The safety and soundness of the housing market is the back bone of local economies, the national economy and yes, the international economy. We have barely recovered from the major financial crash of 2007/2008. Let’s not do it again! Last week we shared with you Maxine Waters and Sherrod Brown’s inquiry to the Appraisal Subcommittee inquiring on the parameters used to determine the North Dakota Appraiser Waiver approval. We encouraged each of you to take advantage of the attention on our profession and contact your representatives. VaCAP has sent letters to both the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial...
Late Friday afternoon, VaCAP learned the Financial Services Committee Chairwomen. Maxine Waters and Senator Sherrod Brown, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to the Appraisal Subcommittee Chairman Arthur Lindo inquiring around the circumstances of the North Dakota Appraisal Waiver that was granted a few months back. The exact verbiage used in the letter to describe the waiver was “unprecedented with minimal justification.” This speaks volumes as to their concern. Congress has repeatedly recognized the essential role that appraisals play in both safety and soundness and consumer protection. That is why it is...
Are the profits being reported by Fannie and Freddie being skewed because of price fixing? In an article released on CNBC by Reuters, US District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled investors can pursue antitrust claims against banks for conspiring to fix prices of bonds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to the article, there are transcripts of chat room discussions that prove a conspiracy to price fix mortgage backed bonds from Fannie and Freddie between January 2009 and January 2016. Rakoff wrote. The chats unmistakably show traders, acting on behalf of those defendants, agreeing to fix prices at a specific level before...
Appraisal management companies do not understand the nuances of the appraisal profession, nor do they understand the challenges many rural properties bring. The Virginia Coalition of Appraiser Professionals has submitted an official comment to the ASC opposing the State wide appraisal waiver request in North Dakota. VaCAP has submitted a public comment expressing concerns over the much larger consequences in allowing such a request. A blanket waiver of appraisals up to $500,000 for a 5 year period will have a devastating impact on housing, not only in North Dakota, but across the country. We envision a snowball effect with other...
What is it going to take for every appraiser to comment on Town Hall concerning the proposed Guidance Document on hybrid appraisals? Even if you have no intentions of ever completing a hybrid appraisal, it is important for you to place a comment on Town Hall concerning the document and these questionable products. If appraisers are not willing to step up and take a stand against actions that are contributing to the next housing crash, who will? If you have seen any of the samples floating around on the blogs and forums, you realize very quickly, these products are not credible...
VaCAP and 27 other State Appraisal Organizations reached out to the House Finance Services Committee concerning the upcoming Subcommittee meeting entitled “What’s Your Home Worth? A Review of the Appraisal Industry” on June 20th. The Network stresses the most qualified to testify on the appraisal profession is an appraiser. The letter also outlines some of the flaws, inconsistencies and realities of the effects of appraisal management companies and how the GSE’s current “appraisal modernization plan” is actually harmful to consumers, investors, lenders, the housing market and the economy as a whole. Fannie Mae’s own publications are being used as documentation. Hopefully the committee members ask the...
Before the ink was dry on FIRREA 1989, special interests were snipping away at it. Originally proposed field review requirements in FIRREA drafts for 1 in 10 appraisals would have made the Great Recession (TARP) impossible. Now those same interests are stripping away at the last vestiges of consumer and taxpayer property value protection. The formal appraisal. The MINIMUM level of protection that should be insisted upon. Dear Ms Kahng: My name is Mike Ford. I am Vice President – Special Projects; & Chairman of the American Guild of Appraisers National Appraiser Peer Review Committee; AGA#44, OPEIU, AFL-CIO. I am...
US House Financial Services Committee Hearing on Appraisals – The subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance is holding a hearing entitled “What’s Your Home Worth? A Review of the Appraisal Industry” on June 20, 2019 at 2:00 PM. The hearing is open to the public and can be lived streamed. To find out more about this hearing, go to the US House Financial Services Committee website. Contact the Representatives on this subcommittee. Make sure consumer protection is at the forefront at this hearing and not the profits of the GSE’s. Are the representatives aware the GSE’s are sending unlicensed,...
Back on April 19th, I wrote about the New York AMC law in my Housing Notes newsletter. After years of AMCs chipping away at the public trust, the New York AMC law was designed to protect the consumer. The bill summary was: Relates to the registration of real estate appraisal management companies or an individual or business entity that provides appraisal management services to creditors or to secondary mortgage market participants including affiliates by the department of state. Last week, AppraisersBlogs ran it as a standalone post and I got a lot of feedback. To be clear, the bill was...
VaCAP Launches Consumer Protection Campaign VaCAP is excited to launch a Consumer Protection Campaign! For months we prepped, we discussed, we negotiated, we wrote, we edited, wrote some more, edited some more… finally, we recorded. We have three 60 second consumer protection announcements airing on WRVA 1140 News Radio starting on Monday April 29th. The three consumer protection announcements will air randomly throughout the day for two weeks. WRVA 1140 News Radio live streams through Radio.com and iHeartRadio so anyone can tune in and listen. The consumer protection announcements will refer listeners to VaCAP’s website for more information where we have added a...
