Tagged: ASA

The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees 32

The Great Debate on Appraisal Fees

She included several different fee split examples indicating AMCs retained as much as 70 percent of the total appraisal fee paid by the borrower, which prompted her to stop working with AMCs because of the lack of transparency.  The appraisal industry is abuzz with a discussion about appraisal fees. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued a Request for Information Regarding Fees Imposed in Residential Mortgage Transactions [Docket No. CFPB-2024-0021] in which it solicited feedback from the public and industry stakeholders on the fees charged to consumers by mortgage providers and related settlement services. The CFPB framed it as...

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

Alleged Racial Discrimination Debunked: Security Bars Removal Required by Law 15

Security Bars Removal Law Debunks Alleged Racial Discrimination

Complainant stated appraiser told them they should remove security bars from windows. Complainant stated this is evidence of “racist discrimination”… Security bars on bedroom windows is against code…  This morning I received the results of a California State Information Act Request I made regarding an alleged case of racial bias in Allendale, Oakland, California which was settled May 2024. I requested any and all documents in the case involving the appraiser because I didn’t have the complainant’s name or property address. I only had the appraiser’s name which I won’t post in text. Complainant stated appraiser told them they should...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Obscure Federal Official Has Hatched ‘Sick Chicken’ in Housing Sector 18

Obscure Federal Official Has Hatched ‘Sick Chicken’ in Housing Sector

The case eventually found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it came to be known to the public as the “Sick Chicken Case”  It was the Great Depression’s bleakest year – 1933. At President Roosevelt’s urging, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act, a New Deal bill that partially ceded lawmaking authority to private organizations and industry boards to develop codes of conduct that would then be enforced on citizens as binding law. The owners of poultry producer Schechter Poultry Corp. were indicted for violating the new private business code for the poultry industry. The chicken men lawyered...

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

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me 39

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me

An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a complaint against me with my state appraisal board. Here’s what happened. The Report In June of 2021, I completed an appraisal for a conventional purchase. The appraisal was ordered by an AMC on behalf of a lender. At that time, the real estate market was still being wildly affected by the COVID pandemic. Remote work was in full swing, and consumers were desperately seeking to get out of the cities. Prices for all types of residential properties were rising rapidly,...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter

The New & Improved Fannie Mae FRAUDULATOR 2.0 42

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

AGA / AI / AMC / American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute

ASA Concerned About the Expansion of FNMA Appraisal Waiver Program 22

ASA Concerned About the Expansion of FNMA Appraisal Waiver Program

In response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) decision to allow Fannie Mae to expand its appraisal waiver program, the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) has released an op-ed by ASA’s Strategic Partnership Officer, John D. Russell, JD, criticizing this move. ASA believes that by expanding the appraisal waiver program and relying on data and models for mortgage lending instead of human interaction, Fannie Mae is leaving behind two very important aspects: safety and soundness as well as consumer protection. The fear is that overvaluation may occur due to a reliance on models which always try to chase value...

American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / ASA

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue! 87

Dear Representative, FNMA Has Gone Rogue!

Dear representative, waiving/eliminating property appraisal for lending purposes is wanton recklessness. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive/eliminate property appraisal for lending purposes is nothing more than wanton recklessness that could have serious repercussions in the future. The truth of the matter is that appraisals are an essential part of any mortgage transaction and should not be taken lightly or eliminated without due consideration. Without them, there can be no assurance as to whether a homebuyer will get what they pay for or if lenders will make bad investments with their money. In short, waiving/eliminating property appraisal requirements puts everyone at risk...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Dodd-Frank Act / C&R Fees / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Political Action

Poke-and-Sniff: How U.S. Regulators Became Disease Vectors 6

Poke-and-Sniff: How U.S. Regulators Became Disease Vectors

  Poke-and-Sniff… Once federal bureaucrats embrace a destructive practice, it can take a lifetime to correct it. When government tries to fix a problem, it often makes the problem worse or creates a new one. The German economist Horst Siebert called this phenomenon the “Cobra Effect.” Occupational licensees and those in heavily regulated industries will recognize the pattern immediately. American high schools routinely teach Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle.” Its publication more than a century ago led to the quintessential success story for federal regulation. But once regulators began doing something to fix the problem portrayed in Sinclair’s fictional work,...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Opportunity to Work for Free is Not a Plan 73

‘Opportunity’ to Work for Free is Not a Plan

I gave this ‘opportunity’ further critical analysis in terms of time spent versus the fee income potential.  Appraisers, I’d like to disclose a personal ‘opportunity’ that was presented to me last fall, early winter. A company with AMC roots was, or is, recruiting people to become “property inspectors” with the resulting reports potentially fed to other appraisers who do HYBRID, or maybe even DESKTOP reports. The GSEs never intended the DESKTOP report to incorporate separate ‘property inspections’ from a hired third party, but that’s been the evolution because they just look the other way. Last fall, due to the slowdown...

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

ASC Blaming Appraisers For Low Home Values in Communities of Color 64

ASC Blaming Appraisers

The Appraisal Subcommittee, because they were directed to do so, has produced a report, which frankly and explicitly lays the blame for low market values of homes in ‘communities of color’ directly at the feet of independent appraisers involved with mortgage lending. You will start seeing accusatory slanted media reports about this report. ABC news already has distributed it. A TV station in San Francisco has aired a story already. Yes, the report casually mentions actual facts that GOVERNMENT policies and procedures promulgated segregated and extraordinarily unfair housing issues in the US, from the 1930’s into the early 1960’s. The...

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

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