Andrew Cuomo - Appraisers Blogs

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

Jeremy Bagott — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:30:21 +0000

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...

The post Gov’t-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Exposing Predatory AMCs

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:30:39 +0000

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...

The post Exposing Predatory AMCs appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue!

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 12:30:24 +0000

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...

The post Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Look in the Mirror

Mark Skapinetz — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 13:30:14 +0000

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....

The post Look in the Mirror appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession

Mark Skapinetz — Mon, 16 May 2022 12:30:42 +0000

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...

The post How to Destroy the Appraisal Profession appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Dear ASC: Details… Why They Matter

Mark Skapinetz — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 12:30:09 +0000

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...

The post Dear ASC: Details… Why They Matter appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

NY AMC Law Sends Shockwaves

Jonathan Miller — Wed, 01 May 2019 12:30:45 +0000

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...

The post NY AMC Law Sends Shockwaves appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

REVAA No Fan of the New NY AMC Law

Jonathan Miller — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 12:30:31 +0000

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...

The post REVAA No Fan of the New NY AMC Law appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal

Michael Ford — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 13:30:09 +0000

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...

The post AGA Objects De Minimis Increase Proposal appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

FTC Attorneys Response to AGA

Michael Ford — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 12:30:26 +0000

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.”...

The post FTC Attorneys Response to AGA appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Freddie Mac Criminal Aspects of Its Appraisal Free Mortgages

Michael Ford — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 13:30:23 +0000

Freddie Mac is opening itself up to over 150,000± potential individual lawsuits… This is a response from Mike Ford to Kenneth Harney’s article, “Freddie Mac planning appraisal-free mortgages”. I represent the American Guild of Appraisers, #44OPEIU, AFL-CIO, and the real estate appraisal-related consumer and taxpayer interests of our more than fifteen million± AFL-CIO members, retirees and their families. I’m prompted to write this open letter regarding your recent well written & researched article, titled “Freddie Mac planning appraisal free mortgages”. Regrettably, it was too brief to cover several additional critical aspects of the issue, but I assume the Chicago Tribune’s...

The post Freddie Mac Criminal Aspects of Its Appraisal Free Mortgages appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth?

Michael Ford — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:30:40 +0000

Is THAT free enterprise? I’m surprised anyone in the business today sees any minimum pricing proposal as being anti-free enterprise. Contrary to popular belief we have not had free enterprise in the GSE appraisal process since HVCC first reared its ugly head. AMCs ‘telling’ us to pick a number from $250 to $350, or that ‘THEY pay’ $325 per 1004 is NOT free enterprise. I’m an old timer (1986) that was brought up on what used to be AIREA (now the AI) & SREA (now gone) positions that free enterprise and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibited us from ‘even discussing’...

The post Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth? appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

The Shady Truth About HVCC Comes Out

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 12:30:57 +0000

HVCC… the shady truth We all got gut punched by Andrew Cuomo’s HVCC, the most of which were the appraisers. Well now the shady truth about it’s conception is here. HVCC. We all remember it. Basically is was a total drag. Unless you owned a huge AMC that is. Which by the way virtually all the banks did. It was totally counter productive to the industry and real nuclear bomb to our collective equity as a nation. Well as it turns out, one of Cuomo’s buddies actually got the ball rolling on it as long as he and his company got total immunity. Which...

The post The Shady Truth About HVCC Comes Out appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Appraiser Independence Violated

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 12:30:44 +0000

A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 2): Appraisal Independence Violated History is an important reminder to us all of what went wrong and what went right. When history is known we tend to skip the mistakes we made. We can either choose the right path for the wrong reason, the right path for the ‘right’ reasons and, we can take the wrong path in a similar manner. The MARKET needs to take the right path for the ‘right’ reasons. In years of late 1998 and 1999 several ideas were brought forth to a Forum filled with Individual Appraisers carrying...

The post Appraiser Independence Violated appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Non-Lender Valuation: Consumers Should Tread Carefully

Guest Author — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 12:30:53 +0000

Competition, in a free market, is a fierce catalyst: one that can effectively sort out the bad apples from the bunch. Capitalism works, it is simple when left unfettered and when all parties are ethical in their approach to business. It works until politicians, however well meaning they try to be, step in with a”solution”. Through the Dodd-Frank reform and the Andrew Cuomo created Home Valuation Code of Conduct that predates Dodd-Frank, congress effectively went anti-small business again. I liken this profession’s recent undermining by congress to how they saw to sort out the small-family farmers by paving the way...

The post Non-Lender Valuation: Consumers Should Tread Carefully appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Usual & Customary? According to Who?

Hamp Thomas — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:30:00 +0000

Try this method of “price fixing” in any other business and see what happens! The “marketplace” usually sets what is considered “customary and reasonable”. Imagine asking attorneys to base their fees on what some government official (who knows nothing about their business) decides is “customary and reasonable”. It would NEVER EVER work, and should not be part of the appraisal (or any other) industry. It’s absolutely price-fixing which I always thought was illegal. The HVCC started all this focus on the appraisal industry and everybody is so busy trying to remake the appraisal industry, the banking industry quietly slips away,...

The post Usual & Customary? According to Who? appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

Appraisers Warned Us but We Didn’t Listen

Guest Author — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 13:00:23 +0000

Federal actors could have responded to the appraisers’ warning and prevented the crisis On July 9, 2013 I participated in a radio interview with a lobbyist for the 100 largest financial firms. The San Francisco radio program host asked me what question I would ask the lobbyist and I said that any discussion should begin with allowing him to state his view of what caused the crisis. In the course of his explanation, he bemoaned the fact that there was no warning about the crisis. I found this ironic because I had just published that morning an article about how the...

The post Appraisers Warned Us but We Didn’t Listen appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

NAIHP Promotes New Appraisal Rules on Capitol Hill

AppraisersBlogs — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:30:07 +0000

NAIHP acknowledges neither HVCC nor Appraiser Independence rules require the use of AMC’s. The conflict of interest rules contained in the “Interim Final Rule on Appraiser Independence,” were designed to establish a firewall between a loan production department ordering valuations of residential real estate and appraisers, who perform valuations. The Federal Reserve Board (FRB), who established the Interim Final Rule to replace the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) in October of 2010, recognized it was not always practical to separate these functions in small financial institutions, which is why the FRB created two sets of firewall requirements: one for...

The post NAIHP Promotes New Appraisal Rules on Capitol Hill appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

New York Attorney General v. eAppraiseIT: Settlement

Peter Christensen — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:30:19 +0000

The New York Attorney General’s Office announced yesterday that it has reached a settlement with CoreLogic, as successor to eAppraiseIT, over the 2007 lawsuit filed against eAppraiseIT by then-Attorney General Cuomo. This was the case, of course, that led to the HVCC with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also put the AMC liability train in motion, which has kept rolling since — resulting in significant lawsuits filed by both government agencies and private parties against a majority of the 10 largest AMCs. The NY AG noted that the lawsuit concerned approximately 10,000 appraisals in New York for WaMu in...

The post New York Attorney General v. eAppraiseIT: Settlement appeared on Appraisers Blogs.

NAIHP Urgent Call to Action

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:30:05 +0000

NAIHP: “Congressional Subcommittee REFUSES Small Business Brokers and Appraisers a Seat at the Table” For the second time in a week, the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, Chaired by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Illinois), refused small business housing professionals the right to be represented during Congressional testimony. On June 20th, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled: “Mortgage Disclosures: How Do We Cut Red Tape for Consumers and Small Businesses?” Although, Banks were represented three times on the panel, Brokers were intentionally excluded. NAIHP argued to represent the industry, but was refused because the panel was full. On June 28th,...

The post NAIHP Urgent Call to Action appeared on Appraisers Blogs.