Tagged: Andrew Cuomo

Appraisal news for real estate appraisers and real estate professionals regarding Andew Cuomo. His involvement with AMCO, a Cleveland-based Appraisal Management Company (AMC) as chairman of AMCO’s advisory committee on governmental and regulatory affairs, and a member of the company’s board of directors.

Gov't-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm 14

Gov’t-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm

The U.S. government impoverishes homebuyers as it does the chronically ill – by promoting the use of middlemen who prey upon them. A cadre of such middlemen was created decades ago as a firewall between Big Pharma, the insurance companies and the pharmacy chains. Called “pharmacy benefit managers,” they were to negotiate drug prices, streamline distribution and manage lists of prescription drugs covered by insurance plans. But since the government has gone whole-hog into health care under the Affordable Care Act and into drug-price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act, things have gotten crazy at the slop trough. Today, according...

Exposing Predatory AMCs 49

Exposing Predatory AMCs

Exposing the inner workings of these predatory AMCs and their corrosive influence on the housing market.  Cindy Chance’s recent comments about the concerning practices of some appraisal management companies (AMCs) have struck a chord with many in the real estate valuation industry. Chance is shedding light on the troubling ways in which certain AMCs have come to wield significant power and influence over the appraisal process, often to the detriment of both appraisers and the public. The growth of AMCs in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis was driven by the misguided belief that they could help “ensure the...

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! 87

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 purposes is nothing more than wanton recklessness that could have serious repercussions in the future. The truth of the matter is that appraisals are an essential part of any mortgage transaction and should not be taken lightly or eliminated without due consideration. Without them, there can be no assurance as to whether a homebuyer will get what they pay for or if lenders will make bad investments with their money. In short, waiving/eliminating property appraisal requirements puts everyone at risk...

Look in the Mirror 15

Look in the Mirror

The phrase “take a look in the mirror” is a common idiom used to encourage self-reflection and introspection. It is a powerful statement that can evoke a range of emotions and reactions from individuals, from contemplation to defensiveness. At its core, the phrase is a call to examine oneself honestly and objectively. It asks us to step back from our assumptions, biases, and preconceptions and consider our behavior, choices, and beliefs in a critical light. When we take a look in the mirror, we are forced to confront our flaws and shortcomings, but also to recognize our strengths and achievements....

How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession: Government 101 45

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 things worse when they only have their plan in mind and NOT the FACTS from the people they are about to hurt. This is especially true in the Real Estate Appraisal profession and the newly introduced H.R. Bill entitled: Fair Appraisal and Inequity Reform Act of 2022. It’s essential to bring some information that not one person in the government or the people they are getting information from is talking about. First let’s step into my time machine and go...

Dear ASC: Details... Why They Matter. 14

Dear ASC: Details… Why They Matter

DETAILS… NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR BIG NEED TO BE PRESENTED. If not, you failed. ASC, today you failed us all. Over the past several days, the Real Estate Appraisal Industry has been the subject of scrutiny with the release of the PAVE Report that the Interagency Task Force developed on Property Appraisal And Valuation Equity set forth by the Biden Administration. On March 23, 2022, there was a public meeting to unveil the Pave Task Force report on Racial Bias in the Real Estate Appraisal Profession. You can watch the press conference below as well as read the entire...

NY AMC Law Sends Shockwaves Through AMCs - Appraisers Blogs 21

NY AMC Law Sends Shockwaves

Back on April 19th, I wrote about the New York AMC law in my Housing Notes newsletter. After years of AMCs chipping away at the public trust, the New York AMC law was designed to protect the consumer. The bill summary was: Relates to the registration of real estate appraisal management companies or an individual or business entity that provides appraisal management services to creditors or to secondary mortgage market participants including affiliates by the department of state. Last week, AppraisersBlogs ran it as a standalone post and I got a lot of feedback. To be clear, the bill was...

REVAA Doesn't Like New NY AMC Law 50

REVAA No Fan of the New NY AMC Law

The NY State Coalition of Appraisers wants you to to know that there is a new AMC law coming into effect at the end of the month and REVAA doesn’t like it. Last December New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Senate Bill S9080 into law, effective at the end of this month. REVAA‘s biggest concern is that it requires all valuations to be performed by appraisers AND invoices must be attached to the report so the consumer knows what the appraiser was paid. This is groundbreaking for our industry. Let’s hope that the word spreads and the consumer is...

AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal - It is Time to Call out the Liars 40

AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal

We object to the proposal to increase the de minimis threshold at which no appraisal is required… Sirs: The American Guild of Appraisers (AGA), of the Office Professional Employees International Union (#44 OPEIU) of the AFL-CIO represents the members and extended family and retirees, taxpayer and consumer real estate appraisal interests of nearly Twelve and a half million citizens and voters. We object to the proposal to increase the de minimis threshold at which no appraisal is required from $250,000 to $400,000. Respectfully, if anything is done with it at all, lowering it to a range not to exceed $100,000...

FTC Attorney Response & AGA Seeking Appraisers Opinions 9

FTC Attorneys Response to AGA

Is the FTC asserting that FNMA is exempt from antitrust laws? I don’t think of myself as being obtuse, nor do I think those that know me well would consider me to be particularly slow of wit or comprehension. Despite this, I’m truly confused by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorneys response to the American Guild of Appraiser (AGA) email letter we sent them. The first sentence states “The federal antitrust laws prohibit anticompetitive mergers and business practices that seek to prevent hard-driving competition, such as monopolistic conduct, attempts to monopolize, and conspiracies and combinations that harm competition and consumers.”...

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