Tagged: AGA

Tristar Alleging Appraiser Shortage, AGA Opposes Appraisal Waivers 10

AGA Opposes Appraisal Waivers

Letter outlining the American Guild of Appraisers position in the national precedent setting matter of granting appraisal waivers for TriStar Bank in Dickson County TN. …this type of waiver is an outright invitation for fraud… December 8, 2017 RE: Tristar Bank, Dickson, Tennessee-Appraiser Waivers Request 11/20/2017 Dear R. Park The American Guild of Appraisers opposes the above referenced appraisal waiver request on behalf of our appraisal members and our more than 13 million taxpayers, consumer members of our parent unions. Tristar bank cites an absence of certified general real estate appraisers in their home office county (Dickson) as the basis...

Request for Appraisal Waivers If Granted Will Erode Public Trust 68

Appraisal Waivers vs. Public Trust

If the ASC grants the request for appraisal waivers, the precedent will have been set for other banks to follow… TriStar Bank has requested appraisal waivers for the entire year of 2018. According to the bank, they are having difficulty getting appraisals in the Nashville area and there is only one Certified General Appraiser in the the locality in which they are headquartered. Below is an excerpt form their letter to the ASC. They offer options in lieu of appraisals: Obtain an estimated value from a Realtor, selected from a small group of trusted Realtors who are not involved in...

Hacked! Are We to Rely on FNMA to Keep Our Private Tax Info Protected? 12

Is Your Private Tax Info Protected?

Even the Pentagon gets hacked! Do Consumers really KNOW how their loan application data is being handled? Having worked for IRS, I know it is against the law for any government employee to divulge specific (identifiable) taxpayer information without exceptional effort to get advance approval. There is no legal way for that personally identifiable taxpayer information to get into the public domain without the taxpayers specific written permission for it. Even inside IRS, we were required to protect the identification of the taxpayer in any case related situational discussions where we sought each others advice. We could talk about the...

Markets & Big Data Fool Proved Forecasting 10

I Got It Wrong…

“…after forty years of studying markets, I got it wrong…” As time goes on, the one thing that appears to be both a societal and financial markets constant, is our inability to learn from our past mistakes. Late, a couple of nights ago (10/23/17), while channel surfing, I happened on an economics program intended to explain the financial crisis of 2008. My apologies for referring to a programming without its name or network. Instead, I had to consider the person who was the primary focal point of the program: Hyman Minsky (see link to The Economist here). Before reading the...

Palm Beach AMC Solicitation Blast & Appraiser's Response 16

Appraiser’s Response to Palm Beach AMC

Palm Beach AMC, thank you for your blind/bulk solicitation. Just out of curiosity, why do you think I would share that kind of personal & confidential professional information with a firm I never heard of? I don’t even know what kind of fee schedule you are used to paying? You offer no references of any kind, yet you expect I will extend credit to you for thirty days? Without exception, THAT means that you will use MY fee to pay YOUR overhead for thirty days before you even consider sending MY fee to me. Firms that do not segregate appraiser...

Increasing use of AMS to replace AMCs 15

Increasing use of AMS to replace AMCs

AMS on fast track to replace AMCs… Well, it looks like the detritus of HVCC has finally come full circle. AMS (services vs companies) are on the fast track to replace AMCs. AMCs that foster their use haven’t realized that yet. They have given the lenders the tools needed to avoid costly appraisal management oversight departments while at the same time giving them the ability to use only those appraisers willing to make the deals work. They mistakenly believe that by delegating to an AMS or AMC they have met their due diligence requirements.Quality control? Sure. Just ignore the FNMA...

Special Report on Appraisal Technology Rebuttal - Hey! BIG Data, Leverage This! 13

Hey BIG Data, Leverage This!

The image above is not a part of the Appraisal Technology Special Report “Across the street from a house are two vacant lots. Zillow thinks one of them is worth $16K and the other one’s worth $169K. You can see them on the aerial view here.” I was recently asked by professional peers if I would read and comment on a Special Report published by ValuationReview, with the introduction penned by Mike Holzheimer, Editor. This Special Report may be downloaded here. Let’s be clear up front. I was not asked because of my proficiency with grammar, punctuation or even my...

Non Payment to Appraisers by Diligent Asset Valuations - BREA vs DAV 9

Anatomy of a Substantiated (AMC) Complaint 

Diligent Asset Valuations Alleged Multiple Non Payment to Appraisers Anyone that knows me, or who has read past comments concerning California BREA’s non enforcement of C&R fees also knows I’m not generally their (BREA) biggest fan. However, it would be intellectually dishonest not to recognize a case where they did the right thing. The case in question, BREA vs Diligent Asset Valuations (DAV), involved alleged multiple order non payment to appraisers by an AMC where orders were placed or assigned through the MERCURY NETWORK. The specific logistics of how Mercury is involved could be of interest to those that use...

MAY be Offered at the Lenders Discretion per FNMA Disaster Relief Notice 0

Fannie Mae Disaster Relief

FNMA announced on August 25, 2017 that they permit lenders to offer forbearance for between 90 to 180 days on property that value / marketability or habitability has been negatively affected by Hurricane Harvey. Similarly, owners whose ability to earn income due to the storm may be offered temporary reprieves. Like all things GSE related, the devil is in the details. Hopefully this is going to be an exception with no hidden demons. One concern I have is the use of the word ‘may’ as opposed to a more directive word such as ‘shall’. Apparently this is only an option...

Subject as Comparable Sale: Can You Use the Subject as a Comp? 19

Can You Use the Subject as a Comp?

To keep my finger on the pulse of the real estate appraisal community, I like to check in on Facebook groups dedicated to our profession. A little while ago, I noticed that the same question was coming up over and over again; ‘can you use the subject as a comparable sale?’ When you work in a big, metropolitan area, this isn’t really an issue. Real estate appraisers in those places would probably dismiss this idea out of hand; they’re going to have plenty of comparables to use in their valuation process. In rural areas like the one in which I...

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