Virginia Study on Customary & Reasonable Fees for Residential Appraisals BLACKSBURG, Va., Oct. 7, 2014 – Virginia Tech researchers and students conducted a survey of Virginia residential real estate appraisers to analyze the patterns of fees earned in 2013. Prior to the release of this report, no data existed that defined “customary and reasonable” residential real estate appraisal fees in Virginia. This report is the third report of its type to be conducted in the United States, and the first in Virginia. The research was conducted in response to recent amendments to the Truth in Lending Act modified by the...
Real Estate Appraisers of America: Declare appraiser independence by prohibiting lenders from having any ownership or stake in the real estate appraisal process. This declaration of the real estate appraisal workers of the United States of America and those who stand together with the appraisal industry is made subject to the understanding that commercial and financial events guide growth and development of society, and that financial products and services are integral to the necessary and successful health of our citizens. It is further understood and recognized that the fair and independent valuation of underlying assets backing financial products are critical...
Is the land fertile or barren? The practice of real estate appraisal began about 3,200 years ago. We learn this from the Book of Numbers, Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen. God commanded Moses to commission one person from each of the twelve tribes, “to make a reconnaissance” of the Land of Canaan, now Israel. Each person chosen was a leader within his tribe. His selection was based on sincerity of purpose, integrity, honesty, wisdom, judgment, and knowledge. Each leader was capable of guiding the course of this important assignment. A Leader is “one who goes first.” These appraiser were to “scout”...
You Are Being Robbed Blind (24 Hour Membership Deadline) AMCs are concealing their profits within YOUR appraisal fee, and using coercion to drive down YOUR income as far as they can. This government-permitted process allows them to rob you blind while building their appraiser-squeezing power even stronger. NOW is the time to take a stand to fix this broken industry and the career you have spent a lifetime building. The Appraiser Prosperity Coalition was formed to fight for the legislative and regulatory changes needed to save this devastated industry. If you are willing to join us today, we can defeat the...
Back to Basics (Part 2): The Cost Approach – An Approach to Value, Without Worth, Really? The foundations of appraisal were based upon three independent approaches to value. A system, when developed correctly, presents a check and balance within the report. The idea being that when an appraiser takes the time to develop each report, the data will show three independent motivations and three separate value conclusions. Nonetheless, the conclusions will support one another because the underlying principle for each approach is the principal of substitution. For the purposes of valuation or real estate appraisal, the principle of substitution is...
In April 15, 2014 Fannie Mae released its updated selling guide. It conducted a comprehensive review of the Appraisal Requirements (B4-1) chapters of the Selling Guide. As a result of that review, new policies have been developed, current policies have been clarified, and additional guidance has been incorporated. Further, significant changes have been made. In some cases, topics and paragraphs have been re-titled and content has been reorganized with the expectation that searching for specific information will be much easier. The clarifications are a result of internal reviews, frequently asked questions, and the analysis of Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) data....
A group of Real Estate Appraisal experts committed to the preservation, protection and enhancement of the appraisal industry has formed the Appraiser Prosperity Coalition (www.AppraiserProsperity.com), a merger of industry insiders and government affairs professionals dedicated to fighting for the legislative and regulatory changes needed to rebuild the industry in the wake of damaging legislation. As you know, in an effort to remove value pressure from Real Estate Appraisers, the Dodd-Frank law affirmed a move made by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct to transfer most real estate appraisal ordering power from the hands of the 250,000+ Loan Officers in this...
A voice to this lone wolf profession “Voice of Appraisal” is a show designed to deliver the most up to date news and information for the working real estate valuation professional. The show provides top analysis of real estate trends and issues that affect appraisers nationwide. Our no-nonsense approach to appraisal, real estate, banking and politics creates a cutting edge program that provides an insight into the appraisal profession that is seldom heard. The past 25 years of appraisal organizations, affiliations, coalitions, and designations have left our industry splintered and broken. We have become a group too caught up in...
A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 2): Appraisal Independence Violated History is an important reminder to us all of what went wrong and what went right. When history is known we tend to skip the mistakes we made. We can either choose the right path for the wrong reason, the right path for the ‘right’ reasons and, we can take the wrong path in a similar manner. The MARKET needs to take the right path for the ‘right’ reasons. In years of late 1998 and 1999 several ideas were brought forth to a Forum filled with Individual Appraisers carrying...
A Journal Piece of Appraiser Independence (Part 1): Where Do We Go From Here? Buyer Beware! Where is the Value? (PART 1) In the years of 2007/2008, the ideologue of, “Appraiser Independence” had become popular for the real estate market’s economic agents and the processes it relies on to function properly. The idea gained respect, due to the perseverance of Real Estate Appraisers carrying out their Independence, during the decade of 2000-2010. The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) was introduced according to prevailing design and initiative: the advancement of a market in need for an inspired and renewed sense of...
