Waiving appraisal requirements on residential homes could erode consumer protection, stall attempts to create diversity in the profession… The recent announcement from Fannie Mae that they will waive the requirement for residential home appraisals has caused quite a stir in the industry. Fannie Mae’s decision to waive appraisals during this time of soon to come recession and bank liquidity issues is both surprising and concerning, and could have serious implications for both consumers and financial institutions alike. With falling values across many markets combined with rising mortgage rates putting even more pressure on borrowers’ wallets, this decision could potentially put...
Fannie and Freddie are giving preference to desktop appraisals over exterior appraisals, which quite frankly, is completely backwards from what most appraisers believe to be a more reliable appraisal. HUD and the Veterans Administration, on the other hand prefer exterior appraisals…
Appraisers are routinely coerced & intimidated by third parties to violate their independence and integrity… Honorable Committee Members: We are writing to add our voice to that of the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers (MBREA is a State Coalition of professional real estate appraisers) in support of each of the above bills. The American Guild of Appraisers is a Guild within the Office Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) of the AFL-CIO, representing the appraisal and real estate related financial consumer / taxpayer interests of over twelve and a half million AFL-CIO Family Union & Guild Members; their families, retirees...
Adjusting appraisal threshold levels On December 2, 2015, Dave Towne called attention to an article on a potential increase in appraisal threshold levels, which appeared in the ABA Banking Journal. Excerpt: The banking agencies are revisiting the dollar thresholds for their appraisal requirements, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in Arlington, Va., today at the final outreach meeting for the decennial Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act review. “Based largely on comments we have received during these outreach sessions, we have formed an define working group to review the appropriateness of dollar thresholds for transactions requiring appraisals and other requirements...
For well over a year, the Columbia Society of Real Estate Appraisers and five other nonprofit appraiser groups have been working on an industry paper entitled Regulatory Issues Affecting the Real Estate Appraisal Profession (subtitled: Unintended Consequences of the Dodd-Frank Law and Potential Remedies). The paper is aimed at informing lawmakers of some of the unintended consequences of the Dodd-Frank law as it relates to appraisers and consumers. We hope that lawmakers will address and correct some of the issues brought to light in this paper. The Letter Over the past year, a select group of professional appraisal organizations have...
