living area - Appraisers Blogs

Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:30:39 +0000

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,...

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VA Unofficially Says NOPE to ANSI

Dave Towne — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 12:30:20 +0000

The other agencies, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA, USDA, ONAP, VA have NOT (yet) adopted this ANSI measuring protocol. Appraisers, an appraiser I know sent an email to the VA asking if VA was going to require appraisers to adhere to the ANSI Z765-2021 Measuring Standard as of April 1, 2022. The appraiser received an ‘unofficial’ response back from a person within the VA connected to processing appraisals, which said: “The short answer is, no.” I say this is ‘unofficial’ because to-date, I have seen nothing “official” from VA about this topic. Only officials from within VA know whether or not they...

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ANSI Measuring Standard Required in 2022

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:30:35 +0000

On December 15, 2021, Fannie Mae announced that it will be adopting ANSI Measuring Standard in 2022. Appraisers will be required to use the Square Footage-Method for Calculating: ANSI® Z765-2021 (American National Standards Institute®) Measuring Standard for measuring, calculating, and reporting gross living area (GLA) and non-GLA areas of subject properties for appraisals requiring interior and exterior inspections with effective dates of April 1, 2022 or later for loans sold to Fannie Mae. For more information, watch this video and check out this fact sheet. Here are some items for appraisers to consider when using the ANSI standard Measurements...

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Alleged Systemic Racism in Appraisal Myth

Michael Ford — Fri, 28 May 2021 12:30:37 +0000

In virtually every single case of alleged racism to hit the media recently, admitted staged events were in play. One could argue staging was necessary to identify if a valuation difference resulted from perceptions of what race the occupants are. Fair enough. Provided that the staging itself does not alter the value scenarios. Provided that the results are being honestly reported. I’m skeptical. I’ve researched each case as far as can reasonably be done from the information provided. The American Guild of Appraisers has also offered (repeatedly) to conduct thorough reviews of each and every appraisal involved in the reported...

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Fannie Mae’s ADU Policy Updated

Dave Towne — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:30:50 +0000

On September 2, 2020, FNMA updated their policy allowing for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) on Single Family Residential (SFR) properties to be a Manufactured Home. This is in their Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2020-05, linked below. Key points: An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is an additional living area that is independent of the primary property and has basic bathroom, cooking, and sleeping facilities. With this update, we clarified ADU property eligibility and comparable sales requirements in the appraisal as follows: expanded the current definition of an ADU to improve proper classification of ADUs; expanded property eligibility by allowing multi-width manufactured homes...

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Failure to Communicate

Frederick E Rossiter — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 12:30:11 +0000

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...

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Truth About Price per Sq.ft. in Valuations

Dave Towne — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 12:30:29 +0000

…has nothing to do with size… This article from realtor.com titled ‘Forget Price Per Square Foot: The More Accurate Ways to Determine Your Home’s Value’ explains why price per square foot is not a good gauge of value. Excerpt: A home’s price per square foot is a common way to quantify its value… Many home shoppers even use it as a determinant for whether or not they’ll even consider touring a home. But that doesn’t mean it’s the most accurate, end-all and be-all way to gauge a home’s value and compare it with other houses. Why? Because all homes are...

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AMC Abuses? What’s Your Story?

Guest Author — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:30:09 +0000

Many of you have filed formal complaints against AMC abuses with State appraisal boards… The place was a small subdivision developed with coastal style homes on the Ocean side of route 12 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The bank was Bank of America. The AMC was LandSafe and the time was just before Corelogic purchase of Landsafe for $122 million. I was asked by this AMC to appraise a home for a purchase transaction. My comparable sales consisted of one recent sale of the next door neighbor, one on the same street, and two closed sales in the...

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Adjustment Question

Dave Towne — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 13:30:16 +0000

Rounding of adjustments is perfectly acceptable. Would someone kindly, and logically, explain to me why the ‘Site’ is adjusted precisely at $0.20 per square foot, down to the nearest dollar, but all other adjustments are rounded to $50? Are ‘we’ appraisers really that good, where we can divine buyer motivations or values (i.e., adjustments) as accurately as that? In other words: “Well, I believe it’s worth exactly that much.” Usually I see this kind of adjustment practice to the nearest dollar when applied to the Gross Living Area and below grade areas, which is also screwy (IMHO). This is the...

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The RPR® Epidemic – Online Valuations vs Trained Appraisers

Hamp Thomas — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:30:28 +0000

Consumer protection goes right out the door as consumers learn to trust these online valuations over a local, highly trained appraiser. Realtor Property Resource® is a private automated system just for Realtor® members. They are making great strides in promoting this service, and more and more agents are using this system to create their CMAs to present to owners. I recently reviewed a report provided by the listing agent which included sixty-nine pages of every imaginable piece of information. To an owner, this must look very impressive. However, to anyone who understands what a “Comparable” sale is, this report was...

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GLA Adjustments & Pizza Slices – They Do Correlate!

Dave Towne — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 12:30:47 +0000

Determining the GLA Adjustment in Appraisal Reports I promised in a previous post I’d send out my method for determining the GLA adjustment in appraisal reports. Goodness! Appraisers actually found that statement buried in the prior post, and have ‘rung my chimes’ requesting this info! OK, but first, the pizza analogy. I often tell clients and other appraisers that appraising (residential) real estate is far more complex than grabbing a store-bought pre-boxed pizza (that has exactly the same ingredients from box to box no matter which store you shop in) at a grocery and then applying 425 degrees of love...

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What is Gross Living Area (GLA)?

Dave Towne — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 12:30:18 +0000

What is Gross Living Area and What Does it Include? Appraisers, There are certain properties where aspects of Gross Living Area (GLA) might not be obvious. It’s more confusing when the selling real estate agents lump all “living space” together, because that’s what they are selling, or when the county assessor includes basements with upper level areas. These include homes with a detached ADU, additional rec room or sleeping space above a garage, additional living space with roof attached to the primary dwelling via covered breezeway, basement living spaces with separate entry, etc. Fannie Mae has a giant book called...

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Indeed, Size Matters!

Hamp Thomas — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:30:28 +0000

Many agents have asked; “Does this square footage stuff really matter to me? Isn’t it more of an appraisal issue? Fair questions. Let’s take a look at one sale where the agent now understands just how square footage affects a listing value. It was a hard lesson in the importance of square footage, and one they will not soon forget.

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When Does a Closet Become a Room?

Hamp Thomas — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:30:02 +0000

When is a closet a room? In most cases, interior closets are included within the total finished square footage. But, when the closet measures 12 x 20, and does not have any heat/air ducts, is it a closet or is it really a separate unheated room? Should it be counted in the total finished square footage, or should it be included within the unfinished category? According to ANSI®, the space must be heated and cooled by a central HVAC system and a closet typically serves a specific bedroom/space. If you really look through ANSI® there is not an answer to...

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Commonly Encountered USPAP Violations

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:30:49 +0000

USPAP Violations… This is a list of USPAP violations most commonly encountered by the Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board’s staff appraiser-investigators when investigating complaints filed with the Board. This list of violations is given for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or instructions on how to properly comply with USPAP or properly complete an appraisal assignment. Most Commonly Encountered USPAP Violations: Sales Comparison Selection of Comparable Properties. Failing to select and/or support the selection of comparable sales using recognized methods and techniques. Examples include: Leaving the subject’s neighborhood when sales data is readily available in the immediate neighborhood; Searching by...

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Basement Homes and Appraised Values Gone Wrong

Hamp Thomas — Mon, 12 May 2014 12:30:25 +0000

95% of Appraisals on Homes with Basement or Lower Levels Have Errors, Errors that Affect the Home’s Value… In the majority of markets all across the country, it is virtually impossible to get an accurate appraisal on homes that have a basement or lower levels. That’s a pretty big claim. Can it possibly be true? Absolutely it can! And, it happens every day. No one in the real estate industry wants to bring this topic out in the open for fear the public would be outraged. Well, it’s time somebody gets mad. And for all the Realtor’s® big talk about...

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