Tagged: ROV

Can We Stop Taking Comp Photos 65

Can We Stop Taking Comp Photos?

I personally do not think that appraisers should be required to take comp photos… First, before the hate mail starts rolling in, let me assure you that I understand the requirements surrounding comparable photos, and I do take them as an appraiser. I am not here to debate what the policies are, but I am here to question if those policies should be in place. I personally do not think that appraisers should be required to take comp photos. Modern technology has provided appraisers with a way to know as much about a property from the comfort of their own...

Bifurcated Appraisal Fans Can Claim SOW Till They're Blue in the Face 50

Hybrids vs USPAP Scope of Work Rule

Supporters of the bifurcated appraisal can claim scope of work till they are blue in the face… Appraisal Buzz published an article written by Joshua Walit on July 31, 2019 titled Nothing New Under the Sun: The Varied Face of Appraisal. The article brings up some good points, however; it does not take into account the reality of the market and the control of the lenders and appraisal management companies in the process. The mere fact that the appraiser does not have control over the person completing the inspection and in most cases, no way to even know who is providing the...

Is Race Baked into Big Data? Who's Regulating Big Data When It Errs? 18

Is Race Baked into Big Data?

Chicago appraiser and friend (even though she calls me “fancy pants”) writes a stellar explanation of what an appraiser actual does – and what one of the panel experts got completely wrong because he didn’t understand our role in the mortgage process: Greetings Congresswoman Waters, Chairman Clay, Ranking Member Duffy, Ranking Member Gooden, and the Members of the Housing Subcommittee: My name is Maureen Sweeney, and I am a real estate appraiser. I grew up in a real estate family and lived through the savings and loan crisis of the 1980’s, which had a profound impact on my life. I...

Will the Cost Approach be Required in the Redesigned UAD Forms? 50

Returning to Requiring the Cost Approach

…the Cost Approach is the most INACCURATE of the three current ‘Approaches’ we use… Appraisers, for the past few weeks, emails have been sent by a third party asking appraisers to complete a survey about the appraisal process and the current forms. I did so; you should also. But I wanted to expand on one aspect of the survey. Two separate questions, on different survey pages, related to the Cost Approach (CA). These questions wanted appraisers to state their opinion about 1) if the forms provide adequate detail to develop a CA, and 2) if it is or is not...

REVAA Doesn't Like New NY AMC Law 50

REVAA No Fan of the New NY AMC Law

The NY State Coalition of Appraisers wants you to to know that there is a new AMC law coming into effect at the end of the month and REVAA doesn’t like it. Last December New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Senate Bill S9080 into law, effective at the end of this month. REVAA‘s biggest concern is that it requires all valuations to be performed by appraisers AND invoices must be attached to the report so the consumer knows what the appraiser was paid. This is groundbreaking for our industry. Let’s hope that the word spreads and the consumer is...

Beware of Appraisers Point Solicitations 65

Beware of Appraisers Point Solicitations

Appraisers, a new ‘company’ with “Appraisers Point” in their name has been marketing their services via emails across the fruited plain lately, encouraging appraisers to sign up on their web site and pay an annual fee so that ‘you’ can get on a list to be presented to, or accessed by, unnamed lenders, who might, or might not, want your service. They have a very slick looking web site that makes them look legit. Appraisers Point has no location shown on their website, so in reality, it could be anywhere in the world. The email messages show a location in...

We the Owners Are the Only Ones that Can Fix Low Appraisal Fees 59

Customary and Reasonable Fees?

…appraisal firm owners roll up your sleeves & hold the line on fees… I have been the owner of HF Appraisal Ltd since 1993 and I have sat on the sidelines in regards to Customary and Reasonable appraisal fees. I can no longer stand by and read nor hear about this issue. It is amazing to me that over the past five to ten years our fees have remained the same and in some cases are lower than they were 10 years ago. The more that I read about this and talk to appraisers across the country in classes and...

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...

Let Appraisers Train their Own Inspector Personnel for Desktop Appraisals 64

Let Appraisers Train Their Own Inspectors

If we are to make a third party inspector liable for the data they provide… FNMA’s recent newsletter states that a third party inspector should be hired to deliver photos, sketches, etc about a property to them. After their review, if they believe an appraisal is needed then they can forward that information to the appraiser and a desktop can be performed with ease and accuracy. In their words, this is no different than an appraiser relying upon other forms of data in the report such as public records, MLS, etc. I really do appreciate the perspective of some who...

Mueller Sample Bifurcated Appraisals. YOU Decide! - AppraisersBlogs 48

Mueller Sample Report. You Decide!

A recruiter for Mueller Services, Inc. (Mueller Reports) contacted a VaCAP member about joining their team as a W-2 employee to complete bifurcated appraisals. Our member communicated with them and received samples of their product.  During the course of the communication, the recruiter mentioned, via email: In the past 30 days, we have had 23 cases in Virginia as a whole and expect that number only to increase. A quick check on the Department of Professional Occupational Regulations (DPOR) website revealed Mueller Services, Inc. is not registered as an appraisal firm. In fact they are not registered at all. In Virginia, to operate an...

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