Tagged: VA

August 25, 2015

TRID Impact on Appraisal Fees

Appraisers, The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has mandated new residential mortgage application and disclosure procedures, which take effect Oct. 3, 2015. Here’s a link to a brief article about this. When a consumer applies to a mortgage lender, the lender requests certain information from the consumer before the clock starts ticking in terms of ‘timing requirements’ on the consumer’s application. When the application is considered “complete”, the lender has 3 business days to provide the consumer with the Loan Estimate document. What’s of concern among lenders and appraisers is the speculated inability to change appraisal fees, which is disclosed...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / CFPB

April 16, 2015

Thank You Wall Street for Killing off my Hallmark Moments

Thank you Wall Street, your mothers must be very proud of you! I’m not sure when it happened, but sometime in my lifetime the family home stopped being where you chose to live to raise your family and put down roots and became an investment asset. It seems this transformation began when investment bankers on Wall Street first realized residential mortgage lending represented a potential source of huge profits. Prior to the Great Depression, a typical mortgage loan was for 50% of the cost of a home, was interest only, was for 5 years with a balloon payment due at...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / E&O / Errors & Omissions / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

Fannie Mae Claims the CU Process Will Improve Appraisals

January 5, 2015

CU Process Will Improve Appraisals? A Pipedream or Reality?

Fannie Mae Claims the CU Process Will “Improve Appraisals.” A Pipedream or Reality? Appraisers, A few days ago, I watched the FNMA eLearning webinar “Introduction to CU” video showing how their new Collateral Underwriter will be implemented, starting on Jan. 26, 2015, applying to 1004 and 1073 Reports (initially). You really should watch this also! CU applies to FANNIE MAE only; FreddieMac, VA, FHA, USDA are not involved at this time. Click this link, and you’ll find the link to the video ½ way down on the left. I captured a few screen shots of their presentation to help explain...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News

December 4, 2014

What’s Going on With Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter?

The recent announcement that Fannie Mae will expose its sellers to the Collateral Underwriter™ (CU™) appraisal review tool has appraisers wondering if the process will affect their current and future appraisals and even present problems for past appraisals. Well, from the appraiser perspective, the short answer is you probably won’t notice much difference when this change takes place in January 2015. Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter appraisal review process is not a new concept. This is the same tool that Fannie Mae has been using internally to review appraisals submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®). Receiving the appraisals as...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Quality Monitoring / Appraisers News / AQM / Collateral Underwriter

May 9, 2014

VA Appraisals Must be in MISMO XML

VA Announces Electronic Appraisal Requirements: Appraisals must be in MISMO XML Effective June 1, 2014, all Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) appraisals will be processed in WebLGY under the VA Appraisal Management System (AMS). Therefore, beginning June 1, 2014, all VA appraisals must be uploaded in WebLGY in Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) compliant XML 2.6 GSE file format as VA will no longer accept appraisals uploaded in WebLGY in PDF format. Prior to June 1, 2014, VA appraisals must continue to be uploaded in WebLGY in PDF file format. Historically, VA appraisal form/formats conformed to appraisal industry form/format...

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

How should you handle an angry borrower at a re-inspection

October 3, 2013

How to Handle an Angry Borrower at a Re-inspection

Angry borrower… please don’t shoot! We’ve all been there. We do an appraisal inspection and find health and safety issues that must be mentioned in the appraisal. A few weeks later, we receive an engagement letter requesting a re-inspection. The appointment is set and the borrowers confirm that all repairs have been made to a satisfactory level. The appointed time arrives and you drive to the property in question. Before you even get out of your vehicle, you can tell that the health and safety issues have been minimally addressed but certainly not to the level that would allow for...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Federal Housing Administration / FHA / The US Department of Veterans Affairs

July 1, 2013

The Veterans Administration – A Model for All AMCs

AMC should learn from the way the Veterans Administration treats their appraisers Let us begin with the obvious – the Veterans Administration (VA) is not an Appraisal Management Company (AMC). They are a non-profit, government entity that works under different rules, so making a direct comparison between the two is not entirely fair. However, there are some things I think every AMC should learn from the way the Veterans Adminstration treats their appraisers. Personally, I have been trying to get on the VA’s appraisal panel for over 6 years. They are a tough nut to crack. After much persistence, however,...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / The US Department of Veterans Affairs

October 13, 2011

UAD Reader to Manage XML Appraisal Files

Free UAD Reader to Manage XML Appraisal Files UAD (Uniform Appraisal Dataset) is the appraisal format designed and required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and adopted by FHA and VA. All GSE-destined appraisals as of September 1st, 2011 must be in strict UAD format. FHA and VA have announced they will both require UAD after January 1st, 2012. How do you open and read an appraisal file in the newly required “UAD” MISMO 2.6 XML format? a la mode UAD Reader is a free tool that lets anyone work with any appraisal in the new UAD MISMO 2.6 XML...

a la mode / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

September 30, 2011

VA Adopts Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD)

Fee Appraisers are reminded that completion of the data fields of the appraisal report does not relieve them of the duty to provide adequate explanations in the addendum to provide clarity and justification. Veterans Benefits Administration Department of Veterans Affairs Circular 26-11-14 September 26, 2011 UNIFORM APPRAISAL DATASET (UAD) Purpose. The purpose of this circular is to announce the adoption of Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) compliant appraisal reports for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Loan Guaranty Program purposes. Effective Date. Effective immediately, VA fee appraisers may, as an option, use UAD compliant versions of the forms. Effective January 1, 2012,...

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

September 12, 2011

VA Will Not Require UAD Compliance

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will not require Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) compliance for appraisal reports on VA backed loans. As of September 1, 2011, VA will accept, but not require, UAD compliant reports; it is preparing a circular with more information on this issue in the very near future which will be posted online.

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / The US Department of Veterans Affairs / UAD / Uniform Appraisal Dataset