Tagged: Fannie Mae

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...

War on the Appraisal Industry. Another Great Real Estate Depression 11

The Collective Rot

Over 11,000 appraisers signed that petition… The US Congress completely ignored it and, as a result, The Great Real Estate Depression followed. Déjà vu: Or is it Déjà Poo (I’ve heard this crap before)? The Collective Rot Growing Within the Shadows of the Great Real Estate Depression We are just 11 years past the beginning of the Great Recession. Some estimate the US suffered a $14 trillion loss in wealth. Others estimated the loss as high as $21 trillion. This event is more commonly referred to as The Great Real Estate Depression by those of us who are or were in the real estate industry...

Crowdsourcing Appraiser Data - Hyper-Local Database - Appraisers Blogs 32

Crowdsourcing Appraiser Data

Just imagine the possibilities of having a hyper-local database… If you are not in the business of data you will be out of business. I’m not sure if I heard this somewhere or not, but this mantra has been in my head for a while now. Being in the data business is essential for every business today. We see it across all industries where the companies that embrace data are still in business, and the companies that didn’t make that pivot are out. In our profession we saw Fannie Mae get into the big data business with the creation of...

Credit Worthiness Based on Magazine Subscriptions 3

Low Credit Score? Don’t Fret Over It

Got a low credit score and can’t get a loan? Don’t fret over it, just subscribe to a magazine. Sounds absurd doesn’t it? According to an article on MSN, banks are using other means to determine your credit worthiness. We all understand alternative credit, such as phone and power bills, but companies are now considering consumer data such as magazine subscriptions, the stores your shop at, what you purchase, what restaurants you eat at and how much you spend at them. Based on your consumer data a risk score on your ability to repay a loan is determined. For decades,...

We Became Complacent... Appraisers Are to Blame - Appraisers Blogs 33

We Became Complacent

We raised a fuss when it first came out, but we became complacent and accepted what was being dictated to us. Appraisers are supposed to be messengers of the market, right? If that statement is accurate, the question everyone needs to be asking is why appraisers are not allowed to do their jobs? Without getting into a lot a finger pointing and blame, I am just going to come right out and say it. Appraisers are to blame. Not because appraisers wanted to influence the market, but we allowed others to take control and we sat by and did nothing....

Price Fixing & Discrimination - FNMA & FHLMC Bond Price Fixing Claims 7

FNMA & FHLMC Bond Price Fixing Claims

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...

The Rumble of the Bifurcated Appraisal Train Before It Crashes 7

Do You Feel the Rumble?

“Can you hear that? Do your hear the rumble? It’s a train going 80 mph toward a 25 mph curve” There is an excellent article by Richard Hagar, SRA that hit everyone’s email yesterday from Working RE Magazine. The title of the article is Why “Bifurcated” Won’t Work. This is an excellent read and we ask that you take the time to read it and pass it along to all your contacts. Lots of great examples of why these products are a danger to not only appraisers, but to communities. See the article here. The pressure has begun…all they need...

The Raising of the De Minimus and Its Impact on the Appraisal Industry 11

De Minimus Impact on the Appraisal Industry

THREE changes to the de minimus have been experienced, with very little negative impact to appraising as a whole… Folks, anytime there is a major change proposed or activated within the appraisal profession, many appraisers go into hyperventilation mode. The action taken on August 20, 2019, by the FDIC to raise the de minimus LOAN VALUE from $250,000 to $400,000 has had such an effect among many, but it may not be as dire as anticipated. An appraiser sent this 2018 HousingWire article to me earlier today: Within the body of the article, this is stated, which is taken from...

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...

Existing Regulatory Burden on Appraisal, a Proven Failure- System Reform 6

Appraisal Reform or System Reform

It is my hope that the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance consider long-term impact. The existing regulatory burden, a proven failure, may insure a repeat of the past. The body of a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services about systems reform. Appraisal reform or Appraisal industry reform? It is critical to understand that ‘appraisal’ does not equal ‘valuation’, or risk analysis, or anything else.  It is a precise definition of a nebulous product. The current U.S. House Committee on Financial Services is asking the question: “What’s Your Home Worth? A Review of the Appraisal Industry.” I believe it is...

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