Tagged: mortgage lending

Gov't-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm 14

Gov’t-Indulged Middlemen Are Wrong RX for Battered Borrowers, The Infirm

The U.S. government impoverishes homebuyers as it does the chronically ill – by promoting the use of middlemen who prey upon them. A cadre of such middlemen was created decades ago as a firewall between Big Pharma, the insurance companies and the pharmacy chains. Called “pharmacy benefit managers,” they were to negotiate drug prices, streamline distribution and manage lists of prescription drugs covered by insurance plans. But since the government has gone whole-hog into health care under the Affordable Care Act and into drug-price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act, things have gotten crazy at the slop trough. Today, according...

Escaping the Black Hole: Appraisers Fleeing Mortgage Lending 27

Escaping the Black Hole: Appraisers Fleeing Mortgage Lending

Climbing out of that black hole is nearly impossible. It’s one reason why many appraisers are vacating mortgage lending appraisal assignments.  This “discrimination settlement” hit the fan last week in a news feed I get. Another appraiser (in CA) settles a discrimination complaint: Oakland homeowner settles with appraiser, lender after $300,000 lowball appraisal The entire case is based on allegations by the homeowner, who had decided the value of the home was more than the appraised amount, before the appraisal was done. But when one reads through the story, one has to question whether the appraiser truly was biased against...

Low Value = Material Deficiencies? New HUD ROV Policy 40

Low Value = Material Deficiencies? New FHA ROV Policy

The implication that if the VALUE is too low, then there must be “material deficiencies” present, is deeply troubling!  Up until recently, there has never been a standardized policy for mortgage loan related Reconsideration of Value (ROV) requests after an appraisal has been submitted. Now there is, per the attached PDF HUD/FHA mortgage letter. The GSE’s have similar policies. I’m not opposed to having a standardized ROV policy. However, these policies are in keeping with the new initiatives surrounding alleged and often unproved appraisal bias and discrimination claims. But when one reads deeper into the reason for implementing these procedures,...

The One-Mile Rule: Prudent Policy or Modern Day Redlining? 8

The One-Mile Rule: Prudent Policy or Modern Day Redlining?

…whether through redlined maps or implicit “one-mile rule,” the result can be undervalued properties in historically marginalized neighborhoods.  Throughout the history of mortgage banking and lending in the United States, underwriting policies have significantly influenced the appraisal process for home purchases and refinances. Appraisers must follow underwriter appraisal review guidelines meticulously to ensure their appraisal reports are accepted by the lender. Unfortunately, in the past, these policies became the basis for redlining, wherein certain communities were systematically denied access to mortgage credit. In this article, we delve into the historical context of underwriting policies and their influence on the appraisal...

AI to Counter the Flawed Appraiser Bias Narrative 29

AI to Counter Flawed Appraiser Bias Narrative

In reality, appraisers have a great story to tell, but we have a long way to go to refocus the terribly flawed “appraiser bias” narrative onto facts and science.  Last week’s email from Cindy Chance, the CEO of the Appraisal Institute, marks an important and long overdue shift in the organization’s approach to addressing accusations of bias in the appraisal profession. For too long, appraisers have faced sweeping claims that their valuations are biased against certain groups, despite appraisers’ ethical standards, rigorous training, and lack of financial stake in transactions. As Chance acknowledges, the Institute should have done more to...

Is the Iceberg Turning? 19

Is the Iceberg Turning?

Appraisers, it seems this past year has been like furiously paddling against a giant iceberg containing frozen lending assignments in the North Atlantic ocean while in a rowboat with one paddle! The entire 2023 has been one chilling episode in terms of mortgage lending appraisal assignments for appraisers. While it’s too soon to tell for sure, a giant sea-going tug boat with high horsepower diesel engines powering twin propellers mounted on azipods has arrived on the scene to help direct and push that iceberg into warmer waters, releasing a flood of more assignments! I read lots of ‘stuff’ relating to...

Another bad word to avoid 84

Another ‘Bad’ Word to Avoid!

To lighten the load somewhat from discussions about current highly restrictive language use in appraisal reports that tends to circumvent actual reality and truth – which can positively or adversely impact property market value, replaced with only generic, non-offensive words, I present this cartoon. It’s another word to avoid using: Obfuscation of real and accurate market data using correct written descriptions, replaced with wokeism to foster an unworkable ideological agenda, is one reason why skilled appraisers are shifting their work to non-mortgage lending clients who actually want to understand the true reality of regional and neighborhood areas, and how market...

Appraisal Bias Mantra is Largely False Reporting 16

Appraisal Bias Mantra is Largely False Reporting

Just How Commonplace Is Appraisal Bias?  Folks, about the only entity examining in depth the details behind all the allegations about appraisers being inherently biased is the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Housing Center. They are proving that most of the allegations are mostly a dump truck load of bovine substance. Click here for their latest expose. Report: Just How Commonplace Is Appraisal Bias? – theMReport.com Within this report are these statements from AEI: “When comparing appraisals for people of color to those for non-Hispanic white people within the same geographies, a new study by the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Housing...

Reality of Today's Appraisal Environment; Discriminatory Falsehood 10

Reality of Today’s Appraisal Environment

Proving discriminatory activity is hard, which is probably one reason HUD is dragging their collective feet in resolving the filed complaints.  The real scourge of what’s been happening to appraisers for the past 5 years (yes, it started prior to the last election) has been revealed by Mr. Isaac Peck, in this article. You really need to read it, perhaps again, if you saw it come through your email on Wednesday October 25. Isaac has allowed me to “re-broadcast” his article. Yes, it’s a ‘sales promotion’ but it contains critical information appraisers need to know about. The first paragraph, contained...

Mortgage Application Volume Nearing Historic Low 32

Mortgage Application Volume Nearing Historic Low

Appraisers, I’m almost reluctant to distribute this article, but the reality is what it is. Per the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the loan application volume is at another low point in our history. The article in Mortgage News Daily titled “Mortgage Application Volume at Lowest Levels Since 1996” in this link provides context. For a related perspective, the article contains a graph, which can be expanded to show mortgage rates and application volume for decades. The brown line in the graph shows 30 year mortgage rates – since early 1971. The light blue indicates the loan application volume, which corresponds...

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