Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
Free FHA Webinar for Appraisers on Preventing Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Scams The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is offering a webinar on February 28, 2012 on Preventing Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Scams: February 28, 2012 – Preventing Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Scams Webinar. The webinar will provide information on the detection and prevention of Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Scams and is presented by the Department of HUD, Federal Reserve Bank, Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The intended audience includes Mortgage Industry (lenders, housing counselors, real estate agents, appraisers);Regulatory/governmental entities; and Consumers. Registration required, no fee.
AMCs violating RESPA NAIHP recently discovered many Appraisal Management Companies (AMC’s), are operating without authority in most states and have failed to pay state income tax. When businesses are formed, they are required to register with their Secretary of State, for authority to conduct business. That registration alerts the State Tax Department you exist and may be responsible for certain taxes. The same holds true if you operate outside your home state, according to Marc Savitt, NAIHP President. “Most AMC’s are only registered in a handful of states, but operate nationwide. If you’re not registered, you’re not paying taxes,” said...
There is an interesting discussion taking place on some of the forums over the last 9 days with regard to USPAP 2012-2013. Whether or not the additional certifications require a signature. Before weighing in on an esoteric discussion, I would like to remind everyone that the first and foremost intent of USPAP is clarity. To provide an opinion in a manner that is clear, easy to understand, and professionally derived. Therefore, as long as you pay attention to the particulars of USPAP and provide your reports in a manner that is clear, easy to understand, and professionally derived you should...
AMC’s are sending in complaints on appraisers… From ICAP – Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals “Good afternoon ICAP’ers, I am writing to our residential members regarding a growing problem that ICAP is concerned with regarding lenders and AMC’s filing complaints against appraisers. THE SETUP: You receive a call from a lender or an AMC who wants to talk to you about an appraisal assignment you recently completed for them. The call usually comes from the QC Department at the post closing stage of the loan. They start questioning you on your line item adjustments. All the comparables are on smaller...
Urge your Representative to Vote for HB 210 Regulation of AMCs Hello VaCAP! As you know, VaCAP leadership has been working hard with VAR and the VAR Appraisal Alliance to help draft and support an AMC regulation bill. This bill is currently in the Virginia House of Delegates, and will cross over to the Senate on February 15th. Since many local realtor associations now require appraisers to be full members in order to obtain access to their MLS systems, VaCAP has many members who are also members of VAR. If you are a member of VAR, your dues have helped...
Request For Public Comment for the 2014-15 Edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice The goal of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) is to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice by establishing requirements for appraisers. With this goal in mind, the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) regularly solicits and receives comments and suggestions for improving USPAP. The possible issues and alternatives discussed in this document are intended to improve USPAP understanding and enforcement, and thereby achieve the goal of promoting and maintaining public trust in appraisal practice. The ASB is...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 2, 2012 Contact: Paula Douglas Seidel, Executive Administrator, The Appraisal Foundation Washington, DC — A recent survey conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of state appraiser regulatory programs has produced high marks for The Appraisal Foundation regarding its effectiveness in issuing appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications. The survey, which was performed in conjunction with the GAO study issued last month entitled “Real Estate Appraisals: Appraisal Subcommittee Needs to Improve Monitoring Procedures,” contained 65 questions relating to the effectiveness of the current real property appraiser regulatory system. In addition to the effectiveness of the Foundation,...
Last week the Obama Administration unveiled its plan to help homeowners refinance to take advantage of historically-low interest rates. We are going to focus on the valuation side of the plan. If you want the rest of the details you can go here. The program includes refinance options for GSE (government sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers. Both programs forgo the appraisal requirements in the refinance process. According to the White House Fact Sheet, “the GSEs would be directed to use mark-to-market accounting or other alternatives to manual appraisals for any loans for which...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the second proposed version of a new Consumer Disclosure Form Feb. 1 that includes clear disclosure of any fee paid to a “Local Appraisal Company” and to an “Appraisal Management Company.” The Appraisal Institute reported last month that the CFPB is in the midst of developing a new form that would replace the existing HUD-1 settlement statement. In December 2011, Appraisal Institute representatives met with CFPB officials about the new form. The CFPB has indicated that several versions of the proposed form will be developed and tested with consumers by focus groups, with a...
Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria Changes Adopted by AQB Effective January 1, 2015 The Appraisal Foundation is pleased to announce that Proposed Revisions to the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (Criteria) have been adopted by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB). The AQB is an independent Board of The Appraisal Foundation. The AQB is responsible for developing minimum qualifications for education, experience, examination and continuing education for real property appraisers in the United States. The Criteria, which were adopted at the December 2011 meeting of the AQB, will be effective on January 1, 2015. The changes to the Criteria are the...
