Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues

Promoting the False Racist Appraiser Narrative 8

Promoting False “Racist Appraiser” Narrative

Some Lenders promoting false “racist appraiser” narrative to optimize profits via AVMs Like most businesses lenders want to optimize their profits. One way to make more money besides charging more is to pay less in costs and fees. One way for the lender to do that is to pay the appraiser less or just get rid of them and use a free or very inexpensive Automated Valuation Method (AVM). I personally don’t care if a lender or borrower wants to use an AVM. There is enough business out there for appraisers because not all appraisals are for loans and not...

Proposed Design of the URAR 25

Proposed Design of the URAR

Here’s the link to the ‘slide show’ the GSE’s have produced showing proposed design of the future, revised, URAR appraisal form. In my initial very quick observation of the proposed changes, there is FAR MORE INFO REQUESTED about the subject and comparable sales than the ‘current’ 2005 URAR form has on it. If this is what the final version will be like, the appraiser’s time to ‘complete the form report’ may increase exponentially. It may mean that the cost of the appraisal will increase. I hope people involved with this will be more sensitive to this aspect, unlike what was...

TAF Conflates Real Estate Appraisers with Appraisers 9

TAF Conflates Real Estate Appraisers with Appraisers

Why do I take the time to mention “real estate appraisers” and “real estate appraisals?” instead of just “appraisers” and “appraisals”? Personal property appraisers and business appraisers aren’t required by any state to follow USPAP, don’t pay anything for licensing and certification fees to any state, and are not subject matter experts on anything to do with real estate at all, ever. But… the Appraisal Standards Board and Appraiser Qualifications Board are chock a block full of non-real estate appraisers. Didn’t TAF/ASC arise from problems in the real estate profession? Was it ever the intent of the original remit for...

Anti-Appraiser Agenda - Follow the Money! 25

Anti-Appraiser Agenda

Money may have been used to buy influence and promote the current anti-appraiser narrative being embraced by key public servants in the executive and legislative branches. TOOL MAY HELP APPRAISERS CONNECT DOTS TO UNRELENTING CHARACTER ATTACKS It’s reminiscent of a practice pioneered by Texas savings-and-loan kingpin Tom Gaubert in the 1980s. The idea was to have employees at his crumbling institution and those of his friends funnel a large number of small-dollar political donations to his buddy, Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright. The speaker, one of the most corrupt to hold the position (and that’s really saying something), spread the...

ANSI & Floor Plans Goofiness 35

ANSI & Floor Plans Goofiness

“…if you the appraiser are not required to inspect the property yourself, don’t you want to have a more detailed diagram of the home, i.e., a Floor Plan?” There’s been lots of discussion on various forums, classes, Facebook, blogs, podcasts, surveys, articles, etc., about the upcoming ‘demands’ by ONE of the GSE’s to measure using ANSI Standard Z765-2021, and by both GSE’s to provide a Floor Plan for certain assignments. Uniformity is the stated goal. ANSI is not consistent in how they want the perimeter of homes to be measured. Here’s why: for new construction, when the plans (blueprints) are...

NAR Paints a Different Picture: Appraisers Among the Least Discriminatory Practices 16

NAR Report Paints a Different Picture

The study also shows the appraisal was the LOWEST scored item on the list of discriminatory practices… On February 23, 2022, NAR published the “2022 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America” report. The study examines homeownership trends and challenges by race and location to explain current racial disparities in the housing market. Using data from the 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the report looks at the characteristics of who purchases homes, why they purchase, what they purchase and the financial background for buyers based on race. The study noted that for those who said they witnessed...

Bias in Automated Valuation Models 11

Bias in Automated Valuation Models

The CFPB is reviewing bias in Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). The proposed rules are a joint effort by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Controller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. These agencies are concerned AVMs may reflect bias in design and function. The mathematical models rely on biased data resulting in inaccurate valuations. Basically the agencies are stating historical data going back to redlining is built into these models and do not reflect current market data. Remember markets are not static and are...

Maxine Waters wants appraisers investigated 119

Maxine Waters Wants Appraisers Investigated

On February 22, 2022, Maxine Waters sent a letter to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, TAF, ASC and AI regarding ongoing appraisal bias and discrimination. She is calling on the federal regulators and AI to investigate appraisers’ misconduct and potential illegal discrimination. She will also be introducing legislation to address ongoing discrimination. Maxine Waters’ letter “highlights longstanding racial inequities plaguing America’s home valuation system”. The letter highlights longstanding racial inequities plaguing America’s home valuation system, particularly in Black-majority communities and other communities of color. To illuminate the severity of this issue, Chairwoman Waters references an email recently sent by an appraiser...

Flavors of Appraisal Reports 7

“Flavors” of Appraisal Reports

SEE the differences between the THREE versions of the 1004 reports, what I euphemistically call “flavors.” Appraisers, recent watercooler discussions by appraisers focus on the new ‘desktop’ appraisals many will be requested to do. Now that the GSE’s have “formally” approved non-appraiser-inspected reports for first mortgage lending (or will very soon – not sure of the exact effective date), you may want to actually SEE the differences between the THREE versions of the 1004 reports, what I euphemistically call “flavors.” I spent a number of hours at the end of January reviewing our current ‘full’ 1004 form, and the new...

National Association of Realtors and Representation of Appraisers 15

NAR and Representation of Appraisers

As Real Estate Appraisers, we are encountering an assault on our profession from the GSE’s with the hybrid appraisal reports, the rollout of the new desktop product and with appraisal waivers. These junk reports and the waivers continue to undermine the public trust in our industry and leave the appraisers exposed to great risk and the consumers left holding the bag if their mortgage goes south. This impacts not just us, but the Real Estate profession as a whole, because if the public loses trust in the industry, we will all lose, not just the appraisers. As appraisers, we need...

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