1004 - Appraisers Blogs

Appraisers Are Historians

Guest Author — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 13:30:43 +0000

It is gratifying when appraisers are correct, and the AVMs burn; unless you invested in their stocks. I mean no disrespect to the modelers of the Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) or to Zillow for relying on their AVMs. As an appraiser since the 80s, I have yet to find a computer that can tell me if I want vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Does the buyer want more acres, or less grass to cut? I will admit that a raised ranch, a two story farm house, a colonial, a split level, and a Dutch colonial can all sell for the...

USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
Is the GSE's "Appraisal Modernization" Really Just… Mass Appraisal tend to exhibit a regressive nature... In the intricate landscape of real estate mortgage financing, the notion of…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…

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“Flavors” of Appraisal Reports

Dave Towne — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 13:30:31 +0000

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...

The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…

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FHA Temporary Partial Waiver

Dave Towne — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 12:30:42 +0000

FHA Appraisers, on April 26, 2021, FHA issued this Temporary Partial Waiver, which is active for one year. This temporary partial waiver is effective for the 12-month period between April 26, 2021, and April 26, 2022. It is found in FHA INFO #21-25 April 27, 2021: Temporary Partial Waiver of the requirements of the single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 Section II.D.4.c.iii.(F)(2) Required Analysis and Reporting that the Appraiser must include, analyze and report a minimum of two active listings or pending sales on the appraisal grid (in addition to at least three recently settled sales) in an Increasing Market...

The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…

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Highest and Best Use

Dave Towne — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 12:30:26 +0000

Appraisers, I had a recent discussion with a review appraiser, who discussed a ‘situation’ with me. It involved Highest and Best Use (H&BU), and the appraiser’s reluctance to re-do a report so that a loan could be made. The appraiser had checked the H&BU question box on page 1 of the 1004 form as “NO”, which immediately stops the lending process. This H&BU topic is sometimes difficult for appraisers due to many variables which need to be analyzed. The twisted part of this situation (which influenced the appraiser’s H&BU reporting) is the property is in an area where some, not all,...

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…
Remove Predominant Price from New Forms Something that has ‘stuck in my craw’ or ‘frosted my cookies’ for years is the nonsense about stating a specific…
How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted At the crossroads of it all is a campaign to weaken or eliminate valuations... The nonprofit is now exploring ways…

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Is a Model Home Considered Occupied?

Dustin Harris — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 12:30:26 +0000

Two days later the underwriter emails you ordering you to change “vacant” to “occupied” since there is clearly furniture in the house… Here’s a situation you’ll run into once or twice in your career. There is a new subdivision. Now, new subdivisions sometimes have model homes. Model homes typically have furniture, fixtures, and equipment – usually upgraded. The subdivision has completed its sales program and the developer is now selling the model(s). Your job is to appraise one of the models, since the developer has it under contract to a retail buyer. You do your inspection thing, take pictures of...

The One-Mile Rule: Prudent Policy or Modern Day Redlining? ...whether through redlined maps or implicit "one-mile rule," the result can be undervalued properties in historically marginalized neighborhoods. Throughout the…
The Illogical Reality of Mortgage Appraisal Reviews Reforming the appraisal review process is essential to maintaining the integrity of the real estate market and protecting consumers and…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…

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Not a Get Out of Jail Free Card

Dustin Harris — Fri, 22 May 2020 12:30:16 +0000

It is not misleading to use a 1004 form for a desktop or a drive-by because, during these convoluted times… In talking with Tim Andersen, a USPAP instructor and long-experienced appraiser, I was reminded that, even in the time of C-19, USPAP applies, and appraisals must still be credible. Reports must still not mislead. USPAP has never required the appraiser to inspect the property. That is a lender construct. So long as your scope of work is clear relative the level of inspection you provided, and why that was your scope of work, you should not have a problem. Note...

"Flavors" of Appraisal Reports SEE the differences between the THREE versions of the 1004 reports, what I euphemistically call "flavors." Appraisers, recent watercooler discussions…
VA Alternative Valuation Methods On August 1, 2022, the Veterans Affairs released Circular 26-22-13 announcing new procedures for alternative valuation methods, effective immediately. The…
Sketch or Floor Plan? The FLOOR PLAN has all the elements of a SKETCH... Appraisers, I was given some ‘inside info’ about DESKTOP assignment reports…

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Lender Seeks to Overturn NY Appraiser-Friendly Statute of Limitations Law

Peter Christensen — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 13:30:03 +0000

Sharestates operates a crowdfunding platform that provides alternative mortgage lending secured by both residential and commercial real estate. Over the last 10 years, it has reported average annual returns for loan investors ranging from 9.24% to 11.02%. With returns like these, there is likely some loan risk – and Sharestates reports a current foreclosure rate of 2.44%. Following several of its foreclosures, Sharestates has filed professional negligence cases against about a dozen defendant appraisers, appraisal firms and appraisal management companies, blaming the loan losses on inflated appraisals. Last year, it lost one of those cases in a Nassau County, New...

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending…
It’s Time to Take Out the Junk: AMC Practices Exposed Appraisers have spent years carrying the weight of broken AMC practices, and this article pulls every one of those practices…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…

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Incorrect Comments in Multi-Family Report

Dave Towne — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 13:30:48 +0000

I have in my possession an appraisal for a DUPLEX (2 family residence) on a FNMA 1025/FrMac 72 form, commonly called the ‘1025 Form’ which was done by a Certified Residential Appraiser licensed for 8 yrs, 6 months. Items “observed” in the report: UAD rating numbers are used for Quality and Condition. 1025 forms are not UAD coded, so why are these used? Please don’t tell me “the client said so” because the client is incorrect, and may not be aware. Use the standard wording for those items, and provide a definition description of the standard wording you use. The Highest and...

For Clarity Sake Once again I find myself harping on the original intent of USPAP. The purpose of the Uniform Standards of Professional…
USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…

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Hybrid Appraisals, Invitation to Fraud

Michael Ford — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 12:30:12 +0000

Until FNMA released their version of a test format for hybrids (1004P) there was not one hybrid form appraisal process and online form reporting system found that was not egregiously misleading in the entire country. Not one. Not Clarocity’s, nor Clear Capital’s or Mueller Inc. A “typical hybrid” sample follows. https://appraisersblogs.com/clearval-value-hybrid-appraisal Not those crafted in Hyderabad, Pakistan for $8 Billion for just one year’s Wall Street Investments (as published by Cezary Podkul Wall Street Journal) where the preparers claimed to be able to produce 360+ per day by illegally using broker login credentials from state-licensed brokers in America. The entire...

USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…

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Report Observation & Trigger Points

Dave Towne — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:30:50 +0000

Appraisers, this is another essay written about a report I have ‘observed.’ I’ve mentioned before that I “come in contact with” appraisal reports from a variety of sources. Those that I determine have significant issues I write about. Conclusions about the ‘real value’ will be disclosed below. Trigger points for having reports formally reviewed are discussed. I do this because a majority of appraisers do not participate and interact with their peers on a consistent basis, and therefore may not get exposed to items that clients and lenders see in reports, which they question. I believe it’s important to expose items in reports that...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process The story of this single mother's harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD's negligent oversight exposes deep flaws…
The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…

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Can you say ‘L-A-W-S-U-I-T’ boys and girls?

Michael Ford — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 12:30:48 +0000

Fellow appraisers I strongly discourage anyone from accepting AMROCK Valuations work generally due to their poor track record in dealing with appraisers across the country; and their apparent habit of making up their own appraisal rules as they go along without regard to C&R fees; Dodd Frank and most other common sense sound appraisal practices up to and including USPAP. Y’all remember USPAP don’t you? A series of uniform rules we’d all follow to promote, preserve and protect the American real estate appraisal profession and the American Public. That is until it became an inconvenient impediment to MISMO; FNMA and...

The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee…
The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its… For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore.…
USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP's Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a…

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Appraisal Simulator

VaCAP Board — Wed, 23 May 2018 12:30:15 +0000

The industry is working of an appraisal simulator… The US House of Representatives Passed S 2155 today! Section 103 allows for waivers of appraisals by licensed appraisers in certain situations. See the bill here. Other News: Last week The National Association of Realtors held their Real Property Valuation Committee meeting. We have 2 VaCAP members on this committee. Here is a brief over view of the meeting from our representative in attendance. John Brenan with the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) spoke at the meeting and gave an update on the roll back of licensing requirements that went into effect May 1st....

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession Anytime the government gets involved in an issue, it tends to have more adverse effects than positive ones. It makes…
The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…

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Fix It Before Replacing It!

VaCAP Board — Thu, 17 May 2018 12:30:17 +0000

Fix what is broken before replacing the product. Appraisers are talented professionals that know how to take mass amounts of data, filter through it, analyze & make sense of it all. Utilize the talents of the 70,000 plus experienced, licensed professionals & don’t short change the consumer… Yesterday was the National Association of Realtors Real Property Valuation Forum: Rethinking Real Estate Valuations: Alternatives to Traditional Appraisals. First, VaCAP was well represented with 8 members present from all over the state. There were many of our Network colleagues there as well from all over the country. Thank you for taking the...

Garbage Replacing Appraisers? If appraisers were to embrace such garbage, would the demise of this technology be sooner? ...14.53 million dollar loss in…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
The Real Cause of the Home Value Gap Is the Income Gap Blaming appraisers for the income gap will never solve the real underlying problem... Blaming appraisers for the income gap is…

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Careless Order Takers?

Michael Ford — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 13:30:55 +0000

Appraisers were simply order takers… A friend that refers a lot of commercial work to me forwarded the following communications from an AMC. He’s been telling to ‘go away’ for some time now. This time he played along to see exactly what it is they are hustling. I’ve redacted my friends name and eliminated excessive line spacing and repetitive email signatures. I also bold highlighted references to John Brenan & AQB communications. Otherwise it’s as copied from my email. We’ve all heard enough about hybrids so you can either read the copied emails or skip them. It’s the article from...

Appraisers Pushing Back! Solidifi has taken the disrespect to another level... Appraisers Pushing Back Against AMC Bad Behavior! Appraisers have finally had enough…
Appraisers Need to Learn to Stop Being Doormats! Being a bad businessman is not an excuse not to pay me. Period. The borrower pays the AMC up front.…
Homeowner Rejects Hybrid Appraisal Appraiser Alert: Don’t Mess with a 4’ 10” Senior Citizen! Last week I called a borrower to schedule the appraisal appointment.…

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Solution for Alternative Reports

Dave Towne — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 13:30:18 +0000

Lenders are having a problem finding enough appraisers to fulfill the number of ‘alternative’ reports… This is my follow-up to the previous essay about FIVE different types of ‘hybrid’ reports. You need to know some background about why I’m writing about this. I’m acquainted with a highly skilled appraiser/instructor of 40+/- years in the trenches. I had the pleasure of meeting this appraiser in glitter gulch in 2008, again in 2013, and we have stayed in touch over the years. I greatly respect this appraiser’s opinions and willingness to contribute cogent remarks in-person, when teaching, and via various forum posts, etc....

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0” Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie…
Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a…
It’s Time to Take Out the Junk: AMC Practices Exposed Appraisers have spent years carrying the weight of broken AMC practices, and this article pulls every one of those practices…

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Quit Overreporting!

Dave Towne — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 13:30:46 +0000

Why Do Appraisers Keep Overreporting…? Appraisers, Another friend has provided a copy of an appraisal on the friend’s home. Good golly, miss Molly… Why do appraisers keep overreporting comparable property data, which really isn’t comparable? This subject property is an 1,100 sq.ft. single story home, in a near-beach side community, with partial marine view, not on WFT, in a suburban location. Similar ‘comps’ are extremely limited (no more than 6 sales and 2 listings) due to its GLA, location, age, etc., based on the appraiser’s report, and my own research from multiple searches which proved similar comparable properties are almost non-existent. The report...

Quit Doing This. Just Say NO! E&O coverage has nothing at all to do with underwriting mortgage loans... Do not include your E&O binder page in…
Bugged About Adjustments Illogical line item adjustments... Appraisers, I’ve recently ‘come in contact with’, in a semi-official capacity, a recently completed appraisal report.…
Rules Check Software If the ‘story’ can be told using 3 comps, why are 4 or more really necessary? Folks, As you are…

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2017 Fee Survey Analyzing the Data

David Brauner — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 12:30:57 +0000

Surveys Said: Increasing Fees and Turn Times… For the last few years the appraisal industry has been abuzz with talk of rising appraisal fees and longer turn times. AMCs complain of a shortage of appraisers and “price gouging” in certain markets (Colorado and Oregon, for instance); appraisers report modest success at raising their fees after years of frustration (See Fees Rising). With over 7,000 appraisers responding so far, the results of the 2017 Working RE/OREP Appraiser Fee Survey is a current source for fee and turn time data by market and nationwide. To view the survey results for your market,...

Paying Too Much For Appraisals? Why am I paying more than TWICE the amount paid to the appraiser? I was recently charged/paid $750.00 to have…
Lender Must Pay AMC Fee Proposal! Appraisal fee charged to consumer must not include AMC fee This is huge. The New Jersey Department of Banking is…
Let's Talk Fees How different fees can affect an appraiser’s income. OK, before you lob spears and bricks my way, we can. This…

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Appraisal Forms Designs & Purposes

Dave Towne — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 13:30:33 +0000

These forms were “designed” to be used for those specific purposes… Appraisers, Earlier this week, I discussed the following about some lenders requesting a type of property inspection to be completed on a form “Not Designed” for the specific property type: Original observation discussed earlier this week: Read the highlighted sentence. Read the highlighted sentence again. According to a regional bank in my area, via info from their AMC, “thousands” of Manufactured Home appraisals have been done on the 2055 form. Do you do that, just because someone – who just wants to “make a sale” – tells you to...

Executive Summary in Appraisal Reports Executive SummaryAppraisers, I spent two days last week at the Appraisal Summit and Expo in Las Vegas – which was…
Desirable, Rite or Rong? Desirable, banned or permitted? I was caught up in a minor ‘dispute’ last week when a review appraiser wacked my…
The 1004D for Disaster Inspections - Advice When Disaster Happens... Appraisers, The phrase "disasters happen" is, unfortunately, all too common. Fires, floods, vehicle accidents, wind storms, hurricanes,…

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Safe Room Adjustment in Appraisals

Dave Towne — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 13:30:39 +0000

Use of a Safe Room has Increased by Property Owners Appraisers, If you’re doing a standard 1004 SFR, or 1073 condo (or perhaps a Co-op), report and encounter a “Safe Room“, you might need to add that to one of the extra adjustable component lines on the grid. The trick however, is how do you determine the value of such a safe room and apply a proper adjustment? I suspect they vary in size, interior amenities, vault door construction, and bazooka stopping power of their perimeter wall structure. I dunno! If encountered, I think I’d call Jonathan Miller, who is...

When Does a Closet Become a Room? When is a closet a room? In most cases, interior closets are included within the total finished square footage. But,…
What is Gross Living Area (GLA)? What is Gross Living Area and What Does it Include? Appraisers, There are certain properties where aspects of Gross Living…
HOA Does Not Necessarily Equal PUD HOA Fees but no PUD? It happened again this week. An appraisal was done, the report was turned into the…

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CU “Enhancements” Are Coming

Dave Towne — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:30:40 +0000

CU risk score, flags and messages Appraisers, In about 6 weeks, Fannie Mae will make available to LENDERS only, and probably by default indirectly, to their AMC agents, enhancements or improvements (in their opinion) to the Collateral Underwriter electronic review process. None of the Collateral Underwriter background info, especially about Fannie Mae’s ‘additional comps’ selection process, is shared directly with appraisers. But when these are returned to appraisers in the form of a Quality Assurance request from the lender or AMC, appraisers are expected to drop everything and immediately review those for applicability in the appraisal report. Pay attention to the...

FNMA Big Data to Check Appraisals FNMA New Collateral Underwriter to Check Appraisals Using Fannie’s Big Data FNMA Collateral Underwriter Flyer showing info about the FNMA…
Collateral Underwriter White Paper Fannie Mae's Collateral Underwriter - Industry Update White Paper Folks, I just found this document (PDF attached) written primarily from…
Other Appraisers Peer Reports Now Appraisers Must Conform to the Opinions of Other Appraisers/Unknown Persons of Unknown Competence! Appraisers, Many of you know I…

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1004 - Appraisers Blogs

Appraisers Are Historians

Related Posts:

“Flavors” of Appraisal Reports

Related Posts:

FHA Temporary Partial Waiver

Related Posts:

Highest and Best Use

Related Posts:

Is a Model Home Considered Occupied?

Related Posts:

Not a Get Out of Jail Free Card

Related Posts:

Lender Seeks to Overturn NY Appraiser-Friendly Statute of Limitations Law

Related Posts:

Incorrect Comments in Multi-Family Report

Related Posts:

Hybrid Appraisals, Invitation to Fraud

Related Posts:

Report Observation & Trigger Points

Related Posts:

Can you say ‘L-A-W-S-U-I-T’ boys and girls?

Related Posts:

Appraisal Simulator

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Fix It Before Replacing It!

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Careless Order Takers?

Related Posts:

Solution for Alternative Reports

Related Posts:

Quit Overreporting!

Related Posts:

2017 Fee Survey Analyzing the Data

Related Posts:

Appraisal Forms Designs & Purposes

Related Posts:

Safe Room Adjustment in Appraisals

Related Posts:

CU “Enhancements” Are Coming

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