Tagged: Zillow

TAF Admits Current USPAP Is Inadequate & Requires Substantial Change 11

TAF / ASB Challenge USPAP

30 days after implementation of the last changes, ASB/TAF is already admitting they think the current USPAP is inadequate and requires substantial change. They’re ALREADY Doing It Again! On January 30, 2018 the Appraisal Standards Board announced the release of their Discussion Draft for the 2020-2021 USPAP based in part on a survey from 2017 & prior draft comments. I’m confused. Didn’t we just have the 2018-2019 become effective 30 days ago? Should all those that have not yet purchased 2018-2019 just save their money and wait for the significantly revised 2020-2021 revisions? Rely on word of mouth and online...

BPO Outsourced to India Replacing Appraisals 27

BPOs ‘Made in India’

$10 a pop ‘Made in India’ BPO… When saying you’re 'sari' just won’t do. The Blackstone Group is nothing short of legendary. To say it is a 'Big Deal' is an understatement squared. A little background from their website. “Who We Are Our investments are designed to preserve and grow our limited partners’ capital, provide financial security for millions of retirees, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional and individual investors, and contribute to overall economic growth.” An honorable & worthy objective by any measure. Helping retirees on fixed income, little old ladies, grandmothers and mothers, albeit wealthy ones I’d guess. Sovereign...

Special Report on Appraisal Technology Rebuttal - Hey! BIG Data, Leverage This! 13

Hey BIG Data, Leverage This!

The image above is not a part of the Appraisal Technology Special Report “Across the street from a house are two vacant lots. Zillow thinks one of them is worth $16K and the other one’s worth $169K. You can see them on the aerial view here.” I was recently asked by professional peers if I would read and comment on a Special Report published by ValuationReview, with the introduction penned by Mike Holzheimer, Editor. This Special Report may be downloaded here. Let’s be clear up front. I was not asked because of my proficiency with grammar, punctuation or even my...

HouseCanary, Another High Powered AVM Affecting Appraisers 21

CU Not the Only AVM Affecting Appraisers

Assignments Funneled Back Through HouseCanary & Your Data Appraisers, CU from the GSE’s was thrust on appraisers in 2011. Since then, the giant sink hole designed by the ‘enterprises’ has gobbled up millions of home data elements. And in some cases, this data has been used AGAINST appraisers – who have no direct access to it, even though ‘we’ are the ones supplying the data. But they are not the only entity doing this.  A company named ‘HouseCanary’ has also been amassing more millions of data points about US properties. During 2017, HouseCanary has had $64 MILLION dollars of investor funding...

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What Can You Do When AMC Does Not Pay?

What happens when an AMC does not pay or closes its doors & should funds collected for appraisals be kept in escrow? 54.1-2021.1 of the Code of Virginia requires AMCs to post a $100,000 bond or letter of credit. Appraisers may be able to file a claim against the bond or letter of credit and receive funds if they have not been paid. Directly from the statute: “§ 54.1-2021.1. Appraisal management companies; license required; posting of bond or letter of credit. In addition to the filing fee, each applicant for licensure shall post either a bond or a letter of credit...

Appraisal Report Going Public: Appraisals Posted on the Internet or MLS 11

Appraisal Report in MLS Listings

Your Appraisal Report Attached to a MLS Listing…. Private prelisting appraisals are a good revenue stream for many appraisers. Do your clients understand the intended use and intended users? Do you, the appraiser, understand the intended use and the intended users? We often get complacent and assume everyone understands, and then the unthinkable happens; you find your appraisal report attached to a MLS listing or worse, attached as a photo on Zillow. Yes, this actually is happening! On recent MLS listings, the following statements were found: “Offers accepted until… Owner reserves the right to accept or reject any/all offers –...

Fake Foreclosures Listed on Zillow - StopZillow - AppraisersBlogs 14

Zillow Fake Floreclosures

Zillow Lists "Fake Foreclosures"… We have all heard the term "Fake News" by now… We now have "Fake Foreclosures" According to a local TV station in the Grand Rapids Michigan area, Zillow is falsely posting homes were foreclosed on, when they were not. Are these posting an honest mistake? Or are they a planned maneuver to overtake the Real Estate Industry. Regardless of the answer, the owners of the property have been harmed and Zillow should be held accountable. See the story here or watch Target 8 investigation below. In Virginia, foreclosure and title transfers are public record. This information is available...

Zillow, The First "Agent Management Company" (AMC) for the Real Estate Agent 16

The First AMC for Agents

Zillow, The First "Agent Management Company" (AMC) for the Real Estate Agent Brokers and Agents, welcome to the appraisal world. Zillow is the first "Agent Management Company" (AMC) for your side of the Real Estate Industry. Yes you read that correctly. Zillow’s actions have many similarities to Appraisal Management Companies, so it is fair to say, they are the first "Agent Management Company" “Zillow is hurting the people you are licensed to protect” Doesn’t that sound very familiar to what appraisers have been saying about Appraisal Management Companies?  On the website www.stopzillow.com, Greg Hague, a Real Estate Attorney, Broker and...

Technology Forced Upon Appraisers Is About Money in AMC Pockets 37

Enough Already, Nobody is Listening

AMC technology is not about efficiency of the appraisal process… I am very tired of reading all the articles from appraisal management companies stating appraisers need to embrace new technologies and tools. Please stop telling me how to do my job! For the record, appraisers are professionally trained and licensed individuals. We use technology each and every day. We use analytical tools each and every day. Our most power tool, our brains, tells us most of these new technologies and analytical tools are pure garbage; not because the programs are flawed, but they do not have enough accurate data to...

Zillow Gone Wild 21

Zillow Gone Wild

Some very interesting news is surrounding Zillow… A lawsuit over Zestimates has now gone to a class action status. This will have rippling effects on each and every state and expand the liability to not only licensing, but privacy and consumer fraud. Read about this change here. Excerpt from the article titled “Class-action suit aims to halt Zestimates in Illinois”: “The Zestimates that Zillow posts are misleading and pose as accurate appraisals in violation of Illinois’ legal description of an appraisal, according to the complaint filed by three members of the Patel family and Schaumburg-based CastleBldrs.com. They claim homebuyers read...

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