Tagged: Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

Appraisal news for real estate appraisers and real estate professionals regarding the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. News relating to the Appraisal Industry.

Appraisal Regulation Compliance Council Exposes Disturbing AMC Violations 95

Appraisal Regulation Compliance Council Exposes Disturbing AMC Violations

The Appraisal Regulation Compliance Council published a detailed breakdown to the CFPB, which showed the median average AMC fee being charged to borrowers amounted to a staggering 65% of the total appraisal fee, with one AMC extracting as much as 84% in pure profit. The Appraisal Regulation Compliance Council (ARCC) is a crucial non-profit organization that specializes in providing fact-based research and expertise on the complex web of appraisal regulations and compliance issues. Driven by a non-partisan mission, ARCC has spent the last two years diligently collecting, vetting, and organizing comprehensive data on lender appraisals conducted by Appraisal Management Companies...

Reforming the Appraisal Review Process: The Illogical Reality of Mortgage Appraisal Reviews 27

The Illogical Reality of Mortgage Appraisal Reviews 

Reforming the appraisal review process is essential to maintaining the integrity of the real estate market and protecting consumers and homeowners.  In mortgage financing, the appraisal process is often seen as the foundation of accurate property valuation and market stability. However, beneath this façade of reliability lies a troubling rift: while real estate appraisers must navigate stringent licensing protocols and scrutiny, the individuals reviewing the appraisals often operate with minimal oversight, instead leaning heavily on automated systems and algorithms. This stark disparity not only undermines the credibility of the review process but also revives the threat of past missteps, once...

Obscure Federal Official Has Hatched ‘Sick Chicken’ in Housing Sector 18

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...

Is the GSEs "Appraisal Modernization" Really Just Mass Appraisal? 18

Is the GSE’s “Appraisal Modernization” Really Just Mass Appraisal?

Mass Appraisal tend to exhibit a regressive nature…  In the intricate landscape of real estate mortgage financing, the notion of appraisal waivers recently dubbed “Value Acceptance”, by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), has stirred considerable debate. The most recent statistics show Value Acceptance accounts for up to 40% of all mortgage approvals. It is presented as part of the GSEs “Appraisal Modernization” initiative, which aims to streamline the mortgage appraisal process. However, a closer examination reveals potential drawbacks, raising questions about its efficacy and impact on the housing market. Despite its roots in a methodology designed to support appraisers, Value...

It’s Just Responsible Journalism! 49

It’s Just Responsible Journalism!

Not reporting complete and accurate information is nothing more than irresponsible journalism!  The local television station WWBT, NBC 12 in the Richmond market is airing a story on Thursday February 22 during the 6 pm News Broadcast, about racial bias in real estate appraisals. We know this is not a new topic and previous stories that have aired have been extremely one sided and not from the appraiser’s perspective. VaCAP was not contacted for information, nor were any appraisers that we know. We have seen the negative impact this type of story has on our profession and we need your...

AMCs Billing Scheme, Hidden Profits & Deceptive Practices 82

AMCs Billing Scheme, Hidden Profits & Deceptive Practices

Appraisers who do not agree to their hidden billing methods are excluded from the majority of the GSE lending marketplace for appraisal orders.  Appraisal Management Companies (AMC’s) do not pass on cost savings for reduced appraisal services to consumers. Instead, they keep the savings for themselves without disclosing the amount to the consumer or the appraiser. What should have been cost savings for the consumer are pocketed by the AMC in secret. This is considered a junk fee or unearned fee billing scheme under current law. Appraisers who participate in this system are in violation of The Management Rule of...

How Many Fees Are Needed for One Appraisal Order 66

How Many Fees Are Needed for One Appraisal Order?

Being beaten up about a fee increase request, new higher technology fees, or losing out to an order in a ridiculous bidding war and learning the AMC made more money than the appraiser on an order, or even having an order cancelled because someone else offered to take less compensation, are only a few of the issues the appraisal industry is facing.  After reflecting on 2023, from the position as an appraiser, experiencing the changes in volume of orders, the compensation being offered to the appraiser, the amount of waivers being given so no appraisal was required, and the roll...

Reindeer Standards As Unenforceable As Appraisal Code 8

Reindeer Standards As Unenforceable As Appraisal Code

There’s a lot to like about the bylaws of the Association of World Reindeer Herders. The code defines how herders promote professional, commercial and cultural contact in all matters related to reindeer herding. The document sets the gold standard for disseminating information world over about reindeer husbandry. The bylaws were approved at the first Congress of World Reindeer Herders on March 2, 1997. If you don’t like the 1997 version of the bylaws, there’s a 2001 version, a 2009 version and a 2013 version. Are the group’s bylaws enforceable in the United States? No. As commendable and insightful as they...

Reality of Today's Appraisal Environment; Discriminatory Falsehood 10

Reality of Today’s Appraisal Environment

Proving discriminatory activity is hard, which is probably one reason HUD is dragging their collective feet in resolving the filed complaints.  The real scourge of what’s been happening to appraisers for the past 5 years (yes, it started prior to the last election) has been revealed by Mr. Isaac Peck, in this article. You really need to read it, perhaps again, if you saw it come through your email on Wednesday October 25. Isaac has allowed me to “re-broadcast” his article. Yes, it’s a ‘sales promotion’ but it contains critical information appraisers need to know about. The first paragraph, contained...

The New & Improved Fannie Mae FRAUDULATOR 2.0 42

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....

xml sitemap
blank