Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
TAVMA strongly disputes the substance of the on-line petition Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Re: Interim Final Rule – Customary and Reasonable Fee Stipulation Dear Ms. Johnson: The Title Appraisal Vendor Management Association (“TAVMA”) wishes to express its views about the misinformation being disseminated by appraisal organizations and publications about the Federal Reserve’s Interim Final Rule and Appraisal Management Companies (“AMC’s”). TAVMA is a national trade association of real estate settlement services providers including many leading appraisal management companies. Some appraisers continue to attack AMC’s by asserting that the DOD Frank Act, TILA...
Proposed legislation in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and Nevada seeking to prohibit use of foreclosures and short sales as comparables in developing opinions of residential real estate value appears to have failed. Two bills missed procedural deadlines, one has been amended and the other was withdrawn by its sponsor. Appraisal Institute chapters in all four states played key roles in defeating the bills, which would have resulted in each state’s legislative body dictating the real estate valuation process. The Nevada bill missed a procedural deadline for passage and is dead for this session. In testimony prepared for an April 1 hearing...
LandSafe Appraisal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, recently released its latest “Appraisal Services Agreement” to its panel appraisers. The agreement includes, among others, indemnifications of LandSafe against any liability, and loss of intellectual rights. If this goes through and appraisers agree to sign this new agreement, other AMCs will follow LandSafe’s lead and produce their own version of Appraisal Services Agreements. LIA Insurance has reviewed the new LandSafe Appraisal Services Agreement. The review is available to LIA’s insured appraisers and READI members but others can also view it by registering with code 201700. The whole idea of appraisers as...
DaVinci for Android is here and you can dowload it now for free in the Android Market. Anyone with a Smartphone or tablet with Android 2.1 or later can download it. Click here to go to the DaVinci download page in the Android Market. Click here to download the WinTOTAL update from the labs page. This will allow for file syncing between WinTOTAL and your device. With DaVinci for Android you can: Fill out an entire 1004 from the field by simply tapping on the screen, or use Android’s “talk-to-type” feature to fill out the report using your voice Create QuickLists within DaVinci...
This video, posted by a la mode, introduces UMDP terms, key players and processes involved in complying with the UMDP. The UMDP was created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to standardized requirements for delivering appraisals intended to provide more accurate analysis of the loans that are to be securitized through Fannie or Freddie. It has three major parts: the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) and the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD). The UAD and the UCDP is discussed in the below video. The ULDD does not go into effect until next year.
Davinci for Android is a field data gathering and sketching tool for appraisers running on Google’s Android operating system (OS). Some of the features in Android which may not necessarily be available in other platforms are: Talk-to-type in any field: Android has a “voice input” button on the keyboard which will allow appraisers to use thir voice to enter data into fields. Appraisers can fill the entire inspection using voice input. Free turn-by-turn voice activated navigation provided within the OS: Turn-by-turn voice navigation is provided within the Android OS at no additional charge. Appraisers can use it as a GPS...
…excluded from Reasonable and Customary fee surveys… The American Guild of Appraisers (AGA) / Guild 44 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO met with Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) on April 14 to discuss the Guild’s concerns with the Federal Reserve Board’s Interim Final Rule (Rule) regarding Appraiser Independence. With the implementation of the Rule issued April 1, 2011, the Federal Reserve has introduced faulty regulation that implicitly fails to capture Congressional intent to reform the appraisal process and Appraiser Independence and the necessity to promote the use of market driven, Reasonable & Customary (R&C) fees for various...
Lenders May Still Profit Most from Appraisal Fees, writes Kenneth Harney WASHINGTON — When you pay $450 to $550 at settlement for an appraisal on a home purchase or refinancing, do you assume that all or most of the money is going to the appraiser who comes to the house and performs the valuation? That’s logical, but probably not correct. Despite new Federal Reserve regulations that took effect April 1 requiring lenders to pay appraisers fair fees, growing numbers of them say they are still being offered $200 to $250 — even as low as $134 — for work that...
Where To Direct Questions and Comments Regarding Customary and Reasonable Fees There has been a lot of confusions about where appraisers can direct questions and comments regarding customary and reasonable fees. The Appraisal Subcommittee has recently posted the following information: The appropriate agency to receive your concern about a creditor’s compliance with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), including the creditor or the creditor’s agent paying an appraiser a customary and responsible fee, is the agency that enforces TILA for the creditor. If the agent or appraisal management company (AMC) is affiliated with a federally-regulated creditor, the appropriate agency to receive...
Required as of September 1, 2011, the Uniform Appraisal Dataset or UAD changes how appraisers fill out the URAR and 2055. a la mode UAD solution let the appraiser fill out the form as easily and quickly as possible. There are no pop up windows with okay or cancel buttons. Clicking into a field simply expands part of the form if necessary where appraisers can check any boxes, select any appropriate pull downs, and fill out any additional comments. Tabbing or clicking out of the field will automatically combine the appraiser’s answer in the exact format that the GSEs need....
