Tagged: Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

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Appraising Where It is Warmer

I found that there are not really any appraisal laws… There was a point when I was seriously considering the possibility of moving to Belize. I live in a cold climate so the prospect of living in a warmer area for at least part of the year appeals strongly to me. However, after visiting Belize, I quickly realized that – while I love the country – I personally do not want to live there – mainly because their cost of living is higher than I had been told. That being said, while there, I did quite a bit of research...

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...

Loan Officer' Letter Instructing Borrower to Push Appraiser for Value 38

A Little Push Can’t Hurt Right? Wrong!!

…forget the risky position foisted on the consumer by the loan officer… Well, here we go again. In my previous blog posts titled “Round and Round” and “Pressure My Story”, I spoke to examples of how lenders and/or AMCs have been pushing and pressuring appraisers to hit certain values on transactions. If an appraiser did not hit these numbers, or make changes to make the transaction work in the lender’s favor, the appraiser would be threatened with non-payment, removal from appraiser panels, and/or blacklisted. If you haven’t read those blog posts, feel free to go back and have a look....

Another Huckster Enters the Appraisal Arena 20

Another Huckster Enters the Appraisal Arena

Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. It’s that time again! Yet another third party huckster has entered into the real estate appraiser and appraisal arena. Apparently motivated by pure altruism. We identified a need in the marketplace to address a common problem that lenders are regularly challenged with in providing accurate appraisal quotes and then ensuring pricing on the Loan Estimate is consistent and compliant,” stated Vladimir Bien-Aime, president and CEO at Global DMS. (I LOVE this guy, he writes like me!) Global DMS Launches SnapVal to Provide Instant, Accurate, Guaranteed...

USPAP Everyday Violation... Are You Violating USPAP Every Day? 15

Are You Violating USPAP Every Day?

Are you in “violation” of USPAP? If you pick comps the old way, you may be violating USPAP every day! The old way of selecting data worked well for the old days. Gather seven or eight that look good, go look at them, make a couple of phone calls, and pick four or five for your report. That was the way I was trained. That was the way the Appraisal Institute courses taught me. When I took the AI demo report course, three words were drilled into me: Explain, Justify, and Support. Then I took the required USPAP course. (Back then it still belonged...

The Truth is Hybrid Hucksters Don't Hire Professionals! 8

The Truth is They Don’t Hire Professionals!

Hybrid hucksters always argue “Why can’t trained professionals like brokers or insurance inspectors” perform the appraiser’s field inspection. The answer is because ‘trained professionals’ like those noted don’t work for $25 an inspection; are unwilling to give up their day jobs for a chance at a single $25 inspection one or two days a week, AND if they are truly trained professionals, to begin with, they are unwilling to work for part-time income of $0 to $25 a day in vain hope of having a periodic 8 or 16 inspection day (assumes all 16 are side by side since there’d...

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...

How Does ADA Affect Appraisers? Being an Appraiser With a Disability 9

Being an Appraiser With a Disability

Here are some thoughts on something I know nothing about, but want to get some answers. How does the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) affect real estate appraisers? This act exists to help those with disabilities to have the same advantages of those who do not (at least as much as possible). At the time it first past, there was grumbling from those who had to spend the money to retrofit their buildings into compliance. There were cheers from those who before could not access buildings, elevators, stairwells who now could. My opinion is that the benefits outweighed the costs...

Another Draft to a USPAP Draft! Everyone Should be on Their Toes... 13

Another Draft to a USPAP Draft!

Well, don’t toss your reading bifocals in the wastebasket just yet. Apparently, there were so many negative issues with the THIRD exposure draft to the 2020-21 version of USPAP, that the ASB jettisoned it, and will move forward with a FOURTH draft. Everyone should be on their toes, ready to peruse this stellar document when it is released not long from now! Can’t we, please, establish a set of reliable and understandable procedures, and leave them in place for 5 years minimum? Please! Here’s the announcement issued on February 8, 2019, after the ASB meeting in Scottsdale, AZ: (From the Appraisal Foundation)...

Hybrids' Indicated Value & USPAP Coup de Grace, Better off at McDonalds 29

I’d Be Better off at McDonalds

…they provide no documentation as to how their algorithm produces this indicated value… I had to “jump in the pool” and see what these bifurcated appraisals are all about. The names have been withheld to protect the guilty. I recently completed a “bifurcated” report for one of the AMC’s providing this type of service. The form is to be completed on their site and they recently upgraded to the “new and improved” report on their portal as of January 1, 2019. The subject is sited in an urban location and while not an anomaly per se, does display features such...

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