Tagged: VA

Veterans Administration on Hybrid Appraisals - Protecting Veterans 8

Veterans Administration on Hybrid Appraisals

See the announcement by the Veterans Administration basically telling lenders and appraisal management companies we are going to protect our Veterans with sound appraisal practice. …the person providing property information to the appraiser must have entered into an agreement with the appraiser to do so. …the person who provides to the VA fee panel appraiser information must sign the appraisal report in the “Appraiser” section of the left side of the appraisal report. Assisted Appraisal Processing Program (AAPP) This section authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Secretary to issue guidance explaining the conditions under which VA permits VA fee...

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

Data and Verification Sources Are Critical 11

Data and Verification Sources Are Critical

The genesis for this essay began when I heard from another appraiser that a VA report reviewer rejected the comparables “DOC Number” on the Verification Source(s) line. The reviewer said the “DOC Number” was not acceptable as a Verification Source. In fact, VA has said in a newsletter to appraisers that “… Assessor’s File Number may never be used as a Verification Source.” I disagree with that position, and this essay explains why. It also explains what appraisers should do to provide credible Data and Verification Source(s) in reports. Caveat: I don’t do VA assignments. I decided that a deeper dive...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / The US Department of Veterans Affairs / UAD

Appraisal Fee Transparency Falls Short - Appraisal Complexity Ignored 9

Appraisal Fee Transparency Bill Falls Short

No system that continues to allow (or limit) defining appraisal complexity to the lender or AMC will ever achieve reasonable, or fair compensation for the appraiser…. We need to do much better than “half a loaf” in our appraisal legislative efforts. Especially when that half loaf does no more than enshrine continued price-fixing by lenders; with the support & blessing of REVAA… WorkingRE published news of recent House of Representatives action. The Bill addresses consumer disclosure of AMC fees among other issues. While the American Guild of Appraisers applauds the efforts of those that worked in good faith on this,...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

Is an Appraisal Report Considered Intellectual Property? - Appraisers Blogs 8

Are Reports Intellectual Property?

Recently one of my Mastermind students asked about Intellectual Property. He told me that he’d had an associate leave his firm to go solo. Later, he was reading one of his former-associate’s reports and found the now-independent associate’s reports looked a lot like his in format, and even language. My student asked me if this was wrong. Well, I’m not a lawyer, but there are some sound issues to consider here. If you write something, if you are its author, it is your intellectual property. You can either trademark it (like a logo), or copyright it (like a novel). We...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice / USPAP

Game Over ServiceLink - AMCs Appraisal Schedule Fees Made Public! 61

Game Over ServiceLink

Now that ServiceLink fee schedule, indicating fees paid to appraisers and fees charged to the lenders, has been released to the public, there is absolutely no reason for in camera review… We are sure you have heard the old saying what goes around comes around, right. Well, here we are again; The FTC vs Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board case has been brought back into the spot-light. As you may recall, the LREAB filed a civil case against the FTC in attempt to stop the case against them. That case was denied due to lack of jurisdiction. Then the LREAB...

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

Time Saving Shortcuts Undermines Our Profession. Skip the Comp Photos 53

Skipping Comp Photos, Suicidal Shortcuts

I refuse to undermine my own profession by pretending that time saving shortcuts are always acceptable just because they are ‘more modern and progressive’. I know how long it takes to produce USPAP compliant, credible appraisal results. I charge accordingly for my time. I make no effort to compete on fees with half assed hybrids, evaluations, or single approach partially performed field work. Respectfully, neither should anyone else. Please stop undermining our own profession…. Recently The Appraiser Coach posted an article and links to a podcast suggesting its no longer necessary to photograph our comparable sales. I wrote a counter...

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

Failure to Inspect & Photograph Comps Backfires on Appraisers 52

Appraisers, did you Shoot yourself in the Foot?

When I explain the rules many of the appraisers start complaining: “An MLS photograph depicts the house at the time it sold so it’s more accurate than my photograph would be”… There’s a lot of yelling and screaming about bifurcated appraisals. Unfortunately, appraisers may have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to this issue. Allow me to provide an analogy to help explain the issue. I’m not sure if this happens in other areas of the country but in Seattle there is a strange “left leaning” way they do things: State and Federal governments perform numerous traffic studies, to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter / CU / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Can We Stop Taking Comp Photos 65

Can We Stop Taking Comp Photos?

I personally do not think that appraisers should be required to take comp photos… First, before the hate mail starts rolling in, let me assure you that I understand the requirements surrounding comparable photos, and I do take them as an appraiser. I am not here to debate what the policies are, but I am here to question if those policies should be in place. I personally do not think that appraisers should be required to take comp photos. Modern technology has provided appraisers with a way to know as much about a property from the comfort of their own...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

The Raising of the De Minimus and Its Impact on the Appraisal Industry 11

De Minimus Impact on the Appraisal Industry

THREE changes to the de minimus have been experienced, with very little negative impact to appraising as a whole… Folks, anytime there is a major change proposed or activated within the appraisal profession, many appraisers go into hyperventilation mode. The action taken on August 20, 2019, by the FDIC to raise the de minimus LOAN VALUE from $250,000 to $400,000 has had such an effect among many, but it may not be as dire as anticipated. An appraiser sent this 2018 HousingWire article to me earlier today: Within the body of the article, this is stated, which is taken from...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / FDIC / Federal Housing Administration

Appraisers Should Never Do Evaluations - Appraisers Blogs 15

Appraisers Should Never Do Evaluations

…users of evaluations knew & accepted that if they obtained evaluations in lieu of real appraisals that they were getting meaningless value opinions by unqualified personnel… TALCB will be considering the Board’s position regarding appraisers performing evaluations in compliance with USPAP at the next Board meeting on August 23, 2019 Dear Texas Appraisers Licensing & Certification Board Members: The short and sweet version is that appraisers should never, repeat never do ‘evaluations’. The term itself should never be uttered as if it refers to any legitimate appraisal product that meets the USPAP requirements of a real estate appraisal. When FIRREA...

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations

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