Tagged: 1073

CU Robot Keeps Score on Appraisers 51

Collateral Underwriter Crumbles

CU Robot Keeps Score on Appraisers Appraisers, No, this is not about “cuukie” crumbles. It’s about what the Fannie Mae Collateral Underwriter (CU) process is finding in far too many appraisal reports. A few days ago, I had an opportunity to speak with someone on the ‘inside’ of Fannie Mae. The discussion evolved to “what are the most serious items the CU process is finding in appraisals?” The CU process, which became effective January 26, 2015, is a giant electronic robot collecting tons of specific data from submitted appraisals to FNMA. This data can then be tied directly to the...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News / AQM / Collateral Underwriter

Income Affected by Low Fees - Let's Talk Fees 50

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 is not a ‘public event’ filled with associates in an open meeting setting. In places like that, the FTC takes dim view of any fee discussion, fearing price fixing and collusion. But privately, fees can be discussed among peers, with no agreement that any certain, mandated fee be charged by everyone. The gubmint can’t stop you from talking with an associate. For weeks and months, appraisers across many of the forums I read have been discussing the need for appraisers...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees

The 1004D for Disaster Inspections 8

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, tornadoes are all factors that can affect real property. When a local disaster happens, and is officially declared, lenders often ask appraisers to observe the current condition of their mortgaged properties. The assignment date may be days, weeks or months after the declared disaster. The hiccups, hang-ups and head scratching occurs when the lender or AMC asks for a ‘Disaster Inspection Condition Report’ to be done on the wonderful 1004D form. Something it is not designed to do. And this...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

Desirable - banned Fannie Mae words 10

Desirable, Rite or Rong?

Desirable, banned or permitted? I was caught up in a minor ‘dispute’ last week when a review appraiser wacked my knuckles when I described a ‘neighborhood’ as being “Desirable.” My original message was re-distributed on various forums and I’ve tried to read all comments to see how I might learn from this episode. Lots of appraisers offered their input. Some supportive and positive, some cautionary, and some who believe much of what we have to deal with is pretty trivial. “Banned words” were originally identified in the Fair Housing Act law many years ago (not the EEOC law as I...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

4

Safe Room Adjustment in Appraisals

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...

1004MC / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Valuing the Contribution of Solar Panels 39

Valuing the Contribution of Solar Panels

How to value the appraised property with solar panels Appraisers, Valuing the contribution of solar panels on homes has become one of the trickiest aspects of our work over the past decade. Attached is a very well written 45 page report that will help all appraisers better understand this issue, and perhaps lead you in the right direction when you encounter homes with solar panels. I strongly recommend that you print a copy for your library. Oh, and actually read it! The basis of the report is how to value the appraised property with solar panels, when no comps have...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Adjustment Values, Frequency & Dollar Amount 18

Adjustment Values, Frequency & Dollar Amount

Ever wondered what other appraisers are doing with adjustment values? Appraisers, Have you ever wondered what other appraisers are doing with adjustments in their reports? CoreLogic has done research over the past 3 years, using 1.3 MILLION+ reports, and has produced the graph attached here.  You may want to print this for reference. This graph shows the percentage of time a certain feature is adjusted, and the average dollar amount of the adjustment for each of those. It’s rather interesting. The highest amount of adjustment, approximately $14,000, is for the Quality Rating. Not really surprising as to the amount, but the percentage...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News / AQM / Collateral Underwriter

A Possible Solution to Customary and Reasonable Fees - C&R Fees Solutions 10

A Possible Solution to Customary & Reasonable Fees

Over the past five years, a major subject of talk in the appraiser world has been that of Customary and Reasonable Fees. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue has been mostly one-sided. We tend to do a lot of griping about the fact that many of us are not being paid what is “customary” or “reasonable”, but there are very few solutions offered up. When I was young and would sometimes (not often, of course) complain about this or that, my father would always say, “Don’t come to me with a complaint unless you have a possible solution.” It was sound advice then...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees

AMC's “My Way or the Highway” Attitude 47

AMC’s “My Way or the Highway” Attitude

Apparent appraiser abuse by AMC’s… As Chairman of the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA) National Appraiser Peer Review Committee, I have had the opportunity to see and hear directly about many cases involving alleged, as well as apparent appraiser abuse by AMC’s. These cases ranged geographically from California, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, Maryland, and District of Columbia. As a QC consultant to a smaller appraiser owned AMC, I have also seen low fee spreadsheets from a variety of lenders that had 90% listed at the SAME APPRAISER fees: $495.00 (which INCLUDED the AMC...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

27

Appraisal Fees ARE Being Manipulated

Gas prices in California were $4.25 to $4.50 when oil was last at $100 a barrel. A week ago they were $50+/- a barrel and our pump prices were still over $4.00 a gallon. We are told ‘environmental’ mandated blended methanol is the cause of the $1.30 higher pricing than anywhere else in the Continental US. When those environmental laws were being passed we were told they’d only add from $0.05 to MAX of $0.15 per gallon-NOT $1.30 or 43% more! We KNOW that California politicians have also very recently heavily increased gas taxes in their never ending war against internal combustion....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

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