Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
ICAP, the Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals, works hard for you to monitor and make positive changes to Illinois State appraisal law. In an effort to enhance its membership and visibility ICAP has developed a special promotion offering a FREE no-risk trial membership. The FREE trial will allow non-members to receive all the same benefits as paid members through the first quarter of 2013, including: 1. A strong voice in Springfield with membership of over 1,800 appraisers 2. Legislative Alerts and Updates 3. Access to ICAP’s Career Center 4. ICAP Discounts on events and educational Offerings 5. Participation in ICAP’s...
Greatest risk: low fees or low cash flow? A Recent Report From Texas There has been a lot of buzz about the recent survey from Texas. The Texas Appraisers and Appraisal Management Company Survey published by Texas A&M Real Estate Center in conjunction with the University of Houston’s Hobby Center for Public Policy and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reports the current condition of the appraisal industry in the state of Texas. 1,584 appraisers and 55 Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) doing business in Texas were surveyed and findings from the report were released to the public...
Appraisal Institute Helps Appraisers Perform Evaluations for Lenders The Appraisal Institute’s “Guide Note 13: Performing Evaluations of Real Property Collateral for Lenders” addresses how appraisers should prepare an evaluation for a lender and comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The Guide Note states, “Federally insured lending institutions in the United States are subject to regulations regarding real estate appraisals. For lending transactions involving real estate, a lender must obtain an appraisal from a state licensed or certified appraiser. There are 12 exemptions from this requirement. For three of these exemptions, in lieu of an appraisal by a...
How much are you worth per hour? I am fuming. Thanks in advance for letting me vent and virtually ‘throw-up’ my frustration all over you. My Personal Assistant accepted an order for a Forensic Investigative Field Review the other day. Originally, the AMC had offered a fee of $350. We countered back at $500 and crossed our fingers… that we would NOT get the order. These types of orders are becoming more and more popular. As the market has dropped across the nation, lenders cannot sell the collateral they loaned on between 2005 and 2008 for a fraction of the appraised value. Naturally, it must be...
How Critical is the work file? I consider the work file responsibilities that are found in USPAP to be the most neglected. Appraisers tend to treat the work file as an after-thought rather than a fore-thought. Appraiser workfiles largely resemble a hodge-podge of scribblings, notes, dog-eared data sheets, distorted, coffee-stained sketches on legal pads and fast-food napkins. The whole thing is jammed into a file and mostly forgotten. To me, it is the bad comb-over of documentation. However, after reading this, I hope that you’ll afford it a tad more respect going forward. What Is USPAP’s Work file Big Picture?...
In August 2012, the Texas Appraisers and Appraisal Management Survey surveyed a total of 1,584 appraisers and 55 appraisal management companies doing business in the state of Texas. The questions were specifically designed to achieve the following: Clearly distinguish between the fees paid to appraisers by Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) and fees paid by non-AMC clients for residential appraisals. Capture any difference in fees paid by property type: single family, condominium, size or square footage, or other factors. Capture the impact on fees by market area or locale: urban vs. rural, (MSAs, county, zip code, etc.). Determine whether appraiser qualifications...
I have been involved in politics from the time I was quite young. I remember as a toddler attending party conventions, and as an eight year old delivering flyers from door to door asking everyone to vote for my dad for city councilman. Many of you know my story. Several years ago I felt a burning desire to learn more about our country’s commencement, the Founding Fathers, and good principles of government. Many of the principles that I discovered during that time have been the same truths that have propelled much of my present success. Despite what others may tell...
I am biased in favor of defendant appraisers. I always root for the defense, even if it’s one appraiser suing another appraiser (as in one case below). Defense is our business. Here, are seven cases where the defendant appraisers won based on a statute of limitations defense. That means even if there was something wrong with the appraisal at issue, the defense counsel still won the case. So, you have to give the credit to the defense counsel. That’s not to say there really was a problem with the appraisal in each case below — it just didn’t matter if...
Selected Internet Resources for Property Assessment Administration and Tax Professionals Property tax consultant Richard Sanderson has had more than 30 years experience in property tax administration and has valued some of the most complex properties for tax purposes over the years. He has just compiled and released a 24 page resource guide for property assessors, appraisers, tax professionals, and others interested in property valuation and tax policy. Entitled “Selected Internet Resources for Property Assessment Administration and Tax Professionals” the guide includes more than 275 websites that are very useful to: Academics in the field of local government administration and tax policy...
To Disclose or not to Disclose AMC Fees… With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) up and running, there are numerous regulatory issues still pending relating to the Dodd-Frank Act. The regulatory issues include appraisal independence rules, AMC fee disclosure, AMC registration, required physical property visit by appraisers in “higher risk” mortgages, HUD-1/RESPA Consumer Disclosure, and asset backed securities. Of particular note, the CFPB has proposed a new Consumer Disclosure form that is intended to replace the HUD-1 settlement statement. The proposed rule which was release for public until November, allows disclosure of appraisal management company fees, but does not...
