers still cautions lenders and other real estate industry professionals to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. According to CoreLogic’s Second Quarter Mortgage Fraud Report, the risk of mortgage fraud decreased during the second quarter with valuation fraud showing the biggest improvement, falling 7.1 percent between the first and second quarters of the year. However, fraud has escalated in cases where potential borrowers attempt to deceive lenders about their incomes. The report showed that an...
We often receive calls from appraisers who have been blacklisted by a lender they do no direct appraisal work for. Typically, the story is the same. They are being dropped from an AMC panel that has given them a lot of business because the AMC found out one of the bigger secondary market loan buyers/lenders has blacklisted the appraiser. This is a lender they do not work for and/or haven’t done any work for in years. The blacklisting is based on some alleged issue with an appraisal done for another client and usually involves a review of the old appraisal...
Angry borrower… please don’t shoot! We’ve all been there. We do an appraisal inspection and find health and safety issues that must be mentioned in the appraisal. A few weeks later, we receive an engagement letter requesting a re-inspection. The appointment is set and the borrowers confirm that all repairs have been made to a satisfactory level. The appointed time arrives and you drive to the property in question. Before you even get out of your vehicle, you can tell that the health and safety issues have been minimally addressed but certainly not to the level that would allow for...
