Tagged: appraiser

May 13, 2014

Announcing VT Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey Release

Dear Appraiser Colleagues, Awhile back, you responded to a request from VaCAP to supply your e-mail address to participate in an upcoming Customary and Reasonable Fee Survey to be conducted by the Virginia Center for Housing Research and the Virginia Tech Program in Real Estate. This communication is to notify you of the survey’s eminent release. Please look for it to be sent to you via e-mail in the next couple of days. Your participation in the survey is vital to the success of this endeavor. Please take the few minutes necessary to complete the survey; it should only take...

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

May 9, 2014

VA Appraisals Must be in MISMO XML

VA Announces Electronic Appraisal Requirements: Appraisals must be in MISMO XML Effective June 1, 2014, all Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) appraisals will be processed in WebLGY under the VA Appraisal Management System (AMS). Therefore, beginning June 1, 2014, all VA appraisals must be uploaded in WebLGY in Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) compliant XML 2.6 GSE file format as VA will no longer accept appraisals uploaded in WebLGY in PDF format. Prior to June 1, 2014, VA appraisals must continue to be uploaded in WebLGY in PDF file format. Historically, VA appraisal form/formats conformed to appraisal industry form/format...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Federal Housing Administration / FHA

May 6, 2014

Back to The Basics

…“preaching” about the basics of this industry… The more I read residential mortgage related appraisals, underwriter comments and comments from the quality assurance departments from major lenders, the more I have come to realize that it is far beyond time to get back to “preaching” about the basics of this industry. For those of you who have been in the business back when you would take the photos, pull it out of the camera, wait a few moments before you pulled the front off the photo before coating it with the “magic wand” to keep it from fading (thank you...

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

May 2, 2014

Where Did All the Good Appraisers Go?

The good appraisers are leaving mortgage appraising as fast as they can. Thus far the housing industry has been applying “Band-Aid” solutions to the bigger real estate crisis. There are several problems going on at the same time, all contributing to the big picture, which is bleak to say the least. One true crisis in the real estate industry is an “information crisis.” This information problem, trickles down to appraisals, lenders, and ultimately, mortgage investors. Standardization, national guidelines, and disclosures are the only way back from this nightmare (i.e. the RESPA disclosure. One fee on the good faith estimate for...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Customary & Reasonable Fees / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees / Home Valuation Code of Conduct

April 28, 2014

State of the Appraisal Profession & Residential Market Overview

In March, I once again traveled to Modesto, CA, and attended the Annual Spring Conference of the Appraisal Institute’s Northern California Chapter. This month, I will share some useful and interesting information from the presentations. The conference focuses on the California market, but many of the presenters also covered topics related to the national market. The first session was “State of the Appraisal Profession”; the speaker was Lance Coyle, MAI, and SRA who is national president-elect of the Appraisal Institute. He started by giving a brief history of the profession and pointed out that significant changes came to the profession...

AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

April 25, 2014

Non-Lender vs. AMC Appraisal Work

One of the hottest topics right now in the appraisal world is that of non-lender work. I am probably asked a question concerning non-lender appraisals a couple of times per week, at least. “How do I do more work for attorneys?” “How do I go about marketing to home owners?” “I want to work with more real estate agents, but I am not sure how to garner their trust.” Okay, so that last one was not a question, but you get the point. Financial appraisal work through AMCs or local banks has slowed a great deal over the past few...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Business Development

April 24, 2014

CoStar Suing Appraisers for Copyright Violations

CoStar accuses the “John Does” of violating CoStar’s copyrights by contributing photos or other information obtained from CoStar to the CompStak database… In the last week, CoStar Realty Information has filed several lawsuits against commercial appraisers and real estate brokers for intentional copyright violations and fraud relating to the alleged use of CoStar property data and photos without proper registration/payment. If you use CoStar, be sure you are doing so properly and within the terms of your license agreement. Examples of the types of alleged situations that have led to CoStar’s recent and past copyright lawsuits are: (1) sharing IDs/passwords, (2) obtaining an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

April 23, 2014

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News

April 21, 2014

Maryland Removes References to USPAP Advisory Opinions

In 2012, AI requested the removal of the references to the AOs and FAQs from the Commission’s regulations…. On April 8, the Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors completed action on rulemaking that removed the Advisory Opinions and Frequently Asked Questions of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice from being incorporated by reference into the state’s appraiser licensing and certification laws. The move addresses the Appraisal Institute’s long-standing concerns about increased regulatory burdens placed on professional appraisers. Prior to this rule change, the AOs and FAQs were considered by the Commission to be...

AI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

April 10, 2014

Newly Formed Appraiser Coalition Seeks Positive Change for the Industry

A group of Real Estate Appraisal experts committed to the preservation, protection and enhancement of the appraisal industry has formed the Appraiser Prosperity Coalition (www.AppraiserProsperity.com), a merger of industry insiders and government affairs professionals dedicated to fighting for the legislative and regulatory changes needed to rebuild the industry in the wake of damaging legislation. As you know, in an effort to remove value pressure from Real Estate Appraisers, the Dodd-Frank law affirmed a move made by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct to transfer most real estate appraisal ordering power from the hands of the 250,000+ Loan Officers in this...

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