Tagged: fraud

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Fannie Mae ‘Lender Letter’ About the CU process

Lender Letter explains CU process Appraisers, The latest FNMA Lender Letter was released on February 2, 2015 (see PDF below). You really should print and read this new Lender Letter. It attempts to smooth over lots of ruffled feathers among appraisers, AMC’s, Lenders, Underwriters, etc. To be honest, I find a bunch of ‘pipe dream’ info in this document. Items such as: CU is a Fannie Mae–only risk management tool. ==> Freddie Mac is said to be working to implement this or a similar process very soon CU does not accept or reject appraisal reports or characterize an appraisal as “good” or “bad.”...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

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Are the Inmates in Charge of this Asylum?

What really caused the real estate market to collapse? While much has been written about the multitude of complex reasons behind the collapse of the real estate market in 2007, it is the opinion of this writer that there is one primary reason for the collapse. Simply stated, banks loaned money to borrowers who lacked the ability to pay back the loan. That’s it, pure and simple. If you loan money to someone who has no resources to pay back your loan, you will lose money almost every time and it matters very little if you have any collateral for...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

Goodbye to AMCs - City pays multi billion settlement 5

Goodbye to AMCs – Citi to Pay $7 Billion

Did Citigroup Get Off Easy With $7 Billion Penalty? Citigroup will pay $7 billion to resolve claims it misled investors who purchased shoddy mortgage-backed securities that helped lead to the financial crisis six years ago, Reuters reported July 14. The deal includes the largest civil fraud penalty ever levied by the U.S. Department of Justice. The multi-billion-dollar settlement is more than twice what many analysts expected but less than the $12 billion the government sought in negotiations with Citigroup. All those who argue about the causes of the real estate crisis cannot discount yet another billion dollar settlement. Over and...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Home Valuation Code of Conduct

Court of Appeal New Ruling on Appraisal Fraud 1

Court of Appeal New Ruling on Appraisal Fraud

New Ruling on Appraisal Fraud by California Court of Appeal On May 23, 2014, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, State of California, issued a very interesting decision on whether a plaintiff can successfully plead and argue fraud based on comments made about the concluded value of real estate that was appraised. The case is Graham V. Bank of America, N.A., et al. Although this ruling is unquestionably useful for an appraiser being accused of appraisal fraud, it probably is not the magic elixir many will proclaim it to be. This is because the appraiser...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

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CoStar Suing Appraisers for Copyright Violations

CoStar accuses the “John Does” of violating CoStar’s copyrights by contributing photos or other information obtained from CoStar to the CompStak database… In the last week, CoStar Realty Information has filed several lawsuits against commercial appraisers and real estate brokers for intentional copyright violations and fraud relating to the alleged use of CoStar property data and photos without proper registration/payment. If you use CoStar, be sure you are doing so properly and within the terms of your license agreement. Examples of the types of alleged situations that have led to CoStar’s recent and past copyright lawsuits are: (1) sharing IDs/passwords, (2) obtaining an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs 5

Shouldering the Weight of AMC Hidden Costs

…hidden costs introduced by AMCs… Thinning wallets and dwindling fees for work performed are nothing new for the appraisal community. Yet in their latest income-reducing move, AMCs have sparked an outcry by requiring appraisers to foot the bill for additional services. These charges are further cutting into appraisers’ fees, which already suffer from AMC management fee deductions. Recently, FREA uncovered three hidden costs being introduced by AMCs – which of these have you experienced? Technology Usage An increasing tendency among AMCs is the passing of technology fees on to appraisers. When an AMC orders a home valuation, the appraiser must...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News

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“Fake” Appraiser E&O Insurance and Shady Things from AMCs Too

Outright Fake E&O For many appraisers and also some AMCs (appraisal management companies), the only reason they purchase professional liability insurance (E&O) is because a client requires them to show coverage in order to receive work.  The fact that some appraisers and AMCs only look at insurance as an “E&O ticket” leads to some unfortunate examples of fraud, which appraisers, firms, AMCs and clients should be aware of. Before I get to the fakery, however, I’ll explain that our purpose in providing E&O, and also the reason that most of our insureds purchase it, is because E&O first serves the insured by providing...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O

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Fannie Mae’s Appraiser Quality Monitoring List FAQs

Appraiser Quality Monitoring Information Fannie Mae has published a new web page with information about the recently implemented Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) process. The new AQM web page includes FAQs and a link to the AQM list identifying appraisers whose appraisals will be subject to 100% review by Fannie Mae or whose appraisals are no longer accepted by Fannie Mae. The AQM list is protected content, and approved Fannie Mae sellers/servicers may set up access through Technology Manager. Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) FAQs Fannie Mae began collecting appraisal data in 2011 through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®). Millions of...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

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Mortgage Fraud – Trends and Schemes

In last month’s edition of the AppraisalPort newsletter, I covered some of the appraisal guidelines that were discussed at the National AI Connect Conference in Indianapolis, July 23-25, 2013. This month, I want to discuss another session that dealt with mortgage fraud. I learned a lot about how people are trying to get rich through fraud in this very interesting breakout session. The session, “Residential Mortgage Fraud Enforcement: Trends and Identifying Schemes,” included presentations from Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Special Agent Eric Mascari, Interthinx’s Ann Fulmer, and Gary Crabtree, SRA, owner of Affiliated Appraisers. The session focused on the...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Federal Housing Administration / FHA / HUD

Why are Appraisers Furious at Fraud by their Peers while Corporate Lawyers are Complacent? 1

Appraisers Furious at Fraud by their Peers

Why are Appraisers Furious at Fraud by their Peers while Corporate Lawyers are Complacent? I have done a series of articles about the efforts of honest appraisers (which began in 2000) and loan brokers to alert the lenders, the markets, and the government to the twin fraud epidemics (appraisals and “liar’s” loans) committed by lenders’ controlling officers that drove the financial crisis. Honest appraisers could have profited greatly by becoming dishonest appraisers who would be given the lucrative assignments by fraudulent lenders’ controlling officers and their agents. Instead, honest appraisers suffered serious losses of income because they refused to succumb to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News

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