Tagged: FNMA

The New Appraisal Profession – Why bother! 26

The New Appraisal Profession – Why bother!

As long as the new normal is reporting the appraiser when you don’t like the value continues, why bother?  In today’s new and unimproved appraisal atmosphere, any appraiser that does not “hit the number” is open to detrimental consequences. Buyers, Sellers, & Refinancers – The U.S. Government from the top down have provided the media and the public in general with so much toxic misinformation and encouragement that any appraiser doing their job, a job that can lead to lower values than expected, can now be turned to HUD itself, or a state appraisal board for racial bias. So, why...

The Elephant In the Room: Fannie's Modernization Program 35

The Elephant In the Room: Fannie’s Modernization Program

The Elephant I refer to is simply this: Fannie Mae’s modernization program is going to put a lot of appraisers out of business. It’s all “lender centric”. It’s all about better, faster, cheaper, appraisals (with lots more data) for lenders. As an appraiser, all I see are sticks… no carrots. Nobody wants to talk about the Elephant in The Room. Post COVID 19, business was excellent; fees were high and we profited. High interest rates killed the market and most all of us now are not profiting. Losing money is not sustainable for any business and waiting for the next...

Majority of Reviewers Had Very Limited Field Experience 22

Majority of Reviewers Had Very Limited Field Experience

It was my experience that the majority of reviewers, FNMA included, had very limited field experience. Which is painfully obvious when they request baseless revisions for “more or better comps”.  I’m a Certified General Appraiser that started appraising in 1984, almost 40 years ago! Spent the majority of my career appraising both residential and commercial properties in a major metropolitan market. I had my own appraisal firm for a number of years, prior to the AMC model which dissolved years of relationship building with clients large and small, almost overnight! Like most of you, I really enjoyed appraising and was...

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me 39

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me

An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a complaint against me with my state appraisal board. Here’s what happened. The Report In June of 2021, I completed an appraisal for a conventional purchase. The appraisal was ordered by an AMC on behalf of a lender. At that time, the real estate market was still being wildly affected by the COVID pandemic. Remote work was in full swing, and consumers were desperately seeking to get out of the cities. Prices for all types of residential properties were rising rapidly,...

20

FNMA Continued Effort to Get Rid of Appraisers

Fannie Mae Continues Their Effort To Get Rid Of Appraisers: Sends “Tips” For the past year, Fannie Mae has sent unsigned complaints to state appraisal boards; when they see something they don’t like, they write it up and send it to the state. In their recent newsletter, this effort is called “Tips.” They emphasize they are not automated: LQC reviews are not automated. Our expert analysts validate the appraisal results by asking questions like “Do the comparable sale selections make sense?”, “Is the data accurate?”, “Did the appraiser make appropriate adjustments?” and “Are we getting the most probable value?” in...

The Unbiased Reality of Census Tract Data Dump... Open Letter to FHFA 11

The Unbiased Reality of Census Tract Data Dump… Open Letter to FHFA

Folks, the following letter was sent to FHFA by an appraiser I know. It was sent in response to the ‘first’ data dump FHFA made which uses CENSUS TRACT data to try to convince others that appraisers are biased by using ‘people demographics’ contained in Census Bureau info. You can find that ‘dump’ here. The writer of that first FHFA dump was identified by name, and included an email address. So the appraiser wrote a respectful email to Mr. Russell. It turns out, shortly after this FHFA document was released, Mr. Russell left FHFA. So this nice letter sent several...

List of Banned Words... The Nightmarish End of Home Appraisals 37

The Nightmarish End of Home Appraisals

In his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” the late British novelist, essayist and critic George Orwell examined the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of the English language. In a truly Orwellian move, mortgage giant Freddie Mac recently announced its intent to censor an arbitrary collection of words such as “desirable,” “safe,” “well-kept,” “student” and “crime” when they appear, in any context, in the hundreds of thousands of appraisal reports it relies on in mortgage underwriting. It would be hard to make this up. One of the banned words – “desirable” – will be recognized by students...

Has Fannie Mae Gotten Too Big to Control? 28

Has FNMA Gotten Too Big to Control?

Has Fannie Mae gotten too big to control? That was one of the many questions asked to Senators & Congressman while in Washington DC. The agreement on whether Fannie Mae has gotten too big to control was unanimous. Most believe that the company is too large and complex to be effectively managed by the government. They argue that Fannie Mae is too big to fail, and that if it were to collapse, it would have a devastating impact on the housing market. Others believe that Fannie Mae is sorta manageable, and that the government has taken steps to reduce the...

Clean-Slate Laws, Bad Policy Could Dispatch More Felons to Borrowers Homes 8

‘Clean-Slate’ Laws, Bad Policy Could Dispatch More Felons to Borrowers’ Homes

The idea of unlicensed individuals being hired off the streets and paid a pittance to video and photograph the interiors of borrowers’ homes, which would include the exact location of valuables and children’s bedrooms, has been unsettling to some.  An astute real estate broker recognized the name of a Michigan man awaiting sentencing in an armored-car robbery. The latter had been engaged by one of six companies authorized by mortgage giant Fannie Mae to dispatch so-called “data collectors” to borrowers’ homes. The broker alerted the bank and the National Association of Realtors. New, progressive laws designed to conceal felony convictions...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae FRAUDULATOR 2.0 42

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

xml sitemap