Tagged: appraisal news

April 19, 2016

VA Appraiser Shortage

VA recruiting appraisers in the Western US Appraisers in the Western US, A person I know on the ‘inside’ of VA asked that I distribute this message. They are looking for appraisers in the following states and counties. DO NOT CONTACT ME! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. If anyone wants to apply for the VA panel, they can send a request to 39/va262@va.gov and ask for the application package. For more information regarding the recruiting process and to download the application, visit Fee or Roster Personnel Designation Application. A credit bureau report will be pulled on all applicants. The credit bureaus used are...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / The US Department of Veterans Affairs / VA

April 15, 2016

BPOs, Drones, Oil War & Appraising

Appraisers doing $300,000 a year in BPOs There has been a lot of chatter about BPOs again. Maybe we should consider changing the law in Virginia from being a mandatory USPAP state to a state like Tennessee. Appraisers can do BPOs in Tennessee and they do not have to worry about USPAP. Now, mortgage work still falls under USPAP. But I hear of appraisers doing $300,000 a year in BPOs. Food for thought. It won’t affect your business in a negative sense. Because those who want BPOs are getting them already. Just ask any agent. It will just let us...

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

April 14, 2016

Real Estate ‘Driven by Psychology’

What’s that? Real estate/home prices are driven by psychology? In an article in the National Mortgage Professional Magazine e-newsletter posted March 30, 2016, professor Robert Shiller, the co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, tells us what we appraisers have known for years and years and even decades… or longer! Excerpt: The co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index has studied the latest round of home price increases and has concluded the upward activity is being fueled by emotional impulses rather than economic reality. “These markets, I think, are substantially driven by psychology,” said Robert Shiller, a Yale economics professor,...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

AMC staff appraiser positions and the lack of public protection and trust

April 12, 2016

Virginia Appraisers in the Spotlight Again

AMC staff appraisers are not independent If you have not already done so, please listen to the Voice of Appraisal with Phil Crawford. Once again, Phil has brought Virginia into the spot light. This is the third show Phil has talked about AMC staff appraiser positions and the lack of public protection and trust. Thank You Phil and Kevin! Listen to the show at the bottom of this article. Please attend and speak against AMCs hiring staff appraisers to complete the appraisal reports. By definition, an AMC and an appraiser have two very different functions. Even the National Association of...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / VaCAP

Non-USPAP states - appraisers liability limited to appraisal fee

April 8, 2016

Is this the END of USPAP?

Non-USPAP States – Is this the END of USPAP? I recently got an email from an appraiser I have high regards for. He asked me a simple question that got me thinking. It was: “Why don’t a group of appraisers get together and form an AMC?” I found that an interesting concept. It has been done. Coester was an appraiser and now he is just an AMC. Allen Hummel, an Appraisal Institute icon, has an AMC. Why not? We know it better than anyone. But the devil is in the details. Appraiser’s liability for mistakes or omissions in this appraisal...

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

April 7, 2016

Real, Real Estate Reform Needed

What a crazy system we have grown into since Dodd-Frank. All this talk about “Big Data” and “Standardization” makes me want to scream! Enough is enough. Before we get to the appraisal process discussion, let’s talk about how real estate is priced all across this country. Realtors® price homes, period. No Big Data, no thoughts of mortgage risk, accuracy, consistency, transparency, and no one is looking over their shoulders asking “why” on every choice they make. No regression analysis, no quality or condition ratings, not too much of anything that resembles an appraisal these days. Yet, they are quick to...

American Measurement Standard / American National Standards Institute / AMS / ANSI / Appraisal / Appraisal News

April 5, 2016

An AMC Takeover is Coming!

AMCs completing appraisal reports in direct competition with the independent appraiser As an appraiser, you have probably seen or heard that AMCs are hiring staff appraisers to complete appraisal assignments in local markets. What does this mean for independent fee appraisers? Here is some background information to consider. 54.1-2020 of the Code of Virginia states: An Appraisal Management Company is “a person or entity that (i) administers a network of independent contract appraisers, receives requests for appraisals from clients, and receives a fee paid by the client for the appraisals and (ii) enters into an agreement with one or more...

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

April 4, 2016

College Degree Requirement Misguided

The college degree requirement seems more like a forced attempt at elevating the status of the profession by closing the club, and that strikes me as elitist. I know about half of you disagree but the college degree requirement for Certification was a wrong turn for the industry. To its credit the Appraisal Foundation (TAF) is on the right track in trying to find a way out of the corner it has painted the profession into but it doesn’t look like it intends to go far enough in fixing the problem. As we all know by now, veteran appraisers as...

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

April 1, 2016

Compliance Notification to AMCs

Virginia Coalition of Appraisal Professionals’ Courtesy notification to AMCs licensed in Virginia On Monday March 29, 2016, VaCAP sent via email a courtesy notification to each AMC licensed in Virginia along with a copy of the Guidance Document issued by the Department of Professional Occupation Regulation. They will follow up with a hard copy to each licensed AMC next week as well. VaCAP continues to Unite, Preserve and Promote the collective interests of all appraisal professionals in the Commonwealth of Virginia. To all Licensed AMCs in Virginia: This correspondence is intended as the Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals (VaCAP) courtesy...

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

March 29, 2016

AMCs Bidding Game

An appraiser’s response to AMCs bidding system. Recently, we came across an interesting story and thought it’s something fruitful that needs to be shared. If you receive “appraisal orders by email-blast”, you may find the below “template” useful. This was inspired by another appraiser. We encourage appraisers to copy this defacto response or adapt your content to suit your context/circumstances. We need to work together as a group in our efforts to fight AMCs’ bidding system and put an end on low bid appraisal ordering. Dear AMC, If your company consistently calls for bid quotes and is unable to assign...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees