Tagged: USPAP

Hybrids, Invitation to Fraud - The New Subprime Fiasco of This Decade 6

Hybrid Appraisals, Invitation to Fraud

Until FNMA released their version of a test format for hybrids (1004P) there was not one hybrid form appraisal process and online form reporting system found that was not egregiously misleading in the entire country. Not one. Not Clarocity’s, nor Clear Capital’s or Mueller Inc. A “typical hybrid” sample follows. https://appraisersblogs.com/clearval-value-hybrid-appraisal Not those crafted in Hyderabad, Pakistan for $8 Billion for just one year’s Wall Street Investments (as published by Cezary Podkul Wall Street Journal) where the preparers claimed to be able to produce 360+ per day by illegally using broker login credentials from state-licensed brokers in America. The entire...

Bifurcated Appraisals, a Controversial Topic - Call to Action! 5

Bifurcated Appraisals, a Controversial Topic

As most of you know, hybrid or bifurcated appraisals are a very controversial topic currently. Virginia statutes and regulations have language which gives many of us pause on the compliance of hybrid appraisals as they are being presented in the industry. The Board has published a proposed guidance document in the hopes to clarify the language in our laws. Unfortunately, the proposed guidance document falls short of providing any meaningful guidance or clarification. Per Virginia statute, the document has been published on Virginia Legislative Town Hall for public comments. At the end of the comment period, it is our understanding...

Different Properties on the Same Form? Are you Appraising the Bulk... 11

Different Properties on the Same Form?

Are you appraising the retail values of 10 sites to 10 different owners? Are you appraising the bulk or discounted market value of the 10 sites to a single purchaser? Can the Same Form Have More Than One Property on it? Lots of folks have asked me, “Dustin, can I appraise two different properties on the same appraisal report at the same time?”. Now understand I am not a USPAP instructor, I am an appraiser, so I’m going to answer this question as best I can. The question before us is legitimate, and one which I had to answer recently....

Score Card, Turn Times, Undue Pressure & Appraisal Independence 16

Appraisal Independence

Most appraisers could care less about an amc score card… Professionals don’t treat other professionals like they are in grade school… What exactly is appraisal independence? Dodd Frank requires appraisal independence and associates it with pressure against the value of the property. But what about other areas of the appraisal process in which appraisers receive pressure? Let’s take turn times for example. Normal turn times in a steady market average 5-7 business days in most markets. Market activity, location, complexity, etc. will require longer turn times. First let’s define a business day. This is Monday through Friday and excludes Federal...

Protecting Appraisers Against Frivolous & Retaliatory 3rd Party Lawsuits 6

Frivolous & Retaliatory 3rd Party Lawsuits

Appraisers are routinely coerced & intimidated by third parties to violate their independence and integrity… Honorable Committee Members: We are writing to add our voice to that of the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers (MBREA is a State Coalition of professional real estate appraisers) in support of each of the above bills. The American Guild of Appraisers is a Guild within the Office Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) of the AFL-CIO, representing the appraisal and real estate related financial consumer / taxpayer interests of over twelve and a half million AFL-CIO Family Union & Guild Members; their families, retirees...

Unintended Users Phony Low Value Claims Against Innocent Appraisers 6

Phony Low-Value Complaints

ALL unintended users are specifically excluded from any right of reliance on this appraisal report… Recently, Mr. Steve Kahane, Board Member of the Association of Texas Appraisers (ATA) wrote a great article in WorkingRE. It included several suggestions for Texas to deal with it’s excessive number (70%-75%) of unfounded complaints against appraisers. An American Guild of Appraisers member in New Jersey who has twice faced this exact kind of complaint abuse reminded me of the article and concurred with its suggestions for his state. Fortunately for our member, New Jersey is not one of those relatively few ‘charge and win...

11

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...

xml sitemap
blank