Tagged: AMC

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Mortgage Disclosure Rule Alters Appraisal Fee Reporting

The Appraisal Institute on Dec. 17 finalized its review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1,888-page final rule on Integrated Mortgage Disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act, and noted several provisions that impact real estate appraisers and how appraisal fees are reported. The rule, which takes effect Aug. 1, 2015, mandates the use of two new disclosure forms, the Loan Estimate (which replaces both the Good Faith Estimate and the initial Truth in Lending Disclosure) and the Closing Disclosure (which replaces both the HUD-1 and the final Truth in Lending Disclosure). It...

AI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

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Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against BPO and AMC Firms for Allegedly Unpaid Fees

Unpaid BPO Fees Class Action On December 2, 2013, three law firms in Florida, Washington and Colorado teamed together to file a class action complaint on behalf of real estate agents and others allegedly owed unpaid fees for broker price opinions ordered by BrokerPriceOpinion.com. The complaint also names three-related companies First Valuation, LLC, First Valuation Services, LLC, and First Valuation Technology, LLC as defendants on the basis that they are “alter egos” of BrokerPriceOpinion.com and do not have true corporate separateness in their operation. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Colorado, where the defendants are based. The named plaintiff in...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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Borrower’s Commonly Asked Questions and How an Appraiser Should Answer Them

One of the aspects I love most about appraising is that every day is different.  I inspect an average of 3.25 houses per day.  Since every house is different, every day is unique.  Despite the variety we enjoy, I have also recognized that, though the setting varies each time, there is some repetition.  Specifically, the questions we get from borrowers seem to be similar over and over again. One of the best lessons I have learned as a businessman is that, if there are any processes which are often repeated, developing a system for handling them will allow you to...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Business Development

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Appraisal Advisor Now Completely Free for Appraisers

Appraisal Advisor is completely free for appraisers from here on out. They will not be charging appraisers anything to rate and review clients, and appraisers won’t be charged to view other appraisers’ reviews either. The OCC is now requiring that lenders “assess the third party’s reputation, including history of customer complaints or litigation,” and “assess the third party’s financial condition.” What does this mean for appraisers? It means that lenders are required to listen to what you’re saying about AMCs based on your scores, the invoices, reviews, and fees

AMC / AMC Ratings / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology

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Regulatory Claims Exclusion

Navigators Sues More Appraisers to Deny Coverage under “Regulatory Claims” Exclusion Last Thursday, November 14, Navigators Insurance Company sued two more appraisers to enforce “regulatory claims” exclusions in the E&O policies they purchased. These appraisers are in Nevada. Like the appraiser sued by Navigators in Florida on November 6, the Nevada appraisers are being sued by the FDIC for professional negligence in cases filed about a year ago. The objective of Navigators’ lawsuits is to seek court confirmation of Navigators’ legal position that there is no coverage under Navigators’ policy for damages awarded against the appraisers to the FDIC, which is demanding about $500,000...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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OCC bulletin regarding AMCs, lenders, and Appraisal Advisor

On October 30, the OCC issued a bulletin to all national banks and savings associations entitled “Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management Guidance.” The bulletin, in a nutshell, outlines how lenders should manage and ensure compliance of their third party vendors. AMCs, third parties in the OCC bulletin, must be managed by specific guidelines in order for lenders to maintain compliance. Appraisal Advisor offers compliance with that regulation by providing lenders, AMCs, and appraisers with its ratings and reviews system. Appraisers’ constant scoring of AMCs on Appraisal Advisor is now, more than ever, THE key deciding factor in which AMCs lenders use....

AMC / AMC Ratings / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology

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AMC Background Checks: Fair or Not?

“I was just asked by an AMC to get a background check. Do I have to comply?” As risk management advisors for Appraisers and Inspectors, this is one of the questions we hear over and over again. Let’s face it — appraisal fees are lower than ever before. Essentially, AMCs are asking you to do the same amount of work for less pay. In some cases, they’re even asking you to do more work. Does it make sense then that you have to get a background check in order to work for a specific AMC? Unfortunately, the increased costs associated...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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GSEs Still Finding Problems with Home Appraisals

Three years after the creation of a database seeking to standardize the home appraisal process, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to see major issues in numerous appraisals submitted by mortgage lenders, American Banker reported Sept. 12. Fannie Mae conducted a sampling of appraisals and determined that 17.6 percent contained contradictory information, typically pertaining to the condition or quality of the property, Robert Murphy, the GSE’s director of collateral and single-family risk policy, told a Phoenix conference of risk managers. He added that those two factors are the most important in determining a property’s value. Elevated appraisals contributed to the...

AI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

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What Can the Government ‘Shutdown’ Teach the Appraisal Industry?

First of all, let’s be clear… it was not really a complete ‘shutdown.’  A large majority of federal workers were still at work, but for those who were furloughed, it was uncomfortable and scary for sure.  Though the can has officially been kicked down the road for a few more months, we will face another ‘crisis’ soon enough.  So, what can this debate teach us about appraising?  It turns out… quite a bit. Why did Congress and the President choose to delay the real problem with our national debt and budget—yet again—rather than just deal with the problem?  Why was...

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

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AMC License Bonds. Are They Working?

Are AMC Bonds Working? Current AMC Bond Requirements Eighteen states now require AMCs to carry surety bonds to be properly registered to operate in those states. The required bond amounts vary from $10,000 in New Mexico to $100,000 in Washington.  A list at the end of this post shows the required bond amounts in each state. Are AMC Bonds Working? The requirement for AMCs to carry bonds serves two purposes. First, the bond assures that if an AMC fails to comply with its financial obligations under a state’s AMC law, there will be funds available up to the limit of the bond...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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