Appraisal News and Appraisal Tips For Real Estate Appraisers - Your source for appraisal industry news, appraisers' opinions, and discussions of appraisal issues
A low appraisal is now a bad appraisal. Well, that’s according to the headline. The article does not stress ‘bad.’ See the article, “A Wild Market Means More Home Appraisals are Coming in Low. Here’s What to do if a Bad Appraisal Threatens Your Deal”, in Money.com. “We” appraisers are now experiencing the same level of buyer goofiness and panic we encountered in 2006-2008, before everything melted down. Inventories are low, and buyer interest is intense. In my immediate neighborhood less than a month ago, an older vacant home came up for sale, listed in the MLS. I looked at...
Instead, good appraisers have been lumped in with the bad appraisers who are long gone… Although I’ve shared the following CNBC clip before, it’s worth showing again given my 15-year ago hairstyle. In 2005, I was interviewed by CNBC in the midst of the Housing Bubble and said that 75% of the appraisals being done then weren’t worth the paper they were written on (hey it was 2005 and they were done on paper, not pdf). They found me because I had just started my Matrix Blog because no one seemed to be listening to appraisers. Incidentally as of this week, Matrix is...
The National Association of Realtors held their “Virtual Appraisal Summit” on Aug. 5, 2020, focusing on ‘fair housing and the appraisal industry.’ We were fortunate to have Craig Morley, President of the National Association of Appraisers, represent us appraisers, but his presentation was only scheduled for 15 minutes. I’m hoping when he sees this message, he will provide more info about his presentation and the outcome of the “Summit.” Craig’s presentation had the title: Abilities and Limitations of Appraising Real Estate Under Today’s Rules Craig Morley, Managing Partner, Accurity Valuation/Morley & McConkie, LLC I’m just hoping that this Summit was...
The Con, a 5 part docu-series premiering August 5, 2020 at 8pm EDT, is an in-depth investigation into the 2008 financial crisis nine years in the making. Through interviews with regulators, former officials, foreclosure victims, industry whistleblowers, and journalists, THE CON connects the dots to what America used to be and where we’re headed in 2020, as nearly 40 million Americans are currently claiming unemployment. Stay tuned for a live conversation with the filmmakers and voices from THE CON after the screening. William Black: “Most things viewers “know” about the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) are false…. The GFC was not...
Here’s a shoutout to Jim Amorin and Leslie Sellers as you are reading this right now – – here’s a refresher on Appraisal Institute history… Like Craig Steinley, the 2007 victim of the unethical petition process I’ve covered over the previous two weeks, Anne L. Johnson was selected by the nominating committee to be Vice President after being vetted against a number of candidates. This sham petition process was implemented to get Leslie Sellers (he voted for himself after not making the cut with the nominating committee) on track to later become President and then led AI to exit TAF without a legitimate explanation...
Folks, well known respected appraiser, blogger, writer, speaker, mentor – Ryan Lundquist of Sacramento, CA – is presently in the hospital with ulcerative colitis. A GoFundMe account has been set up by two other appraisers to help with medical expenses, with payments going directly to his wife Jennifer. At the time of my message, the donation status is just under 50% of the goal. Let’s push it higher!! If you can help out, the link is Additional details: Our friend Ryan Lundquist has suffered from colitis for several years and has had a flare-up in the past month. He has...
Proposed Revision to STANDARDS RULE 2-2…a change that would undercut the appraisal profession in a major way… Comments on the proposed changes to the 2022-23 USPAP are needed. The proposed changes to the reporting requirement of Standard 2 may impact the profession negatively and confuse the public on who we are and what we do. We ask that each and every one of you pause for a moment and comment by July 30th. Below is what was sent out to the Arizona Association of Real Estate Appraisers by Joanna Conde. Virginia also requires anyone using the title appraiser, be licensed....
Those fine outstanding law abiding people at Wells Fargo are at it again! This time the fraud is against the United States Bankruptcy Court and as usual, their very own customers. Wells Fargo’s explanation… The Covid-19 Pandemic! Wells Fargo is using the Covid-19 virus as the excuse for placing borrowers currently under Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plans in forbearance. The borrowers never asked for the forbearance and Wells Fargo filed a claim with the Bankruptcy Courts halting mortgage payments for the borrowers without their knowledge. According to the NBC news article: On April 29, without Harlow’s knowledge or permission, Wells Fargo told...
American National Standard for Single-Family Residential Buildings, Square Footage – Method of Calculating, ANSI Z765-2020 VaCAP has just learned of a meeting on July 22 to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the square footage calculation under ANSI guidelines. The proposed changes were published for public comment which closed in March. The meeting, which is described as a virtual Consensus Committee Meeting is open to the public, however you must request the meeting credentials to attend. Again, VaCAP has just learned of this proposed change and apologizes for the last minute notice. See the press release below or on their website. Once...
Every single appraisal any of us do has a census tract number as a required element. There are no exceptions for federally regulated transactions. Even where no bias or prejudice is intended, language that the PC Police have ascribed as being ‘potentially racist, biased or prejudicial’ has long been prohibited. Buyers clearly do care and weight ‘neighborhood or school or special amenity neighborhoods’ in terms of ‘desirability’, but no appraiser can consider this. We are even prohibited from having people in pictures which could be indicative of race. It’s gotten so nuts that property owner’s own photos of religious icons,...
