Category: Trending

Flagstar Bank Eliminating Use of AMCs: Direct Vendor Appraisers Wanted 29

Flagstar Bank Eliminating AMCs

Flagstar Bank’s Direct Vendor Appraisers Appraisers, I have just learned from reading a forum that Flagstar Bank is doing away with the AMCs they use, and bringing appraisal ordering back in-house. However, you must agree to this: PLEASE NOTE: We only pay via ACH (automatic deposit twice a month on the 1st and 15th) so your bank information is also mandatory. There are no other payment methods available at this time so if you prefer not to use automatic deposit we unfortunately cannot add you to the panel. Also effective July 24th, 2017 there will be a click fee charge...

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

Relationships with Companies Harming Appraisers' Interests ... Wells Fargo 60

What’s In a Relationship?

Salvaging Relationships with Appraisers… Wells Fargo, one of the oldest banks in the country, is working hard to salvage relationships, not with just customers and regulators, but appraisers as well. Wells Fargo recently stopped using Appraisal Management Companies and is aggressively trying to build an appraisal panel of their own. Appraisers are excited that one of the largest banks in the country is no longer using AMC’s. We give Wells Fargo high “Kudos” for making a change in the right direction. However, there is a bit of a dilemma when making an informed decision whether to have a relationship with Wells...

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

Fee Survey....Survey Says! Appraisal Fee Increases & 2017 Surveys 19

Fee Survey…. Survey Says!

Fee Survey Results & Fee Increase…. Appraisers have certainly been hearing a lot of negativity lately and we finally have some good news to share. The Veterans Administration has completed its fee survey. This is good news as the VA now considers $525 as the normal fee for non-complex properties in Virginia. This equates to a 16.5% increase from the previous fee of $450. To see the new fee schedule for Virginia, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia, please click here or see table below. The fees become effective 09/01/2017. Greetings, The purpose of this communication is to...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Customary & Reasonable Fees / The US Department of Veterans Affairs

Concession Adjustments Missing in Appraisal Reports 41

Concession Adjustments Missing

Concession Adjustments are expected to be made… Appraisers, As noted previously, I ‘observe’ various reports from various sources. A new one arrived last week. In looking over the grid, I noticed the concession adjustments are missing in the grid, as shown below. Commentary continues below the image. The appraiser correctly shows the concession amount in the left portion of the comp grid (Comp 1 & 2 – Green Arrows), but does not put a corresponding adjustment for the concession in the actual grid column (Red arrows). This is NOT the first time I have seen this in reports. Apparently this...

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

Allegations of Price Fixing by FTC Against LREAB: Response Filed 18

Allegations of Price Fixing Rejected by LREAB

LREAB denies FTC’s allegations as factually false & politically wrong-headed… On June 19, 2017, the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB) filed a response to the Federal Trade Commission’s price-fixing allegations. In its 15-page response, LREAB denies all FTC’s allegations (see PDF at the end of the article). GENERAL RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION’S ALLEGATIONS To shore up the integrity of the residential mortgage appraisal process and, thereby, help to avert a recurrence of the real estate-fueled financial crisis of 2007-2009, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) requires States to empower their real estate licensing agency,...

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

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...

AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News / Appraisal Technology / Appraisers News

Fee Charged by the AMC Must Be Paid by the Lender 78

Lender Must Pay AMC Fee Proposal!

Appraisal fee charged to consumer must not include AMC fee This is huge. The New Jersey Department of Banking is proposing to change the current regulations of mortgage lenders. The change will require the maximum fee charged to the borrower for appraisal services is no more than the actual fee the appraiser is paid. In other words, any fee charged by the AMC must be paid by the lender. We all need to support New Jersey in this action. This is about Consumer Protection! Please note this did not initiate from appraisers, this came from the New Jersey Department of...

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

Copyright of Appraisal Reports: Control Over Our Own Intellectual Property 42

Copyright of Appraisal Reports – Again

Why do we need a copyright in the first place? Before deciding whether you need to copyright, or whether it is too complex or not I urge all to read the information found in the following link. When I started searching to see what the specific requirements were, I initially thought I’d have to pay a fee and submit each ‘work’ (appraisal report) to the United States Copyright Office. Clearly not a practical process for most of us, even if the fee weren’t so high (about $114.00). I’m pleased to say if is not that complicated, or costly. In fact,...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / Collateral Underwriter

Residential Appraiser Abandoned & Neglected by the Appraisal Institute 111

AI Ignored the Residential Appraiser

AI all but abandoned the residential appraiser… I have been a member of the Appraisal Institute (AI) for many years and the organization has always been tilted toward the Certified General Appraiser. I am Certified General and recognized this long ago. I think the education of the AI is the best with no comparison for both residential and commercial and their publications are second to none. The AI has long neglected the residential appraisers as they sent in their $300 per year. The AI completely dropped the ball starting in 2007 when the crash began. The Appraisal Management Company (AMC)...

AI / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Institute / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal News

Suppression of Appraisal Service Free Trade & Fair Price Competition 25

Restraint of Trade Investigation

I am heartened that the Federal Trade Commission has recognized the need to assure that appraisal “…consumers deserve to benefit from a free market where those fees are set by competition.” It appears that your complaint may have been instigated by the very special interests that are most responsible for suppression of appraisal service free trade and fair price competition in America today. By that I am referring to the entities broadly described as Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), and in this specific complaint – the Federal National Mortgage Association, also known as Fannie Mae and/or FNMA .

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

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