In 2015, Dave Biggers of a la mode stated: I’ll wrap up by wishing you a happy new year, in spite of all the recent fear mongering, and by thanking you for supporting us with your business. I’m confident that in 2015 you’ll see even more reasons for that loyalty, especially in terms of us continuing in our long-standing role as the independent appraiser’s staunchest advocate, and in being the most innovative, reliable, and accessible technology provider. We look forward to working with — and for — all of you this year. Time and time again, we were assured that...
I understand that Mr. Klosterman gets paid to deceive & misrepresent on behalf of his principals who are promoting the meme of appraiser shortage… Fellow Appraisers, In a variety of posts here on AppraisersBlogs we have had the somewhat veiled or at least unclear perspective of a banking interest lobbyist being self-promoted (Bankers League?). When I responded in a manner I felt was applicable based on his specific post he was offended. You be the judges, please. Following are copies of his linkedIn communications to me. Copied from Mr. Klosterman’s message post above for ease of reading: “Nice timing Mike,...
Some very interesting news is surrounding Zillow… A lawsuit over Zestimates has now gone to a class action status. This will have rippling effects on each and every state and expand the liability to not only licensing, but privacy and consumer fraud. Read about this change here. Excerpt from the article titled “Class-action suit aims to halt Zestimates in Illinois”: “The Zestimates that Zillow posts are misleading and pose as accurate appraisals in violation of Illinois’ legal description of an appraisal, according to the complaint filed by three members of the Patel family and Schaumburg-based CastleBldrs.com. They claim homebuyers read...
About half of AICPA members don’t believe in USPAP… When I first heard that “they” were trying to do away with the Appraisal Practices Board (APB) of the Appraisal Foundation (TAF), I tried to keep an open mind. I also wondered who “they” are. Did the Appraisal Institute (AI) finally get a sympathetic ear in Congress? Was it preemptive action by the Board of Trustees in anticipation of budget cuts by the new administration? By the way, what does the APB do? I certainly had it wrong. I thought they helped develop the Advisory Opinions (AOs)! To be candid the...
Computers eliminating “boots on the ground” residential appraisers. An historian once quipped, “I cannot predict the future, but give me six months and I’ll tell you why it was inevitable.” Residential appraisers who work in the mortgage arena began to experience the sea change when UAD arrived amongst much fanfare in September of 2011. Years of portals, hard-stops, and overrides have settled into an uneasy routine. We’ve already seen changes to closing docs as a result of TRID (TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosures). That adventure began in November 2013. Washington DC, never content to maintain any level of consistency has already...
Loan officer, the bank, homeowner… want a higher value… Automated Valuation Models: Are they any good? Appraiser vs Machine? AVMs were run on a few properties that were recently appraised. The results are well, ….. they are what they are. The questions are: Are they good? Are they good enough? Will the consumer accept them? Will the banks and lenders accept them? Below are the samples. We have to be careful as we are appraisers and don’t want to be sitting in front of the VREAB explaining why we shared assignment results in violation of the confidentiality requirements of the...
Along comes the automated valuation revolution… The appraisers we need, to keep consumers protected, are the very ones being driven out of the business. They are being forced out by big banks and AMCs (who much too often provide zero benefits to consumers). Everyone seems to have forgotten that these services (provided by AMCs) used to be part of the bank’s responsibility for every loan. It was just the cost of doing business. Then came the AMCs and banks’ profits had to go up. After all, they lost a whole department. Now they pass the expenses along, mostly on the...
Standardized data & the death of the residential appraiser (as we know it today)… Those that know me on a personal level and that have worked with me over the years have had to hear me talk endlessly about the pending death of the residential appraiser. The other day I eluded to it at the end of another long post. I figured it’s time to share the thoughts with everyone. First off, I come from a long career in corporate America and spend 20 years working in everything from manufacturing, order administration, marketing, sales, and engineering. One thing always held...
AVMs Can NEVER Replace Appraisals & why FNMAs vaunted CU AVM is flawed! Yesterday (March 15, 2016), an appraiser called me to discuss a complex assignment he had. One of his comparable sales was reported in MLS as having sold for $3,469, 898. It was in range with his other comparable sales for his subject property. It was the most similar comparable property. When he went to verify the sale price with our Los Angeles, California subscription-equivalent to “public records” he discovered a shocking discrepancy he couldn’t explain. RealQuest (CoreLogic) showed the full value sale price as $17,665,455! So what...
Around 1992, representatives of LSI (long before they became completely useless as an AMC) visited us in California to discuss some way to involve automation (as in AVMs) to eliminate appraisals. When I pointed out that they had JUST THANKED me for saving them from a quarter of a million dollars over valuation as a result of pressure from one of their very influential customers, and that the very same issue had arisen from that customers misapplication of data AND their potential misinterpretation of that data, they understood the connection. A KNOWLEDGEABLE human appraiser was required to resolve the difference....
