Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
Yesterday I received this feedback from TAF/IAC: The voting process was completed for Zillow Group and they were approved as an IAC member with the required affirmative votes (two-thirds of the IAC members). Thank you for taking the time to vote. My appraisal firm is a member of the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of the Appraisal Foundation (TAF). I’ve presented to IAC in Washington and the people I’ve met at IAC are great. Before I get to Zillow, here are my thoughts about the structure of the TAF councils: IAC = Pay to Play. In order to see how the sausage...
The alleged errors in appraisals that parties are suing appraisers over during the pandemic are the same types of errors that appraisers usually get sued over… Wow. I did not go into the basement on my last visit. I’ll explain why an appraiser wrote that in a moment. Are appraisers being sued for errors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic? My short answer is “no” – there’s no pattern of that happening. One of the services that I provide to my legal clients is tracking lawsuits and legislation that relate to valuation services. I locate and follow cases of all types...
In the news release, Radian, an AMC licensed in most US States says they will help their clients ‘transition’ away from traditional appraisals… This news release was circulated yesterday, October 29, 2020, by the Radian Group Inc. Radian Group (NYSE:RDN) will wind down its traditional appraisal business, which offers residential real estate appraisal services through a panel of independent contractor appraisers, to focus on core mortgage and real estate businesses driven by digital products and services. This news is so fresh that their very attractively designed web site and associated pages still glowingly highlight how wonderful their ‘traditional appraisals’ are… at least...
Echoes of the Sham Petition Process are alarming – The following sequence seems astoundingly corrupt. This time series has been confirmed by a number of highly credible sources. In 2017, Appraisal Institute CEO Fred Grubbe essentially resigned in the middle of the night without warning. Apparently, people close to Fred were stunned by the lack of advanced warning. In 2018 AI President Jim Murrett appointed Scott Robinson, former AI president, to lead a CEO Search Project and all of his 8 team members. At the Nashville national conference, Murrett said on stage that the Board of Directors selected the team,...
There are always two sides to every story; however, understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side, and the truth in the middle. Recently there has been a wave of news stories about racism in the appraisal profession brought on by a couple in Jacksonville, Florida. That couple, Abena Horton, a black woman, and her husband Alex Horton, a white male, made claims that an appraiser who first appraised their home came in low on the appraisal due to her race. You can read one of the numerous stories here. Before anyone here accuses me of being racist etc.,...
FTC’s price-fixing enforcement action against LREAB… A federal appellate court – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit – has issued a decision in the long-standing fight between the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about “customary and reasonable” appraisal fees. I’m venturing here to provide a short, understandable, unbiased summary of the litigation and what this latest court decision means. What did the Court of Appeals decide? Here’s the very short summary: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pursuing an administrative complaint it filed in 2017 against LREAB, contending that LREAB’s “customary and reasonable”...
Remember the saying “Pick two: fast, cheap or good. You can only have two of them?” Well you see, amcs got impatient and stopped reading after fast and cheap… The concept is simple enough, a fire wall between the loan production staff and the appraiser to avoid any possible pressure, coercion or influence. It sounded like a good idea to many; hence the HVCC legislation passed and was enacted. This was a period of trial and error for so many and before anyone found their way, along came Mr. Dodd and Mr. Frank to give their official stamp of approval...
Consolidated Analytics, an AMC based in Anaheim California, was fined $3,000 for violating the Utah AMC Administrative Rules R162-2e-306 “Offering An Appraisal Assignment and Communicating with Two or More Appraisers About a Potential Assignment. The specific part of this rule that pertains to broadcasting has been relatively effective in reducing broadcasting of assignments. Clear Capital recently was fined $5,000 for failing to comply and there are additional complaints working their way through the system. CONSOLIDATED ANALYTICS, INC., BRIAN GEHL, Owner/Manager, Appraisal Management Company, Anaheim, California. In a stipulated order dated June 24, 2020, Consolidated Analytics, Inc. admitted that it broadcast...
Let’s talk about assignments in private neighborhoods, gated communities, or secure communities. Rich folks buy, sell, and refinance their homes, too, so they need appraisals. You have an assignment in a security community. There is security at the entrances, you must be on security’s authorized visitor list to get in, and your permission to enter this private community extends solely to visit your subject. So, here is the question: while inside this gated, secure community, do you also drive around and take photos of the comps? Now, even though you are reading this, I can see you looking at me...
Verifying property sales data is a key element and requirement in doing appraisals correctly… Verifying property sales data is a key element and requirement in doing appraisals correctly. We cannot just assume the MLS reports sale prices correctly. One aid to help do this is by using one of the ‘data download’ software providers which prefill many property data items in the report comparable grids. These companies have direct interties with the local MLS (most, not all across the US), and public data from either your jurisdiction recording or assessor office, or an amalgamation company such as Realist. Two ‘data...
