Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
I gave this ‘opportunity’ further critical analysis in terms of time spent versus the fee income potential. Appraisers, I’d like to disclose a personal ‘opportunity’ that was presented to me last fall, early winter. A company with AMC roots was, or is, recruiting people to become “property inspectors” with the resulting reports potentially fed to other appraisers who do HYBRID, or maybe even DESKTOP reports. The GSEs never intended the DESKTOP report to incorporate separate ‘property inspections’ from a hired third party, but that’s been the evolution because they just look the other way. Last fall, due to the slowdown...
Under-valuations that more accurately reflect the homes’ “true” value as opposed to the contract price will also alert the buyer, not just the lender, that he or she may be over-paying, which often triggers a renegotiation… when the seller and buyer settle on a new price after the appraisal, the new lower price reduces credit risk, costs to the borrower, and ultimately results in greater wealth for the buyer. The AEI Housing Center recently released an analysis revealing that reports by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and by Brookings, attributing the greater prevalence of under-valuations in home purchase appraisals...
A proposed update of professional guidelines for property appraisals contains confusing language about what constitutes discrimination, and would even suggest appraisers could engage in “ethical” discrimination. Folks, the following article is in the ABA Banking Journal e-newsletter, posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. I’m really glad this has been released. Hopefully the Appraisal Standards Board will closely examine the concerns of the regulators. I read the USPAP 4th Exposure Draft. It contains so much new Ethics Rule “legaleze” language about conduct that it is, and can be, overwhelmingly confusing to a majority of appraisers. It’s written by lawyers in such...
We come not to bury David Bunton, the public figure, but to praise David Bunton, the evolved Beltway organism. Who is David Bunton? Bunton has made a small fortune and canvassed the world at the helm of a 16-employee Washington, D.C., nonprofit that publishes a copyrighted code of conduct. The code gives his tiny fiefdom a big say in how collateral in the nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market is valued. He is a figure with outsized power in an immense market. His day-to-day funding source? For 30 years, his nonprofit, known as the Appraisal Foundation, has sold copies of its...
Making massive staff reductions in the appraisal management department, including the Chief Appraiser and the Administrative Manager, who both are licensed appraisers. Appraisers, it’s not ‘just us’ who have taken the slowdown in lending “in the shorts.” I have confirmed changes at THREE different AMCs: CoreLogic is laying off all W-2 ‘staff’ appraisers, and most of the staff administering those folks. Corelogic may continue placing assignments with 1099 vendor appraisers. My suspicion is that many of the W-2 appraisers will continue to work with Corelogic as 1099 vendors, especially in the urban areas. Clear Capital is making massive staff reductions...
Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem… Blaming appraisers for the income gap is as ridiculous as blaming appraisers for gun violence and gas prices. I watched the January 24, 2023 ASC Appraisal Bias hearing. Comments were requested after the hearing. This letter is my comment. I’ve been a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California for 40 years. I’ve been a licensed California Certified Residential Appraiser since licenses were first offered in 1993/1994. I’m a Latino woman who speaks English and Spanish. I appraise property in the diverse county of Los Angeles and...
On October 13, 2022, the Appraisal Subcommittee discovered a data breach that occurred on the new ASC.gov website. The incident involved Social Security Numbers. They made an announcement on January 24, 2023 and have contacted all State Appraiser Regulatory Agencies concerning the data breach. They are also notifying all individuals whose Personal Identifiable Information had potential for exposure. Those appraisers who could have had their data exposed will be offered credit monitoring to prevent identity theft. The Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) is contacting all State Appraiser Regulatory Agencies concerning a data breach that occurred on the ASC.gov website. Please note: This...
I’ve previously written about how the various spear throwers at appraisers have used ‘census tract data’ in their assertions that appraisers are racially biased. It’s been done by Freddie Mac, by Andre Perry in his testimony before Congress, by Ph.D Elizabeth Korver-Glenn in her dissertation paper, not reviewed by anyone with appraisal experience, to obtain that lofty status, the media, and other so called ‘studies’ and ‘reports’ since. That is information foreign to appraisers, because we don’t use or reference anything about Census Tracts in our reports. The only place that shows up is in one field on the GSE...
Your trade has been under assault for years. The de minimus rule was the first I sensed of the end of your trade. I am going off of vague memory but I think it was 1997, and at the time, the near majority of my town was below the $250,000 threshold, as were 90% of the towns adjacent. I remember an old horse telling me the handwriting was on the wall for him and his kind. As I reflect on it there have been repeated efforts to pare down the costs of borrowing by trimming fees for title and other...
The person who espouses this super valuable ‘advice’ does not have an appraiser’s license… Appraisers, if you think I’m serious about the message subject line, please reconsider! It’s time to actually call out an AMC who’s encouraging appraisers to ‘lower their fee’: Valuation Connect This outfit sent out a ‘newsletter’ to appraisers, part of which says this: “My advice would be to make adjustments based on the market. Some examples in a slow market would be adding a new county or zip code to your coverage area, lowering your fee for a product, or adding a new product to your...
