Ken Harney - Appraisers Blogs

The Collective Rot

Frederick E Rossiter — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:30:27 +0000

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...

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Ken Harney Advocate for Appraisers

VaCAP Board — Fri, 24 May 2019 12:30:52 +0000

VaCAP has received a message from the family of Ken Harney, Real Estate Syndicated Columnist: Dear Friends, It is with great sadness that I write to you to tell you that Ken’s disease has progressed to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and that as of today, we are in the care of hospice at home. We both want to thank you for all your prayers, your interest and concern and for the many years of friendship you have extended to us. Happily we are surrounded by our four children and our home is filled with love. Ken is not up to...

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Hybrid Committee Meeting Recap

VaCAP Board — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 13:30:47 +0000

The Recap The VREAB Committee meeting on hybrid appraisals met last week. The turnout was a decent one. Some traveled a great distance to attend. There were appraisers, assessors, consumers and trade group representatives in attendance. The meeting started with the Appraisal Foundation Video on Hybrid Appraisals. Public comments followed and many spoke and shared their concerns. Examples of hybrid appraisal products were submitted to the committee. Protecting the public was a key discussion and the following existing Virginia laws and regulations were discussed. 54.1-2009 Definition of appraisal- “Appraisal” means an analysis, opinion, or conclusion relating to the nature, quality,...

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Let’s Get Rid of Appraisers. What Could Go Wrong?

Ryan Lundquist — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 13:30:22 +0000

Why would regulators fundamentally weaken bank underwriting standards? Appraisers Warned The World In The Late 1990s And No One Listened. It Is Now Time To Listen Again as History is About to Repeat Itself. There’s a proposal from the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and Treasury Department not to require appraisals for some mortgages under $400,000. The Trump Administration wants to disrupt the role of appraisers, but that’s not a good idea. This change can impact several groups in particular: 1) Consumers: Removing appraisers from transactions can mean a lot of loans get made that shouldn’t be made. Does that sound familiar? We...

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VREAB to Discuss Hybrid Appraisals

VaCAP Board — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:30:33 +0000

…concerns on the negative impact on the real estate market… The Virginia Real Estate Appraisal Board Committee on Hybrid Appraisals will meet on Wednesday November 28th @1:00 PM. We ask that all appraisers attend and share your comments on these products. If you are unable to attend we ask that you submit your comments to the VREAB to be shared with the committee. Concerns on if these products comply with: 54.1-2011 which states any assistance by an unlicensed person must be directly supervised by a licensed appraiser. 54.1-2009 Definition of an appraisal which states an appraisal is an opinion, analysis...

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PIW’s Get National Attention

VaCAP Board — Fri, 04 May 2018 12:30:58 +0000

…“a race to the bottom” between the two companies in pushing for more appraisal-free loans Ken Harney, a friend of the appraisal community has written an article about Fannie and Freddie waiving appraisals. The article will be seen by consumers throughout the country. VaCAP encourages everyone reading this to share Ken’s article on all your social media outlets, your websites, blogs, etc. See the article here. For homeowners and buyers, appraisal-free loans have offered an unexpected windfall: relief from having to pay between $400 and $600 for the service… Fannie’s and Freddie’s no-appraisal option has been popular with lenders… The...

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I Must Apologize; I Got it Wrong…

Guest Author — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:30:27 +0000

Your employees did not come from Taco Bell, they delivered your pizza! In a recent New York Times article by Julie Creswell on 01/21/2017, former executives of Quicken Loans confirm “many employees come in with little or no background in financial services. One employee joined after delivering pizzas to the Quicken Loans Offices”. No need to say anymore, that statement speaks volumes. The article titled “Quicken Loans, the New Mortgage Machine” is a tell all article, right down to the founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert’s physical altercation on a former colleague at a religious function, to his public tirade against LeBron James,...

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Consumers Overcharged by AMCs

VaCAP Board — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 12:30:49 +0000

Excessive markups are common but consumers usually “know nothing about it”… The Chicago Tribune has published an article written by Ken Harney concerning appraisal fees. The article is very telling of what appraisers already know. Now the consumers are aware. Please read and share the article with your colleagues, agents, local MLS Board, Realtor Board, Appraisal Board and your Legislators. The more the abuses of some AMCs are exposed, the more opportunity we have to protect the consumer. Are you paying unseen add-on fees for your appraisal? By Kenneth R. Harney Are you getting fleeced on appraisal charges when you...

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Freddie Mac Criminal Aspects of Its Appraisal Free Mortgages

Michael Ford — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 13:30:23 +0000

Freddie Mac is opening itself up to over 150,000± potential individual lawsuits… This is a response from Mike Ford to Kenneth Harney’s article, “Freddie Mac planning appraisal-free mortgages”. I represent the American Guild of Appraisers, #44OPEIU, AFL-CIO, and the real estate appraisal-related consumer and taxpayer interests of our more than fifteen million± AFL-CIO members, retirees and their families. I’m prompted to write this open letter regarding your recent well written & researched article, titled “Freddie Mac planning appraisal free mortgages”. Regrettably, it was too brief to cover several additional critical aspects of the issue, but I assume the Chicago Tribune’s...

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CU: Nightmare or Income Opportunity?

Guest Author — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 13:30:19 +0000

Place this statement into your canned comments as it can serve you well. I received a copy of Ken Harney’s recent CU article today via email. The article was sent from an old appraiser contact that remembered me from the fight that I was leading to boycott AMCs from 2009 to 2010. Ken Harney is undoubtedly the best friend an appraiser could ever have in the national media as he was the only syndicated columnist willing to cover the injustice of HVCC. He and I exchanged several emails during those days. I found no ground breaking news within his article....

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