Tagged: Fannie Mae

Smartphone Measuring Technology 15

Smartphone Measuring Technology

This new measuring technology claims the software to be ANSI compliant.  Appraisers, over the past couple of years, there have been lively discussions on forums, Facebook groups, at conferences, etc., about a ‘new’ technology which allows a ‘phone holder’ to measure a structure, with that technology providing a “Sketch” or “Floor Plan” of that structure. Some of you may have heard about one of the originating companies, Matterport, which some real estate agents/brokers use to generate virtual 3D interior diagrams and videos used in property marketing. Smartphone measuring technology evolved from that. Until recently, I and others did not understand...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

DEI Bosses at Financial Institutions Have a Problem - Diversity 12

Top DEI Bosses Have a Problem – Diversity

The ranks of the new DEI bosses at the financial institutions are no more diverse than the appraisers their institutions see as the enemy. If the lack of diversity of appraisers is inherently bad, how could the same not be said for the DEI bosses?  A full 93 percent of U.S. birdwatchers are white. Just 4 percent are African-American and a paltry 1 percent are Asian-American. Just 5 percent are Hispanic (which includes both blacks and whites). This was according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as reported in National Geographic a number of years ago. Another study found...

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

Appraisers Are Historians...Tracking the Motivations of the Moment 19

Appraisers Are Historians

It is gratifying when appraisers are correct, and the AVMs burn; unless you invested in their stocks.  I mean no disrespect to the modelers of the Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) or to Zillow for relying on their AVMs. As an appraiser since the 80s, I have yet to find a computer that can tell me if I want vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Does the buyer want more acres, or less grass to cut? I will admit that a raised ranch, a two story farm house, a colonial, a split level, and a Dutch colonial can all sell for the...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

The Appraisal Problem and Undue Diligence 8

The Appraisal Problem

Gone are the days of hiring a professional appraiser to solve the appraisal problem. For decades lenders have taken on the responsibility of shaping the appraisal process and dictating the solutions to the appraisal problem. Savvy appraisers push back in a positive fashion to try and enable the lender to receive a report that not only meets USPAP, FIRREA, Fannie Mae, or HUD/FHA/VA an UAD reporting guidelines, but also provides the client with a report that is clear, concise, accurate and not misleading. An appraisal report can be on time, have all the boxes checked, no inconsistencies, meet all the...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Federal Housing Administration / FHA

Are Computer Programs Biased or Unbiased? 7

Are Computer Programs Biased or Unbiased?

Whether or not computer programs are despised or supported depends on the narrative being spewed. Which is it? Are computer programs good for generating appraisal values but when the narrative is to influence an anti-police sentiment using computer programs is too problematic? Last week’s article titled “The Government Screwing Over an Entire Industry” strengthened my conviction how eager and anxious Fannie, Freddie, and certain Congress persons are to replace appraisers with computer programs. The idea is that computers will do it more fairly and with equal justice and allow for “generational wealth”. They contend that appraisers are trying very hard...

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

Wells Fargo Workers Went on Appraisal-Fraud Bender 14

Wells Fargo Workers Went on Appraisal-Fraud Bender

Loan officers at Wells Fargo altered values in the bank’s database, so loans would qualify for so-called appraisal waivers… It feels like Ground Hog Day all over again. Who can forget the Wells Fargo banker who, stressed from opening fraudulent accounts in the name of hapless depositors, had begun guzzling hand sanitizer? That was in 2016. New revelations from the nation’s second-largest mortgage lender will make the U.S. taxpayer want to take a good long pull on the nearest bottle of hand wash. Dozens of loan officers at Wells Fargo altered values in the bank’s database, so loans would qualify...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Remove Predominant Price from the New Forms 16

Remove Predominant Price from New Forms

Something that has ‘stuck in my craw’ or ‘frosted my cookies’ for years is the nonsense about stating a specific “PREDOMINANT” price for neighborhood homes. And then being forced to explain why the Opinion of Value is not precisely that number, and if not, why not. Real estate is IMPERFECT. Properties, especially comparables, seldom, if ever, sell for the very same or extremely similar prices. If that is the case, how can there be an exact “PREDOMINANT” figure? The possible exception to this are highly dense urban developments where the new construction homes are cookie cutters, and the builder sells...

AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

Fannie Mae Bullies Lenders, Ensnares Appraisers in Farcical Probes 13

FNMA Ensnares Appraisers in Farcical Probes

You feel like Fannie Mae is simply trying to get rid of appraisers. A lot of appraisers feel that way… “Even amidst tragedy there is sometimes farce,” wrote author Daniel Prokop. Unleashing tragedy and farce in equal measure, mortgage giant Fannie Mae is using its muscle to coerce lenders to repurchase early COVID-era loans. Fannie apparently deems them now too risky for its portfolio. As a ploy, say observers, Fannie is generating automated appraisals similar to Zillow’s “Zestimates” and using them to undermine appraised values in loans it wants to offload. Fannie’s automated system then sends unsigned boilerplate complaints to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Appraisers... Restoration Value Magicians? 44

Restoration Value Magicians!

And just like that, real estate appraisers from across the country have now added a new line item to their résumés, websites and marketing material: RESTORATION VALUE MAGICIAN. Oh wait, haven’t some AMCs and others already claimed to be such magicians when it comes to this topic? The pandering and save face attitudes of some of these organizations is concerning. Instead of looking at the big picture of infrastructures, the neighborhoods, the cities and more, to determine what sort of things can help areas identified as “Black neighborhoods”, they want to blame the appraisers. Here is a thought. How about...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Appraiser Bias Allegations Unmask Nonbank Lenders Debt Traps 10

Appraiser Bias Allegations Unmask Debt Traps

Claims of tainted appraisal unmask something else… the renewed “churning” of mortgages by nonbank lenders. Convinced racism torpedoed valuations in their home refinancings, the owners of three properties in the San Francisco Bay Area told their stories to Julian Glover, a reporter who covers the race, culture and social justice beat for ABC’s San Francisco affiliate. Similar claims of tainted appraisals have surfaced in Philadelphia, Chicago and, more recently, Maryland. A civil lawsuit was filed in one of the cases in a federal district court. A claim was dismissed Wednesday based on a flaw unrelated to the case’s core allegation...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Federal Housing Administration / FHA

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