Tagged: condition rating

New UAD Overhaul: What Appraisers Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond 63

New UAD Overhaul: What Appraisers Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond

Folks, I recently attended a Train the Trainer 1.5 day class about the new UAD/URAR, jointly facilitated by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Aloft. About 20 other instructors from across the US were also present. This class is required before this new UAD material can be taught to other appraisers, under contract with the GSEs. My info below is a limited high-level summary for the new UAD and URAR of what was presented, and what the appraiser community can expect to see, from now into 2026. It is not meant to be comprehensive; I may send out other info as...

American National Standards Institute / ANSI / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisers News

Fannie & Freddie's AI Appraisal Photo Recognition 46

Fannie & Freddie’s AI Appraisal Photo Recognition

A colleague recently shared an important heads up regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s plans to implement photo recognition AI to analyze appraisal photos. This technology can scan a single photo and extract over 100 data points related to quality, condition, and repairs. For example, it can identify flooring types, appliance models, and even assess light levels in a room. Later this year, the GSEs plan to run all appraisal reports through this AI and cross-check the appraiser’s stated quality and condition ratings. If the AI’s analysis differs significantly from the appraiser’s, it will automatically generate a complaint letter to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Trending

Failure to Inspect & Photograph Comps Backfires on Appraisers 52

Appraisers, did you Shoot yourself in the Foot?

When I explain the rules many of the appraisers start complaining: “An MLS photograph depicts the house at the time it sold so it’s more accurate than my photograph would be”… There’s a lot of yelling and screaming about bifurcated appraisals. Unfortunately, appraisers may have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to this issue. Allow me to provide an analogy to help explain the issue. I’m not sure if this happens in other areas of the country but in Seattle there is a strange “left leaning” way they do things: State and Federal governments perform numerous traffic studies, to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter / CU / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Language Barrier... What We Got Here is … Failure to Communicate 9

Failure to Communicate

Realtor’s language is “local” whereas an appraiser’s language is universal… What we got here is … failure to communicate. It’s a line from Cool Hand Luke … a great old movie with Paul Newman. Newman played a prisoner in a jail in the Deep South. The story was all about Luke Jackson, played by Newman, who was sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm. Well, Luke was a free spirit who didn’t play by the rules and this angered the prison’s sadistic warden. In one memorable scene, the warden said, “What we’ve got here is … failure to communicate“. That line was...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

Clear Capital Admitting Hybrid Inspectors Are Offering Appraisal Opinions 34

Hybrid Inspectors Offering Appraisal Opinions

Clear Capital admission: This is an admission that inspector were previously offering appraisal opinions re Q&C. There remain many other areas in hybrids that also are appraisal opinion being provided by non appraisers. I have written many blog posts here, mainly for the consumer to read and understand what is actually happening in the world of Real Estate Valuations. My blogs range from being overcharged for appraisals so the middle man (the appraisal management company or AMC) can make money, lenders still pressuring appraisers to hit a value, and now having untrained and unlicensed people perform inspections (see my last...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

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

Smart Exchange Not So Smart - Is Smart Exchange Really a Smart Idea? 65

Is Smart Exchange Really a Smart Idea?

Alamode recently launched Smart Exchange to its users. The idea is appraisers can see what others have stated as property characteristics and transfer that information directly into your report. The system is based on mutual sharing, so if you participate, you will share all your comparable data with everyone else that is using Smart Exchange and you can see their data. The last update from alamode installed the programming and changed the way the side by side screen looks. Now I must make a disclaimer here, I am in the over 50 category and my kids are all grown. It...

a la mode / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News

Schizophrenic Adjustments - Down to Exact Dollar Amount 35

Schizophrenic Adjustments

Appraisers, I’ve written in the past about what I believe are strange ways to report adjustments in appraisals, and suggested ‘rounding’ is a perfectly acceptable way to report them. This is largely due to buyers and listing agents thinking and listing in $100 increments – not down to exact dollar amounts. During the past couple of weeks, I ‘came in contact with’ two separate appraisals done by different appraisers on totally different properties, in different market areas. What struck me was the incredibly precise adjustments made for only certain items in these reports, while the rest of adjustments were ‘rounded’ to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending / Tutorials

Rating Number Game Threatening Appraiser Independence 23

Rating Number Game Threatening Appraiser Independence

CU rating number magically moved lower on the scale… Appraisers, While it’s presently a tad bit slow for order volume, this is a good time to evaluate a potentially troubling item instituted by Fannie Mae in conjunction with their Collateral Underwriter (CU) review process for appraisal reports. This has the ability to be abused by lenders and AMC’s. Hope you will take time to peruse this message and the podcasts. Unfortunately, we need to get a bit deep into the weeds here so that you get a grasp on potential challenges some ‘intended users’ may have with your reports. I...

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

Comparable Selection Manipulated to Produce Lower CU Scores 6

Comparable Selection Manipulated to Produce Lower CU Risk Score

Appraisers harassed to use sales not comparable to lower CU risk score… Readers that have followed my past Collateral Underwriter (CU) articles already know my opinion of it. It was flawed system design starting with its underlying database. Designed by seven people that did not have a valid appraisal license between them! Setting aside the basic database flaw in CU, it was and is a system that’s highly susceptible to manipulation. The CU scoring parameters can be modified at the lender-user end. Even if that were not possible, it is still subject to manipulation. As Phil Crawford points out, FNMA first...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

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