Category: Trending

Appraiser Shortage Myth Used to Raise De Minimis Value 43

Appraiser Shortage Myth Used to Raise De Minimis Value

Appraisers, I know everyone is busy right now, but this cannot wait. This may be the most important blog post affecting appraisers this year. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that if something is not done, it really COULD lead to the end of ALL residential appraisers for federally regulated transactions under $500,001. FFIEC under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA), is considering raising the de minimis lending level from $250,000 to $500,000, because the local community banks are complaining that they cannot find enough appraisers in rural America to handle the volume! If...

AGA / Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisers News / The American Guild of Appraisers

Appraisers Need to Learn to Stop Being Doormats! 40

Appraisers Need to Learn to Stop Being Doormats!

Being a bad businessman is not an excuse not to pay me. Period. The borrower pays the AMC up front. The AMC HAS MY FEE FROM DAY ONE! If they do not have it on the date I complete the assignment, it is because they used MY MONEY for some other purpose. If they are too incompetent to operate a general ledger, then open a second checking account and make the fee deposits for the appraisers the same day they are received. Being a bad businessman is not an excuse for not paying me for work I do for you....

AGA / AMC / Appraisal / Appraisal Management Companies / Appraisal Organizations / The American Guild of Appraisers

Virginia Real Estate Appraisal Board Made History 44

Virginia Real Estate Appraisal Board Made History!

On Tuesday February 23rd, The Virginia Real Estate Appraisal Board made history! The legislative code of Virginia states Licensed Appraisal Management Companies must provide customary and reasonable compensation to fee appraisers. There are two presumptions of compliance. One based on objective third party information, including fee schedules, studies and surveys prepared by independent third parties, such as government agencies, academic institutions, and private research firms. The other presumption of compliance is based on recent rates paid to a representative sample of providers of appraisal services in the geographic market of the property being appraised or fee schedules of those providers....

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

Valligent New $40 Alternative Valuation Assignment 31

Valligent New $40 Alternative Valuation Assignment

Valligent, an AMC with ‘national’ presence, is soliciting appraisers to complete a new alternative valuation product on behalf of their GSE clients. There is nothing wrong with doing these. Any appraiser can. But any appraiser who does these assignments is required to comply with USPAP’s Record Keeping Rule. Which means keeping a Workfile for every assignment. In order to do these alternative valuation assignments, you need to comply with USPAP Standard 3, because you ARE providing a report review service. Even though Valligent is sly about not really revealing that aspect. The SOW for these assignments, which I highlighted below,...

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

College Degree Requirement is Flawed - AppraisersBlogs 51

College Degree Requirement is Flawed

Why the 4-year college degree requirement is flawed and how to make the requirement work? Many, many years ago, my local college offered appraisal classes. You could take a couple classes, go take the state test and start knocking on doors. New people didn’t need a mentor. And new people learned by trial and error. It probably wasn’t the best way to do things. But it did allow for new people to freely get into the profession without a bunch of hurdles to overcome. Times have changed. Today, new people have to have a 4-year college degree in anything first,...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Mister 225 appraiser & VaCAP 27

Mr. $225 Appraiser and VaCAP

Mr. $225 Appraiser, you are a major contributor to the problem Recently VaCAP has been receiving correspondence from Virginia Appraisers complaining about low fees and AMC abuses. Comments like the “The AMC is taking more than half of my fee” and another “Why hasn’t VaCAP done something?” One of the best yet… ”When is the Customary and Reasonable Fee Committee meeting? I can’t keep accepting appraisals for $225“ This came two weeks after the Customary and Reasonable Fee Committee meeting! Well Mr. $225 Appraiser, what rock have you been under? VaCAP sends out information on a regular basis; on average...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisal Organizations / Appraisal Subcommittee / Appraisers News / ASC

Valuing the Contribution of Solar Panels 39

Valuing the Contribution of Solar Panels

How to value the appraised property with solar panels Appraisers, Valuing the contribution of solar panels on homes has become one of the trickiest aspects of our work over the past decade. Attached is a very well written 45 page report that will help all appraisers better understand this issue, and perhaps lead you in the right direction when you encounter homes with solar panels. I strongly recommend that you print a copy for your library. Oh, and actually read it! The basis of the report is how to value the appraised property with solar panels, when no comps have...

Appraisal / Appraisal News / Appraisers News / Trending

Dreaded Fannie Mae Certified Letter Regarding Condition Ratings - Imagecredit Flickr - Mehta12 32

Dreaded FNMA Letter RE Condition Ratings

Certified Letter From Fannie Mae Regarding Condition Ratings And then it happens, the moment we all know is coming – the dreaded certified letter from Fannie Mae. My door bell rings and the mailman is standing on my porch with pen in hand.  Now don’t get me wrong, we have all been warned. They have the super computer comparing all of us and if you are the outlier you’re getting notified!  If a majority of Appraisers give a specific house a certain rating and you disagree, you must be wrong – BOOM – letter.  I assume this is the case as I...

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

Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth 40

Free Enterprise an Appraisal Myth?

Is THAT free enterprise? I’m surprised anyone in the business today sees any minimum pricing proposal as being anti-free enterprise. Contrary to popular belief we have not had free enterprise in the GSE appraisal process since HVCC first reared its ugly head. AMCs ‘telling’ us to pick a number from $250 to $350, or that ‘THEY pay’ $325 per 1004 is NOT free enterprise. I’m an old timer (1986) that was brought up on what used to be AIREA (now the AI) & SREA (now gone) positions that free enterprise and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibited us from ‘even discussing’...

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

It takes a “special” type of appraiser to work with AMCs 40

“Special” Type of Appraiser

It takes a “special” type of appraiser to work with AMCs. While inspecting a property I received a cell phone call from a lender wanting to add me to their panel. I was unable to discuss the matter at that time and requested that she send the information to my email. I received nine pages of application. The invitation starts out telling me how their AMC is a LEADER in the field (I never heard of them). They strive to assist all appraisers who are looking to maximize their time and quality. Their website allows them to monitor appraiser’s efficiency...

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

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