Tagged: appraisal news

Appraisers... Restoration Value Magicians? 44

Restoration Value Magicians!

And just like that, real estate appraisers from across the country have now added a new line item to their résumés, websites and marketing material: RESTORATION VALUE MAGICIAN. Oh wait, haven’t some AMCs and others already claimed to be such magicians when it comes to this topic? The pandering and save face attitudes of some of these organizations is concerning. Instead of looking at the big picture of infrastructures, the neighborhoods, the cities and more, to determine what sort of things can help areas identified as “Black neighborhoods”, they want to blame the appraisers. Here is a thought. How about...

Appraiser Bias Allegations Unmask Nonbank Lenders Debt Traps 10

Appraiser Bias Allegations Unmask Debt Traps

Claims of tainted appraisal unmask something else… the renewed “churning” of mortgages by nonbank lenders. Convinced racism torpedoed valuations in their home refinancings, the owners of three properties in the San Francisco Bay Area told their stories to Julian Glover, a reporter who covers the race, culture and social justice beat for ABC’s San Francisco affiliate. Similar claims of tainted appraisals have surfaced in Philadelphia, Chicago and, more recently, Maryland. A civil lawsuit was filed in one of the cases in a federal district court. A claim was dismissed Wednesday based on a flaw unrelated to the case’s core allegation...

Appraiser Miller Wins Claim in Racial Discrimination Lawsuit 27

Appraiser Miller Wins

Appraiser Miller wins important claim in racial discrimination lawsuit. Judge ruled Plaintiffs did not rely on Miller’s appraisal. The other claims continue but this was an important claim. It also shows the Plaintiffs lied to the Court. ORDER GRANTING MILLER DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT; DISMISSING PLAINTIFFS’ SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF AS ASSERTED AGAINST MILLER DEFENDANTS; VACATING HEARING. In their Seventh Claim for Relief, 2 plaintiffs allege the Miller Defendants negligently misrepresented “that they were providing an unbiased appraisal of [the Austins’ house],” and that the Austins “reasonably relied” on such representations “in attempting to secure a mortgage...

Racial Targeting Under the Heading of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 22

Racial Targeting Under the Heading of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

This time around, the racial targeting is masked as a virtue under the heading “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” or “DEI.” Valuation Jiu-Jitsu Will Lead to Future Addie Polks Addie Polk was a 91-year-old African-American widow who shot herself in the chest in 2008 during a Fannie Mae-initiated eviction in Akron, Ohio. It marked the low point in Fannie’s embrace of toxic mortgages. Fannie, now in federal conservatorship, bought or guaranteed subprime loans made to vulnerable borrowers in the years leading up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis. There are now signs of new abuses. Under the banner “equity and inclusion,” some...

No End Date for Future Editions of USPAP 7

No End Date for Future Editions of USPAP

Future editions of USPAP will have an effective start date but no end date. Folks, on Thursday August 11, 2022, the ASB/TAF announced the extension of the current USPAP to the end of 2023. Assuming that a ‘new’ USPAP is formally approved in time, the next issue of USPAP will become effective January 1, 2024. But here’s the interesting wrinkle about this, which I admit I missed in their 8/11/22 announcement: “How long is the current version of USPAP effective? With this announcement, the 2020-21 USPAP will now have an effective date through December 31, 2023. This is an additional...

Don Machholz Passing 6

Don Machholz Passing

Folks, yesterday, August 11, I received the following notice about Don Machholz from a California appraiser, who requested this be circulated: With sadness, I wanted to share the news of Don Machholz passing on Tuesday, August 9 in Wikieup, AZ due to complications with COVID-19. Don was a real estate appraiser from 2003-2018 and was well known within the appraisal industry. He was active in the Real Estate Appraisers Organization (REAA) and the Nevada County and Placer County Association of Realtors throughout his career. Don was known for his market updates and sense of humor at the weekly marketing meetings....

Justice for Texas Appraiser? You Bet. Price Tag: $99,000 9

Justice for Texas Appraiser? You Bet. Price Tag: $99,000

The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board is a hot mess, but one with a malicious and callous streak. That makes it dangerous to licensees. The Unclean Hands Doctrine is a legal defense. It helps prevent petitioners who are engaged in fraud, deceit or bad faith from recovering certain damages from others. If you’re a known cattle rustler yourself, the Unclean Hands defense may keep you from recovering damages if your own cattle go missing. It’s also sometimes called the “Clean Hands Doctrine” or the “Dirty Hands Doctrine.” Based on this doctrine, the feculent fingers of the Texas Appraiser Licensing...

CFPB Investigations in Alleged Appraisal Discrimination 25

CFPB Investigations in Alleged Appraisal Discrimination

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has started investigating alleged appraisal discrimination. This is a new development, as federal investigations had so far exclusively been by HUD. The CFPB is an aggressive investigator, and AMCs, large firms and lenders should be wary. For the last year, 40% of my legal work has been occupied by issues concerning alleged discrimination – balanced between representing parties in fair housing investigations and helping clients improve compliance and decrease risk. It’s the CFPB that makes me most anxious for clients in the future. I addressed some of the details of what I’m seeing in...

USPAP 3rd Exposure Draft & Nondiscrimination Section Proposed 13

USPAP Third Exposure Draft

…the Ethics Rule has been expanded with a new highly detailed Nondiscrimination section, which also affects the Competency Rule. Folks, the Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board released the THIRD Exposure Draft to USPAP on July 26, 2022. To be honest, I didn’t know there have been two previous Exposure Drafts. I would encourage you to download and print this Draft here. The PDF is also embedded below. It’s only 11 pages total. The key difference in this Draft is that the Ethics Rule has been expanded with a new highly detailed Nondiscrimination section, which also affects the Competency Rule. You...

VA Procedures for Alternative Valuation Methods 23

VA Alternative Valuation Methods

On August 1, 2022, the Veterans Affairs released Circular 26-22-13 announcing new procedures for alternative valuation methods, effective immediately. The takeaway: “Desktop Appraisal means a valuation where neither the VA fee panel appraiser nor the appraiser’s designee under the AAPP has physically viewed the exterior or interior of the property and the VA fee panel appraiser has determined an opinion of value based on information obtained from public records, the Veteran, homeowner, realtor, and other appropriate data sources (as determined by the appraiser).” “The use of a Desktop Appraisal may allow an appraiser from outside the market area, but with...

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