Tagged: The Appraisal Foundation

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

Appraiser Countersuing Black Homeowners for Defamation

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January 30, 2023

Appraiser Countersuing Black Homeowners for Defamation

The Maryland appraiser has filed a countersuit against the homeowners, claiming defamation. Appraisers, there have been several lawsuits filed against appraisers by borrowers who “don’t like your value, so I’m accusing you of discrimination” over the last year or so. These lawsuits all have the same theme, and it’s entirely possible that these actions are being coordinated by a consortium of ‘organizers’ and law firms. The plaintiff representing firm for the Baltimore suit is the same law firm The Appraisal Foundation hired to write new USPAP language for the Ethics Rule, which potentially will be approved in just a few...

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

January 4, 2023

Bias and Discrimination in Reports, Yes or No?

Appraisers, should we include discussion of B&D in our reports? Wait, What?? Bondage and Discipline? No, not that. Bias and Discrimination. Yes, it must be addressed very clearly. Now, before you blow a cork or throw your mouse at the computer screen, let’s examine what’s really been impacting ‘us’ for the past 4 plus years. One of our peers, who’s become somewhat famous for the way articles are written about appraisal and other topics, had a recent article ‘rebroadcasted’ in AppraisersBlogs, FTX Bought Government’s Silence; Did Fintechs Buy Attacks on Appraisers? A statement in that article exposes some of what has...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee

September 20, 2022

What Is My Incentive?

Why would I bother taking on the added risk of an inconvenient process? Where is my incentive again? As an appraiser, I have to ask (seriously) why should I care if the profession has a shortage of skilled appraisers? Logic dictates that If there is a shortage, then I will remain busy. Even if waivers (another ruse to eliminate appraisal work) increase, I’ll be busier with fewer appraisers. Especially with so many of them “trained” under PAVE or PAREA programs. If there is an adequate supply of appraisers, then users of appraisals will continue to seek cheaper alternatives from them...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

September 15, 2022

Appraisal Foundation, Like Khloe Kardashian, Rattled Tin Cup for PPP Alms

Yet it applied for $270,706 in PPP relief intended to aid small businesses, such as the mom-and-pop appraisal shops coerced at the state level into participating in the foundation’s privately run regulatory regimen… Wearing a scoop-neck black catsuit from her brand’s High Shine Compression line, media personality Khloé Kardashian, whose net worth has been reported at $60 million, turned heads recently at Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila launch party in Malibu. What could this fashionista and socialite have in common with the Appraisal Foundation, an obscure publisher with a government franchise and guaranteed annual grants from a tiny captured federal agency?...

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

September 13, 2022

Grants to Help Train Appraisers

To establish grants directly to supervisor appraisers to help cover the training costs for each Trainee… Folks, this article appeared in American Banker on September 7, 2022. In my view, after reading it, the article appears to present a balanced perspective about what appraisers have been experiencing since the FIRREA law was mandated back in 1989. It also exposes problems with getting new people into the appraisal profession. If you have been paying attention to appraisal related activities over the years, you will recognize the names of people quoted in this American Banker article. One thing that has not been...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / The Appraisal Foundation

August 29, 2022

Baltimore Racial Bias Lawsuit

When reading over the Baltimore document, it appears painfully clear (to me) that there is a competency issue exposed. Folks, below is the Baltimore court paperwork for the latest appraiser bias suit that recently ‘hit the fan.’ This document is fairly specific, in that it reveals quite a lot about the two appraisals performed, including the home locations for the ‘comps’ used. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs are from the same Washington, D.C. firm that The Appraisal Foundation hired to examine USPAP. That firm was the one which has provided new ‘discrimination avoidance’ verbiage being considered in the USPAP Third...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

August 16, 2022

No End Date for Future Editions of USPAP

Future editions of USPAP will have an effective start date but no end date. Folks, on Thursday August 11, 2022, the ASB/TAF announced the extension of the current USPAP to the end of 2023. Assuming that a ‘new’ USPAP is formally approved in time, the next issue of USPAP will become effective January 1, 2024. But here’s the interesting wrinkle about this, which I admit I missed in their 8/11/22 announcement: “How long is the current version of USPAP effective? With this announcement, the 2020-21 USPAP will now have an effective date through December 31, 2023. This is an additional...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / AQB