Tagged: APB

Foreclosures in Black Communities Due to Overvaluation 13

Foreclosures in Black Communities Due to Overvaluation

What were the results? Most had foreclosures. They bought a house worth much less than they paid for it and never planned or budgeted to make a mortgage payment in the first place.  About 2 years before the crash of ‘08, I ran across a company out of DC called “Metro Grapevine” and “Metro Dream Homes.” It was a Ponzi scheme marketed by a black to blacks only. It was by invitation only. They promised if you bought your home through their program, they’d pay it off in seven years and you never had to make a payment. The requirement...

Complain About a Complaint Filed - Who Can Complain About Appraisals 72

Who Can Complain About Appraisals?

Time to get on my soapbox and complain about a complaint filed against me (not a charge, but merely a complaint). I did an appraisal of a multi-family property near my office. The property owner/borrower called me to complain about the appraisal since it came in far less than she thought it should (not unusual). Clearly, I could not answer her questions since she was not the client. This upset her greatly, so she filed a complaint with the State. The complaint had no basis in substance. In fact, the complaint was that my appraisal was too low. Since neither...

Baby or Bath Water? And Is it Time to Take Back USPAP? 31

Baby or Bath Water? And Is it Time to Take Back USPAP?

About half of AICPA members don’t believe in USPAP… When I first heard that “they” were trying to do away with the Appraisal Practices Board (APB) of the Appraisal Foundation (TAF), I tried to keep an open mind. I also wondered who “they” are. Did the Appraisal Institute (AI) finally get a sympathetic ear in Congress? Was it preemptive action by the Board of Trustees in anticipation of budget cuts by the new administration? By the way, what does the APB do? I certainly had it wrong. I thought they helped develop the Advisory Opinions (AOs)! To be candid the...

Eliminate the Appraisal Subcommittee too! Appraisal Institute Effort to Eliminate the ASC 38

AI’s Effort to Eliminate the ASC!

Refocused effort to eliminate the ASC… Why? It’s now much more than rumor. There is a concerted effort to eliminate not just the Appraisal Practices Board (APB) which was the Appraisal Institute’s original target, but now a refocused effort to eliminate the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) itself! Think about that folks. What started as a partisan effort to lay ground work for the eventual elimination of Dodd-Frank has quickly morphed into a behind the scenes opportunistic all out push to eliminate the ASC too! It’s no secret among regular Appraisal Institute (AI) members or non AI appraisers that have listened to...

Congress, Please…No More Cash for FNMA clunkers! 7

Congress, Please…No More Cash for FNMA Clunkers!

Congress, cut FNMA loose from conservatorship and let them sink or swim… Every day I tend to agree more and more that we are facing an uphill battle against corporate America. Then I remember that as a former Marine, I’m supposed to be ‘ok’ with uphill battles. We make do with what we have, not necessarily what we want or need. Add to this most, if not all of our Congress from both Senate and House. Some isolated exceptions but most either don’t care or encourage the weaknesses in the financial system for their own gain. There is a reason...

APB Focus Group Interested in Your Input 8

APB Focus Group Interested in Your Input

What is the goal of the Focus Group? Appraisers, Please read the memo below from a member of the Appraisal Practices Board. The Board is meeting FEBRUARY 23, 2017 in Torrance, California. They are sincerely interested in appraisers written input. It doesn’t have to be a formal letter. Jot down some thoughts and views in your email and either send it to the APB, Mrs. Desmarais, Vice Chair of APB (lap…@comcast.net), or if you prefer send to me (m…@mfford.com) with subject line “Forward to TAF/APB” or something similar. Please try to get comments in by 02/22/2017. The original agenda has...

APB Operations Suspended by The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) 6

TAF Suspends Most APB Operations

APB was based on the housing crisis of 2008… Appraisers, The news release below was issued on Jan. 26, 2017. I for one, appreciate what’s been done so far by the Appraisal Practices Board to help define and explain certain aspects of our work, and make those items available to anyone who wanted to download their advisories. I am also of the opinion that the initiation of the APB was one of the elements that lead to the Appraisal Institute resigning from The Appraisal Foundation, an action that was not entirely positive for AI members, or the ‘image’ of AI...

Real Estate Appraisal Industry Crying Out for Leadership & AI Inaction 7

AI Current Path is a Serious Issue for ALL Appraisers

Time for the AI to cooperate with real estate appraisal state coalitions…? Is it finally time for the AI to cooperate with other respected professional peer organizations and state coalitions? Please read the following article by Jonathan Miller, titled “Sadly, The Appraisal Institute is now working against its local chapters“, to see what AI insiders views are about the relevance of the AI’s current path. While my intent is not to take cheap potshots at the AI, I do find it odd that the same organization that repeatedly testifies in public that it represents the interests of all appraisers in...

The Partisan Battle to Eliminate Dodd Frank 15

The Partisan Battle to Eliminate Dodd Frank

Dodd Frank created the illusion… I had a different “take away” from the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee “Modernizing Appraisals” hearing. My impression was that there were two simultaneous hearings by the same people in the same place. There was the actual televised hearing with disparate prepared speeches, and then there was the real underlying reason for the hearing. The partisan battle to eliminate Dodd Frank. I try very hard to take a non partisan approach to the issues facing appraisers when writing about or for the American Guild of Appraisers (AGA). Obviously AGA is a union organization, though as I’ve...

Board Member Says Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease 2

Board Member Says ‘Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease’

Board Members reported a shortage of individual appraisers offering suggestions, complaints and concerns… Legitimate ‘complaints’ should never be referred to as whining by any professional in my opinion. To do so diminishes the importance of the concerns being addressed. I attended the Las Vegas Public Hearing of the The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) / Appraisal Practices Board (APB) last Friday. No Appraisers Guild or member funds were used in any way for this. There was lots of good information. Board Members reported that there really is a shortage of individual appraisers offering suggestions, complaints and concerns to them as a Board,...

xml sitemap
blank