Tagged: podcast

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Appraising Where It is Warmer

I found that there are not really any appraisal laws… There was a point when I was seriously considering the possibility of moving to Belize. I live in a cold climate so the prospect of living in a warmer area for at least part of the year appeals strongly to me. However, after visiting Belize, I quickly realized that – while I love the country – I personally do not want to live there – mainly because their cost of living is higher than I had been told. That being said, while there, I did quite a bit of research...

Should We Real Estate Appraisers Stop Making Adjustments? 43

Should Adjustments Actually Be Done?

How much credit should we give ourselves when it comes to making adjustments? Making adjustments is controversial. USPAP says nothing about adjustments – it does not require us to make them. They are a GSE construct. So, should we real estate appraisers stop making adjustments? Clients pay us for opinions of value, so our adjustments are really opinions based on what the market tells us (or that’s what we should base them on), but they are still opinions we form; they are not facts we find. So, maybe, should we stop making adjustments? We derive our adjustments from sources such...

Do You Tell Borrowers About Repairs in an Appraisal Inspection? 34

What to Tell Borrowers in an Inspection

It can be hard to know exactly what to tell a borrower sometimes in an inspection when it comes to repairs. For example, if you see chipping and peeling paint in an older home, and it is an FHA inspection, do you let the homeowner know that there is a good chance that their lender will ask them to repair it? While it is probably not a big deal either way, I see both pros and cons to both sides of this issue. If the borrowers seem kind and agreeable, I typically will tell them about the repairs. It gives...

How Does ADA Affect Appraisers? Being an Appraiser With a Disability 9

Being an Appraiser With a Disability

Here are some thoughts on something I know nothing about, but want to get some answers. How does the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) affect real estate appraisers? This act exists to help those with disabilities to have the same advantages of those who do not (at least as much as possible). At the time it first past, there was grumbling from those who had to spend the money to retrofit their buildings into compliance. There were cheers from those who before could not access buildings, elevators, stairwells who now could. My opinion is that the benefits outweighed the costs...

COD at The Door? - Can Appraisers Collect at the Door? 28

COD at The Door?

Can Appraisers Collect at the Door (COD)? In the past, it was common for appraisers to collect their fees directly from the borrower at the time of the property visit (i.e., at the door). I would take credit cards, checks, or cash while at the door. Many years ago, this was common. Now, however, that rarely happens and we usually have to wait 30- to 60-days for payment from the AMC client. So recently, when I got a COD order from HUD, I was really surprised. In fact, I thought something was bogus. I needed to check this out since...

Embarrassing Indeed! Inspections Can Sometimes Be Embarrassing... 9

Inspections Can Sometimes Be Embarrassing

Inspections can occasionally get embarrassing, right? It happens to all of us. That’s just part of the appraisal business. But that does not make things any easier or less embarrassing, does it. Let me tell you three stories. First is the house with the unique basement. It’s your typical single-family residence on the ground floor; nothing out of the ordinary, nothing embarrassing. Then I tell the owner I need to go into the basement to inspect it. He hesitantly says OK, so into the basement we go. It was not your typical basement. It looked like some kind of department...

New Client, Same Property... Allowed Options - Appraisers Blogs 2

New Client, Same Property

There is a problem that I would guess most appraisers run into on a somewhat frequent basis. Imagine the following scenario (it probably won’t be too hard since you have likely encountered something similar): You do an appraisal for Client A. Somewhere during the loan process, the loan is turned over or changed to Client B. Client B knows you recently completed an appraisal on the same property for Client A and asks for a copy of the appraisal in their name. What do you do next? It seems to me, at this point, you have at least four options:...

Cap on Fees & Appraiser Politics - Appraisers Blogs 32

Appraiser Politics

I doubt that appraisers would be as excited if a cap were placed on appraisers… Recently, I noticed many appraisers were excited about a new bill that was introduced in Virginia. This bill initially sounded favorable to me, but as I examined it more closely, I quickly became concerned with the excitement that was building up around it in the appraiser community. Laws in general are typically difficult to understand, and they can look better at first glance than they actually are. It is important for us to analyze new laws carefully before we advocate for them. Senate Bill 655...

How To Charge Cancellation Fees - 'We Cancelled, Didn’t the Bank Tell You?' 8

How To Charge Cancellation Fees

A-Clients who have no qualms paying cancellation fees… You’ve been driving for more than an hour and a half to your appraisal appointment. So, you decide to call the client and let them know you’re almost there – only for you to get told, ‘We cancelled, didn’t the bank tell you?’ For those involved in real estate appraisal, this is an all too common experience. The flip side is that they get just as angry when the bank cancels and we don’t call them to inform them. So let me share some tips with you on how to effectively deal...

AMC Registration Act, Hybrids Take Another Hit, & Appraiser Liability Webinar 13

Hybrids Take Another Hit

Registration Act, reinserts the definition of “appraisal firm”… Bifurcated (Hybrid) Appraisals Take Another Hit Last week VaCAP shared some information questioning the legality of these products in Virginia. This week Phil Crawford, Voice of Appraisal, talks about the ethical side of them and how appraisers completing these could be on the receiving end of legal actions. Listen to show E206 at Voice of Appraisal NAR Appraiser Liability Webinar On July 17, 2018, the National Association of Realtors along with Peter Christensen from LIA, presented a Webinar on liability issues for appraisers. A strong concern about the certifications exists that open up liability...

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