Tagged: valuation

January 2, 2019

First Impressions of Clear Capital’s AVM

An Appraiser’s First Impressions of Clear Capital’s AVM… It’s no secret the lending industry is aggressively pursuing alternatives to traditional appraisals. While most participants in the industry will concede an appraisal is still the gold standard for collateral valuation, they increasingly see the appraisal as something to be steered around or avoided altogether. An array of products/alternatives are being bandied in lieu of a traditional appraisal: Hybrids, Evaluations, BPOs (broker price opinions), Desktop Appraisals, and outright Appraisal Waivers. The industry is also turning its attention more and more to AVMs (automated valuation models). AVMs have been around for nearly three...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Trending

December 14, 2018

Closed for Business, Sorry Folks!

For those who are not familiar with what an AMC is, it is short for Appraisal Management Company. They are not new, but since the adoption of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the number and the frequency of their use have increased. They are the order manager for the lender and ensure appraiser independence. If you have not already read “What’s Not in Your Wallet” or “Round and Round!”, go get a little more familiar before reading this. AMCs manage appraisal orders. They find the appraisers to give the orders to, and are supposed to provide quality control reviews...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / AppraiserLoft / Appraisers News

Comments Needed for Proposed Rule to Amend Appraisal Requirements

December 10, 2018

Comments Needed on Appraisal Requirement

The OCC, Board, and FDIC (collectively, the agencies) are inviting comment on a proposed rule to amend the agencies’ regulations requiring appraisals for certain real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold level at or below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate-related transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Consistent with the requirement for other transactions that fall below applicable thresholds, regulated institutions would be required to obtain an evaluation of the real property collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The proposed rule would make conforming changes to add transactions secured by...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / FDIC / Political Action

December 7, 2018

What is Truth or Accuracy for Appraisers?

Are we supposed to be paid truth-seekers? The appraiser is supposed to be accurate. What is “accurate”? Dictionary meanings say accuracy is “the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact.” Tell the truth. Can it be? Hmmm. A search for truth. OK. So how do we come to know the truth? Are we supposed to be paid truth-seekers? Cool. I read that there are four ways to “know” truth: Tradition, Authority, Insistence, and Science. Wow! Let’s look at these briefly. This sounds serious! Let’s look at USPAP and The Appraisal of Real Estate. Appraisers have long been steeped in the...

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

The Erosion of Bank Underwriting Standards. Let's Get Rid of Appraisers.

November 30, 2018

Let’s Get Rid of Appraisers. What Could Go Wrong?

Why would regulators fundamentally weaken bank underwriting standards? Appraisers Warned The World In The Late 1990s And No One Listened. It Is Now Time To Listen Again as History is About to Repeat Itself. There’s a proposal from the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and Treasury Department not to require appraisals for some mortgages under $400,000. The Trump Administration wants to disrupt the role of appraisers, but that’s not a good idea. This change can impact several groups in particular: 1) Consumers: Removing appraisers from transactions can mean a lot of loans get made that shouldn’t be made. Does that sound familiar? We...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Automated Valuation Models / AVM / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac

November 23, 2018

Proposal to End Appraisal Requirement

Regulators’ Proposal to End Appraisal Requirement on Some Home Sales of $400,000 and Below… The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve released a proposal that would increase the appraisal requirement from $250,000 to $400,000, meaning that certain home sales of $400,000 and below would no longer require an appraisal. According to data provided by the FDIC, the agencies estimate that increasing the appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $400,000 would have exempted an additional 214,000 residential mortgages at regulated institutions from the agencies’ appraisal requirement in...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / FDIC / ICAP

November 20, 2018

Is It Possible to “Prove” an Adjustment?

We read articles and advertisements on how to prove an adjustment. Is this possible? How wonderful it would be. To prove an adjustment, just push a button and bam! Out comes the correct answer. How could we have we missed this? …prove an adjustment, just push a button…Of course, if such a simplistic and exact answer was possible – anyone could push that button. An AVM run, a BPO agent, an “evaluator”, or anyone else. Who needs all that USPAP competence and integrity stuff? Even a lender-appointed hybridized “field inspector” could just push the button. The whole process could even skip working with the licensed appraiser completely!...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / AQB / Automated Valuation Models / AVM

November 7, 2018

Appraisers Tell Their Stories at AppraiserFest

The entire presentation was filmed and many appraisers were interviewed to tell their stories… Wow…That About Sums it Up! The first ever AppraiserFest has come and gone. Elliot Eisenberg, Bill Black, Jonathan Miller, Ryan Lundquist, and Maureen Sweeney all on one stage; it does not get better than that! This will be a tough act to follow. VaCAP was represented by three Executive Board members and several other members. There were several others from Virginia as well. From as far as Alaska, appraisers came to listen, learn and participate. The central theme of the conference was appraisers; specifically why you...

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

October 27, 2018

Human Real Estate Appraisers Unnecessary?

“Real estate appraisers will not exist in the future.” – Reasons Behind Matt Rider’s Projection and Why He’s Wrong Technology in real estate is advancing to a point where any user can “pull up a property’s data together” and create an appraisal. This is the main point raised by Franklin American Mortgage’s Chief Information Officer Matt Rider in his interview with National Mortgage News. He claimed that as a result, real estate appraisers wouldn’t exist in the future. See interview here. Rider’s projection seems to be based on society’s increasing dependence on Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI). According to...

AI / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News

Using SmartExchange? You May Have Violated State Law & USPAP

October 24, 2018

The Possibly Just Became Reality!

Using SmartExchange? You May Have Violated State Law & USPAP I will not drag this out. I will simply be direct and to the point. IF YOU OPTED IN TO ALAMODE’S SMART EXCHANGE, YOU MAY HAVE JUST VIOLATED STATE LAW AND USPAP ON EVERY APPRAISAL YOU HAVE EVER COMPLETED. Let me repeat that so it sinks in a bit… If you opted in to alamode’s Smart Exchange, you may have violated State Law and USPAP on every appraisal you have ever completed. Now that it has sunk in, let me explain. Each state statute may define an appraisal differently. Some...

a la mode / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News