Category: Trending

Beware of Spot Value Solicitations 28

Beware of Spot Value Solicitations

Many appraisers have gotten invitation letters in the mail from Spot Value to join their panel. The letter states that the appraiser was recommended by one of their clients and that their panel is by invitation only! They have a website which makes them look legit. Their address at 2601 Main St, Irvine, CA 92614 is to Century Centre building but they do not provide a suite number. The domain is registered to a Michael Miller who is also the CEO and sender of the invitation letters. We were unable to reach Michael Miller at 919-404-4889. Their greeting message is...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Number of CA Appraisers Drop 50% & Renewal Fees Up 76% 45

CA Appraisers 50% Decline & Fees Up 76%

The Number of CA appraisers drops from 20,120 to 9,987. Renewal fees up 76% for 2020. Excerpt: It’s time to assess and reflect on the numbers as the decade ends. It’s noteworthy that the total population of Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers (BREA) licensees has now fallen below 10,000 for the first time since the Bureau began keeping records. The numbers reflect some interesting trends. Licensee population counts vary daily as licenses are granted and others expire, so this data is a recent snapshot in time. Also, approximately 7% of licensees are trainees, 8% report out-of-state addresses, and some percent...

Snippets / Trending

Incorrect Comments in Multi-Family Appraisal Report 35

Incorrect Comments in Multi-Family Report

I have in my possession an appraisal for a DUPLEX (2 family residence) on a FNMA 1025/FrMac 72 form, commonly called the ‘1025 Form’ which was done by a Certified Residential Appraiser licensed for 8 yrs, 6 months. Items “observed” in the report: UAD rating numbers are used for Quality and Condition. 1025 forms are not UAD coded, so why are these used? Please don’t tell me “the client said so” because the client is incorrect, and may not be aware. Use the standard wording for those items, and provide a definition description of the standard wording you use. The Highest and...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac / Trending / UAD

Luxury Real Estate Appraising Designation? - Appraisers Blogs 22

Luxury Real Estate Appraiser Designation?

Back in the late 1970s, when comedian Steve Martin was at his standup peak, he appeared on Saturday Night Live in a routine whose theme was “How to have A Million Dollars And Never Pay Taxes.” Steve got right to the heart of the matter: “First, get a million dollars…” Appraisalbuzz provided a press release type piece on luxury real estate appraising, and I did a double-take wondering whether this was a parody. McKissock, a well respected online education company, now offers a designation for luxury real estate appraising, which I find quite silly. Here are the steps they shared...

Snippets / Trending

SFREP Doesn't Do Data Collection - Software by Appraisers for Appraisers 23

SFREP Does Not Collect Your Data

What Exactly Can SFREP Software Offer for Real Estate Appraisers? Are you working as efficiently as possible? In this day and age, appraisers need to be quick on their feet and utilize every tool under the sun to help streamline the process. That’s where SFREP comes in. This company is creating software designed to make the appraisal process digital while keeping it as fast, accurate, and straightforward as possible. But how exactly does SFREP work, and can it really make your job easier? For many real estate appraisers, the answer is a resounding yes. Software by Appraisers, for Appraisers SFREP...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Software / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News / Trending

Latest Bid Scam for Fee & Turn Time Quote via Mercury Network 26

Latest Bid Scam for Fee & Turn Time Quote

Lately, I and other appraisers who are ‘members’ of Mercury Network have been getting emails with what ‘looks like’ individual “bid requests” to quote fee and turn time for residential properties. I say ‘looks like’ because the email only has the singular appraiser’s email address showing. What’s actually been happening is the client is sending multiple emails to individual appraisers via Mercury Network. These emails always have an acceptance window of several hours, which is acceptable (unless 4 hrs or less). But they are not honoring the time frame window to present a bid, and withdraw the potential assignment, after...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Think It's Okay to Do Bifurcated Hybrids? Georgia Fines Hybrid Appraiser! 101

Georgia Fines Clear Value Hybrid Appraiser

So, do you think it’s ok to do bifurcated hybrids? On January 31, 2018, what appeared to be egregiously deficient Clear Capital “Clear Value” bifurcated hybrids were exposed in AppraisersBlogs. See What IS a “ClearVal Appraisal”? The properties were in Georgia. The appraisals were performed on a desktop basis by an appraiser in Indiana. Total fee was $250. Out of that $250, AMC Fee was $225, and the Indiana desktop appraiser was paid $25.00. Keep that fee in mind as you read through the attachments. Two complaints were filed by AGA™. One with the State of Indiana, and one with...

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

Request Changes by AMC Reviewers & Withholding Appraisers Payment 21

AMC Reviews of Appraisals

Only the lender’s Underwriter should be able to request changes to the report and the lender should be the one that pays the appraiser… An appraiser associate was having a discussion with one of the head review appraisers at HUD and the reviewer noticed that the Plat Map in the report did not correspond with the site size reported in the URAR form 1004. The appraiser stated that the public record and the Plat map did not agree with each other and that he chose the figure shown in public records. The reviewer questioned why he would choose the public...

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

Hard Fixed Appraisal Fee in TRID - Possible Changes by CFPB 19

TRID – Possible Changes by CFPB

For appraisers and lenders, a key sticking point is the ‘appraisal fee’ has been hard-fixed, quoted up front, and difficult to change, at the time the assignment is given to the appraiser… Appraisers / Lenders, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) has opened a comment period soliciting written comments on the current TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) process applying to consumer mortgage loans. Comments can be submitted to the following addresses, until Jan. 21, 2020. You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2019-0055, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments....

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

NAR Adopted a Policy on Bifurcated Appraisal Products - Appraisers Blogs 37

Bifurcation Policy Adopted

By no means are we promoting bifurcated appraisal products… “Credible valuations of real property are critical to the health of the overall real estate industry; therefore the practice of bifurcated/hybrid appraisals must be regulated” There has been lots of talk over the past few weeks about bifurcated appraisal products. First came the announcement form Working RE Magazine they were conducting a survey on bifurcated appraisal products. VaCAP recommends every appraiser complete the survey if you have not done so already. Next came rumors that Mark Calabria, Director of FHFA stopped all pilot programs which included bifurcated appraisals and appraisal waivers. Working RE Magazine published an...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Federal Housing Finance Agency / FHFA

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