Tagged: TAF

November 4, 2024

Is a Horde of Deadbeat Borrowers Again Walking Among Us?

There are signs of a new horde of deadbeat borrowers, but the foreclosure filings are being delayed and masked by the government itself. Some of the current deadbeat borrowers will learn to expertly work the system… In 2022, a San Ramon, California, couple who hadn’t made a mortgage payment since 2009 was finally evicted. Anita and Mahesh Khurana had put on a masterclass in the use of the courts to keep foreclosure at bay. The holdouts had lived in their home payment-free for 13 years. A state court finally ruled they had exhausted all appeals, and they were ejected. In...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

July 19, 2024

Key Part of USPAP Not Available from TAF

this is a colossal failure on their part – to have a key document on BACKORDER until a month from now, or longer! Appraisers, I have a print copy of the current USPAP, but need/want a PRINT copy of the AO/FAQ Reference Manual, which TAF decided to make into a separate document for this version at a cost of $75. I prefer the printed versions, rather than the PDF so I can read it and use a highlighter for key items. I went onto the TAF web site on July 17, 2024 to order the document, and found this: In...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / The Appraisal Foundation / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

July 15, 2024

Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process

The story of this single mother’s harrowing experience with a defective home purchase and HUD’s negligent oversight exposes deep flaws in the FHA appraisal and loan review process. After sacrificing for years to rebuild her credit and earn the right to become a homeowner, this borrower found her dream home in the country – or so she thought. During the home inspection, several issues were flagged. The seller, an investor who had purchased the home in an estate sale, was unaware of the septic system’s location. The seller agreed to have the tanks pumped so the location could be determined....

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / CFPB

April 4, 2024

Obscure Federal Official Has Hatched ‘Sick Chicken’ in Housing Sector

The case eventually found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it came to be known to the public as the “Sick Chicken Case” It was the Great Depression’s bleakest year – 1933. At President Roosevelt’s urging, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act, a New Deal bill that partially ceded lawmaking authority to private organizations and industry boards to develop codes of conduct that would then be enforced on citizens as binding law. The owners of poultry producer Schechter Poultry Corp. were indicted for violating the new private business code for the poultry industry. The chicken men lawyered...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / ASC

May 15, 2023

The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

AGA / AI / AMC / American Society of Appraisers / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute

May 10, 2023

The Scam of Racial Discrimination by Appraisers

More and more appraisers are retiring every day. Aside from that more and more are changing to lower liability careers. Eventually, the opportunists who have been promoting the scam of racial discrimination by appraisers such as career politicians, and ‘anti-discrimination’ software hucksters like Black Knight will be shown to be what they truly are. Recently, a highly respected appraiser who is also a senior designated member of a well-known national professional peer association, wrote an article about a new proposed law in New York ostensibly targeting New York appraisers. Mr. Bagott’s article had an unusual amount of hyperbole within it...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

March 22, 2023

How U.S. Home Valuations Are Being Subverted

At the crossroads of it all is a campaign to weaken or eliminate valuations… The nonprofit is now exploring ways it can set standards for automated valuations… Expect greater distortions from Freddie and Fannie’s plodding and committee-driven foray into automated valuations. Sometimes when the hair on the back of your neck stands up, there’s a reason for it. The nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market has been nationalized. This coup occurred in broad daylight and gradually. With Freddie and Fannie now in their second decade in federal conservatorship, the prospect that they will ever again be subjected to the watchful eye...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / ASC

February 27, 2023

Look in the Mirror

The phrase “take a look in the mirror” is a common idiom used to encourage self-reflection and introspection. It is a powerful statement that can evoke a range of emotions and reactions from individuals, from contemplation to defensiveness. At its core, the phrase is a call to examine oneself honestly and objectively. It asks us to step back from our assumptions, biases, and preconceptions and consider our behavior, choices, and beliefs in a critical light. When we take a look in the mirror, we are forced to confront our flaws and shortcomings, but also to recognize our strengths and achievements....

AI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

February 17, 2023

Confusing Language for USPAP Ethics Rule Addition

A proposed update of professional guidelines for property appraisals contains confusing language about what constitutes discrimination, and would even suggest appraisers could engage in “ethical” discrimination. Folks, the following article is in the ABA Banking Journal e-newsletter, posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. I’m really glad this has been released. Hopefully the Appraisal Standards Board will closely examine the concerns of the regulators. I read the USPAP 4th Exposure Draft. It contains so much new Ethics Rule “legaleze” language about conduct that it is, and can be, overwhelmingly confusing to a majority of appraisers. It’s written by lawyers in such...

Appraisal / Appraisal Organizations / ASB / The Appraisal Foundation / The Appraisal Standards Board / Trending

February 16, 2023

Two Cheers for an ‘Evolved’ Beltway Entrepreneur… David Bunton

We come not to bury David Bunton, the public figure, but to praise David Bunton, the evolved Beltway organism. Who is David Bunton? Bunton has made a small fortune and canvassed the world at the helm of a 16-employee Washington, D.C., nonprofit that publishes a copyrighted code of conduct. The code gives his tiny fiefdom a big say in how collateral in the nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market is valued. He is a figure with outsized power in an immense market. His day-to-day funding source? For 30 years, his nonprofit, known as the Appraisal Foundation, has sold copies of its...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / The Appraisal Foundation