Tagged: appraisal news

Hybrids' Indicated Value & USPAP Coup de Grace, Better off at McDonalds 29

I’d Be Better off at McDonalds

…they provide no documentation as to how their algorithm produces this indicated value… I had to “jump in the pool” and see what these bifurcated appraisals are all about. The names have been withheld to protect the guilty. I recently completed a “bifurcated” report for one of the AMC’s providing this type of service. The form is to be completed on their site and they recently upgraded to the “new and improved” report on their portal as of January 1, 2019. The subject is sited in an urban location and while not an anomaly per se, does display features such...

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

Clarocity's Government Shutdown Excuse for Late Payments 18

AMC’s Shutdown Excuse for Late Payments

Clarocity cites possible upcoming government shutdown as excuse to delay payments to appraiser. From our Sister Coalition in Mississippi: “BEWARE if you accept any orders from Clarocity. I got a call from one of our members today telling me that Clarocity is citing the upcoming government shutdown as a reason appraisers may not get paid timely on the orders they are currently sending out. The scope of work and terms of the orders indicate that the appraisals for USDA may not get paid within the 60 day period if the government shuts down. This is really no excuse but if...

Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board

Third Party Inspectors, Hybrids... Spelling Out the Consequences 10

Hybrid Assignments, the Consequences

The concept of a third party providing one or more functions in an appraisal assignment is nothing new. Back in the 1970s and 1980s there were plenty of appraisers who used somebody else to do the sketch or to take the pictures or to pull comps. The “appraiser” put all of the pieces together and signed the report. Then came USPAP in 1989. Licensing followed shortly thereafter. Today, there are a number of lenders and AMCs who believe that they’ve invented something no one else has ever considered. The bifurcated or hybrid appraisal process. To be clear, we’re not talking...

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

MCS Valuations (AMC) Closing Shop - ABA Supports Raising De Minimus 18

MCS Valuations (AMC) Closing Shop

I saw a posting by another appraiser on a Facebook page on February 5, 2019 that MCS Valuations, based in Lewisville, TX, is closing shop. They are an AMC, and provide BPO’s and other real estate related services. The appraiser posted a letter from the company. They will not be placing any more appraisal assignments, but are asking appraisers to finish any assigned reports already in the pipeline. What’s really striking about this closure is that in 2014, MCS Valuations bought ‘components’ of CoreLogic’s associated entities that CoreLogic no longer wanted in their business! February 5, 2019 This communication is to inform...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / CoreLogic Valuation Services

What's Happening With the New Forms? 11

What’s Happening With the New Forms?

Many of you are aware that the GSE’s are in the process of evaluating the entire appraisal process, including the existing ‘forms.’ This initiative was announced in 2nd Qtr 2018, and reps from both FNMA and FrMac made presentations at various appraiser conferences and other places through the year to gather info and suggestions from all appraisal forms users. This new initiative was never intended to be an immediate make-over; instead, the GSE’s said it was to be an approximate 3 year process. In December 2018, the GSE’s released their Executive Summary (see PDF below) describing what’s been accomplished so...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / UAD / Uniform Appraisal Dataset

What If the Algorithms Are Wrong? Weapons of Math Destruction... 12

What If the Algorithms Are Wrong?

Algorithms are everywhere… “Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more — but they don’t automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: “weapons of math destruction.” Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.” “Algorithms are opinions embedded in code. It’s really different from what you think most people think of algorithms. They think algorithms are objective and true and scientific. That’s a marketing trick. It’s also a marketing trick to intimidate you with algorithms, to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / ASC

Outraged Appraisers Owed Money! End The Appraiser Payment Issue! 30

Outraged Appraisers Owed Money by AMCs!

“I am owed $20,000”. “I am owed $2000”. “I am owed $500”. “I am owed $1500”. These are just some of the quotes pulled from various groups, message boards and forums from appraisers all over the country that are owed money for the appraisal services they provided. Services they provided for a Lender, Mortgage Company or Bank through an Appraisal Management Company or AMC as they are known. What’s an Appraisal Management Company you ask? Well for those that do not know, AMCs have been around a long time. Appraisal management companies (AMCs) are business entities that administer networks of independent...

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

Is SmartExchange a Problem & Resulting in USPAP Non-Compliance? 27

Is SmartExchange Not USPAP-Compliant?

Is Smartexchange Resulting in USPAP Non-Compliance? This blog is likely going to stir up controversy. It is likely going to have a few folks calling me a loyalist to a la mode, or other similar things. Am I a loyalist? I do not see myself as such, but a la mode has been the only software that I have used in my career for residential form reporting. I do use ACI in the corporate setting as a reviewer and manager in my firm. I like and consider many of the staff at a la mode to be my friends, and I have had long relationships...

a la mode / ACI / AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News

Should We Raise the Appraisal Deminimus Threshold to $2 Million? 7

Should We Raise the Deminimus to $2 Million?

Bank regulators are nearing a decision to raise residential real estate transactions appraisal threshold to $400,000 from $250,000, for certain transactions. Perhaps it should be set to $2 Million, or $5 Million. It strikes me that we have two separate taxpayer regulatory/administrative/quasi-governmental organizations working in opposition. On one hand we have the Appraisal Subcommittee and The Appraisal Foundation (TAF), and 50+ state organizations attempting to regulate, license, and control the education of appraisers. USPAP, (Uniform Standards of Professional Practice) is promulgated by the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of the TAF.  USPAP compliance is required for federally related transactions. USPAP comprises two parts:...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

Highly Skilled Appraisers' World. Where Would You Go to Find Comps? 3

The World of Highly Skilled Appraisers

…the world of highly skilled appraisers, who are more than just “form fillers”… I hosted a USPAP Update class on Friday January 25 (taught by an approved USPAP instructor). During the class I asked attendees if they had heard about the ‘most expensive residence sale’ in the US. Some attendees knew about this, but most didn’t. To see what I’m talking about, click on this link from Jonathan Miller’s Housing Notes blog. Scroll down and you’ll see a photo of the view from that unit, a multi-story penthouse apartment in a brand new building, I think the tallest now in New...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Valuation Technology

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