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Most recent emails
Email archives - 4-01
To get the very latest news,
sign up for our FREE weekly Appraisal Today e-news.
NOTE: some of the older links
may be out of date!
Search for a topic using your browser's search function.
Go to Edit, then Find in Page. Some of them have been edited from the
original to correct typos and new information! I have been sending them since June, 1994.
4/29/01 - color laserjets/broadband/file extensions
_______ File extensions drive me crazy!!_______
I regularly get emails from people with files I can't open - that I want to
open and are not viruses ;>. Now I go to
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/fileextensions.html
Thanks to Harry E. Davis for this great link - lots and lots of extensions
listed alphabetically and what program opens them.
Here are a few:
.cdb Card database (CardScan)
.dtp Publication (Publish-It!)
.pcx Bitmap graphics (PC Paintbrush)
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_______ Apps hovering _______
The market composite index of mortgage loan applications-a measure of loan
purchases and refinances-for the week ending April 20 decreased 6.6 percent
to 534.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis from a revised level of 572.7 the
previous week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey of the
Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was released April 25.
On an unadjusted basis, the application index decreased 6.2 percent, but
was up nearly 65.5 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.
The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased to 290.5 from a
revised level of 295.9 the previous week; the seasonally adjusted Refinance
Index decreased to 1954.9 from a revised level of 2182.8 the previous week.
Other seasonally adjusted index activity included the Conventional Index,
which decreased to 704.4 from a revised level of 756.0 the previous week,
and the Government Index, which decreased to 251.4 from a revised level of
266.9 the previous week.
Refinancing activity represented 50.7 percent of total applications,
decreasing from a revised level of 53.1 percent the previous week. ARM
activity decreased to 7.4 percent from a revised level of 8.1 the previous
week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages was
7.07 percent, decreasing from 7.12 the previous week, with points
decreasing to 1.23 from 1.31 the previous week (including the origination
fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
_______ Color laserjet reviews _______
I wanna color laserjet bad!! Check out PC Magazine's Review of Twelve Color
Laser Printers.
"We went through cartons of paper to find the printers that have
that magic combination of image quality, ease of use, low cost
per page, and low price. Three of them were good enough to garner
an Editors' Choice."
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?95127:4425591
_______ DSL vs. Cable _______
I have DSL at my office and a cable modem at home. Both are networked. The
DSL (pacbell) was a hassle to set up as I let the installer put cards into
my computers (2). Mistake! I should have only let them bring the wire to my
office, not do any installations. I had to have my computer guru come and
fix it. The cable install worked well as it was a new computer. The DSL
shuts off randomly for up to 5 minutes. The cable at home sometimes shuts
down for an hour or so and slows down, mainly in the evenings and weekends.
Remember when you went from a dot matrix printer to a laserjet? Did you
ever go back? Going from dialup to broadband is the same level of change.
Also, how you use the Internet completely changes since it is "always on."
Ever tried to download a 2MB file? Ever tried to send a 2 MB file? Ever
wanted to click on one of the links in this email but you were offline?
Etc. Etc.
Just Do It!!
To read a techie writer's experience, plus reader feedback, go to
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?/adeskb/adt0402/2702664:749925
_______ New in Appraisal Today's June issue _______
Where to get flood information on the Internet
Use technology to drive your competitive strategy
Marshall & Swift - what's the best option for you?
Appraiser Watch - East St. Louis and the Poconos
AppraisalTrac - online appraisal management
Singlehandling your mail
Procrastination costs you time and money
Kinnard passes away
Healthy HUD?
------------------------------
If you don't already subscribe .... To get all the news, not just the
headlines and links, subscribe to my monthly "paper" and PDF Appraisal
Today newsletter for $99 per year ($149 for 2 years), call 800-839-0227 or
fax 800-839-0014 (credit card orders) or send your check (made out to RECR)
to 2015 Clement Ave., Alameda, CA. Order online or print out an order form
at http://www.appraisaltoday.com/orderfrm.htm
To order a FREE sample issue or get more information, go to
http://www.appraisaltoday.com/sample.htm
or call 800-839-0227 or fax
800-839-0014 .
_______ Looking for E&O providers _______
It's time again for my annual article on appraiser E&O insurance companies.
Here's what I have so far:
- CRES Insurance Services, Inc
- Hobbs Group - Lloyds of London
- Chicago Insurance Company - Fireman's Fund -
- Schinnerer - CNA
- RE Liability - MGA
- Intercorp -Monticello
- Northland - Myers/Briggs and Seabury/Smith and
- United States Liability Insurance - Baldwin/Stadler
If you know of any others, please send me an email at
mailto:ann@appraisaltoday.com I need their name and contact information.
I'll include the links I get in a future email newsletter.
_______ Screen Savers for all _______
Of course, we don't really need to "save our screens" as newer screens
don't have the problems of the old ones, but ....
Tired of that same, old boring screen saver? Here are two sites to shop for
some new ones - many are free!
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads / - search for screen savers - 52 downloads
were listed 4/29/01. Something for everyone with ratings and number of
downloads - covered bridges, nature-related slide shows, castles, reptiles,
software to create your own screen savers, etc,
---------------
Lots of 3-D screen savers at http://www.3dfiles.com/screensavers
-----------------------
Very colorful screensavers for those with powerful computers at
http://reallyslick.demonews.com
---------------------
Where did I get these great links? A "magazine" called Access that comes
with my Sunday newspaper that often has some great links!
_______ Kinnard memorial _______
I have set up a memorial page for Dr. Bill Kinnard at
http://www.appraisaltoday.com/kinnard.htm
. He helped many appraisers over
the years.
Ann O'Rourke, MBA, SRPA, SRA
Appraiser and Publisher of Appraisal Today newsletter
2015 Clement Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
mailto:ann@appraisaltoday.com
phone: 800-839-0227//fax: 800-839-0014
http://www.appraisaltoday.com for appraisal news, info, and a few jokes!
April 22, 2001 - Back to the future/lenders lagging/Census 2000
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______________ Virus alert ______________
Watch out for W32/Badtrans@MM and W32/Matcher@MM.
Both are spread though Microsoft Outlook. Be very wary of any attachments
sent from someone using Outlook.
W32/Badtrans@MM tried to steal passwords and confidential information such
as credit card numbers.
For more info, go to http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/viruses/badtrans/
W32/Matcher@MM sends out the message below:
Subject: Matcher
Body: Want to find your love mates!!! Try this its cool...
Looks and Attitude Maching to opposite sex.
Attachment: Matcher.exe
For more info go to http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=99072&
______________ Apps fluctuating ______________
The market composite index of mortgage loan applications—a measure of loan
purchases and refinances—for the week
ending April 13 decreased 5 percent to 584.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis
from 616.0 the previous week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications
Survey of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was
released April 14. On an unadjusted basis, the application index decreased
4.9 percent, but was up nearly 81 percent compared to the same week a
year earlier.
The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased to 292.3 from 304.6
the previous week; the seasonally adjusted Refinance Index decreased to
2287.0 from 2427.2 the previous week. Other seasonally adjusted index
activity included the Conventional Index, which decreased to 780.9 from
825.2 the previous week, and the Government Index, which decreased to 257.8
from 266.8 the previous week.
Refinancing activity represented 54.6 percent of total applications,
decreasing from 55.1 percent the previous week. ARM activity increased to
11.4 percent from 10.7 the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages was
7.12 percent, increasing from 6.90 the previous week, with points
decreasing to 1.31 from 1.35 the previous week (including the origination
fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
_________ Looking for some entertainment __________
I'm looking for some entertainment for the reception at the end of the
first day of AppraisalTech 2001, August 23-24. Jugglers, cowboys, ?? Send
me your ideas!! Just hit the reply button ... For info on the conference,
go to http://www.appraisaltech2001.com
___ The future of appraising - not much change since 1981 ___
Tom Fryer recently posted a very interesting 1981 article, written by Lynn
Woodward, SRPA, originally published in The Real Estate Appraiser and
Analyst, Winter 1981.
Here are a few quotes -
"The appraisal profession may be dying. Although growing, consolidating,
and professionalising, it is not broadening its influence. What is
happening to the profession is happening externally without the
participants recognizing the potential impact."
"Loss of present appraisal markets to other professions and the demand for
non-appraisal analysis which will be provided by firms outside the
appraisal industry will limit the appraiser's role in the future. At the
Society of Real Estate Appraiser's International Conference in Reno in
1979, Dr. Graaskamp suggested that other professions have real advantages
over the appraisal industry in establishing themselves in the analysis
report markets and potentially absorbing the appraisal business."
"The secondary market, through the standardized FNMAIFHLMC appraisal form,
has defined the appraisal "line by line."
The form is not in the control of the appraisal profession, but the form
makers - and the appraiser follows."
To read the article, see what other appraisers say, and add your own
comments, go to http://www.naifa.com/chat/general/index.cgi
and scroll down
the page to "1981 SREA article."
__________ Lenders lagging in tech use __________
According to Mortech 2000, a recent industry survey, lenders are lagging
way behind on adopting tech applications.
As reported in Inman News, "According to the report, 81 percent of the
mortgage lenders surveyed have embraced and are using automated
underwriting software. However, the report also revealed that 70 percent of
the respondents weren't familiar with XML technology." (FYI, XML is the new
"hot" data transmission standard.)
Per National Mortgage News, the report says that only 10% are using AVMs
and 75% of the $2.6 billion spent annually on technology is spent by the
top 12% of lenders.
To read a summary, and to register to get more info on historic trends and
Web use, go to http://www.mortech-sspres.com/subscribe.html
_____ Special list for duplicate emails _____
If you are getting two copies of this weekly email newsletter, one on
Monday and another on Wednesday you are subscribed to both my "in house"
email list and e-appraiser's list. I can't change your e-appraiser listing,
but I can put you on my special "duplicate" inhouse list. Sometimes I send
emails just to my inhouse list, for example a virus alert. These special
emails will go out to the "duplicate" list also.
To change to the "duplicate" list, just hit the reply button and type "add
to duplicate list" at the top of your email message.
______________ Census 2000 links ______________
http://www.esri.com/censuswatch/
- good site for the latest news and data
http://www.geographynetwork.com/data/tiger2000/
- TIGER info
Thanks to Brian Davis for these links!!
==============================
If you don't already subscribe .... To get all the news, not just the
headlines and links, subscribe to my monthly "paper" and PDF Appraisal
Today newsletter for $99 per year ($149 for 2 years), call 800-839-0227 or
fax 800-839-0014 (credit card orders) or send your check (made out to RECR)
to 2015 Clement Ave., Alameda, CA. Order online or print out an order form
at http://www.appraisaltoday.com/orderfrm.htm
To order a FREE sample issue or get more information, go to
http://www.appraisaltoday.com/sample.htm
or call 800-839-0227 or fax
800-839-0014 .
=================================
April 15, 2001 Fees/Kinnard passes away
______________ RAISE YOUR FEES ______________
If you're turning down work and/or working very long hours, it's time to
raise your fees, if only for those "rush" jobs or tough appraisals.
Yes, you will lose some work. So what? You're already way too busy. If you
get 10% more for an assignment, that's 100% profit for you.
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_______ KINNARD PASSES AWAY _______
Dr. Bill Kinnard passed away suddenly April 6, 2001 of a heart attack. I
never knew Dr. Kinnard, but he was well known by many appraisers.
Per his obituary, published April 8 in the Hartford (CT) Courant, "He was
successively Head of the Finance Department, Director of the Institute of
Urban Research, and Founding Director of the Center of Real Estate and
Urban Economic Studies (CREUES), which was founded in 1965. He also served
as Associate Dean and then Acting Dean in the School of Business
Administration. During several summers, he also taught at the University of
Florida, UCLA, and Brown University.
He retired from UConn in 1981 after 26 years. In addition to teaching, he
published numerous articles in academic and professional journals, as well
as authoring or co-authoring several major texts on property valuation and
appraisal. Some of the awards Dr. Kinnard received are the Alfred Reinman
Award from SREA, the George Bloom Award from AREUEA, and the James
Graaskamp Award from ARES. Two awards were named after him, the annual
award for outstanding contributions to appraisal education given by the
Appraisal Institute, and the William N. Kinnard, Jr. Scholarship in the
School of Business Administration at UConn. At the time of his death, Dr.
Kinnard was owner and President of The Real Estate Counseling Group of
Connecticut, Inc., the company he founded with Stephen D. Messner and the
late Byrl N. Boyce in the late seventies."
Kinnard was 74 years old. In addition to his wife, Iris, he is survived by
a daughter, Susan Jones and her husband, Bruce; a son; Jeffrey and his
wife, Andrea; seven grandchildren, Amanda Jones of New Haven, Nathaniel,
Rebecca and Julia Jones of Nassawadox, VA, and Jason, Adam, and Elizabeth
Kinnard of Woodbury.
Here's a testimonial by long time friend, Bill Swango
"He was in Marlboro in the 2nd day of a presentation when this happened;
died with his boots on, never retired.
Mentor.
Intellectual.
Quick Wit
Humorist.
Thinker.
Giver.
Always helping
Always with a humorous wit
Always thinking, always active
Always with a smile
Always with a positive attitude
Always with a sound suggestion
Always with time to talk and listen
Always an effective communicator.
Never with an attitude of superiority
Intellect. Common sense. Humor. Friendship.
He is missed.
Its good to remind ourselves, particularly at this time of year, that
miraculously only his body died.
See you later Bill.
--Dan
If you would like to send me your own testimonial, I will post them at
www.appraisaltoday.com.
_______ LISTS OF WEB SITES FOR APPRAISERS _______
Go to http://www.gvaworldwide.com/links.cfm
for lots of commercial real
estate links. Something for everyone! Thanks to Joe Milkes for posting this
link on the AI forum.
_______ MARKET CONDITIONS ADJUSTMENTS _______
Interesting article on market conditions adjustments written by Michael
Robbins, PhD, CRE, "Future Directions of Collateral Valuation - Adjusting
for Changing Market Conditions", including discussing government agencies
that don't allow market conditions adjustments.
http://value.taurean.com/MarketConditionsArticle.htm
_______ WATCH THE BOUNCING APPS _______
The market composite index of mortgage loan applications-a measure of loan
purchases and refinances-for the week ending April 6 decreased 5.3
percent to 616.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 650.8 the previous
week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey of the Mortgage
Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was released April 11. On an
unadjusted basis, the application index decreased 5.0 percent, but was up
81.5 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.
The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased to 304.6 from 294.0
the previous week; the seasonally adjusted Refinance Index decreased to
2427.2 from 2726.1 the previous week. Other seasonally adjusted index
activity included the Conventional Index, which decreased to 825.2 from
870.5 the previous week, and the Government Index, which decreased to 266.8
from 284.1 the previous week.
Refinancing activity represented 55.1 percent of total applications,
decreasing from 58.8 percent the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages was
6.90 percent, decreasing from 6.99 the previous week, with points
increasing to 1.35 from 1.21 the previous week (including the origination
fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
FYI, if I knew where rates were going to be next week, I would not be
writing this as I would be rich from investing in interest rate futures!!
_______ 2 WEEKS LEFT FOR SPECIAL CONFERENCE PRICE _______
The special AppraisalTech 2001 conference price of $245 for two days, $50
off the regular $295 price, expires at the end of April.
Some readers have been unable to get the conference direct link to work.
You can always go to http://www.appraisaltoday.com , where a banner ad for
the conference is on every page.
AOL Users: <a href=http://www.appraisaltoday.com> Click Here</a>
The direct link is http://www.appraisaltech2001.com
CE credit will be available from ASA, NAIFA, and the Appraisal Institute
(CE log).
Here's the info on one of the sessions:
Internet resources for appraisers - how to find what you need
Finding what you need on the Internet can be frustrating and time
consuming. But information appraisers can use is flooding onto the
Internet. Learn how to save time by efficiently using the Internet.
- What's on the Internet for appraisers, and what's not
- How to tell a useful sites from a time waster
- "Key" sites with many links to other related sites
- What's the best search engine
- Using email to get notified of new useful sites
Moderator - David Hamilton, Fresno CA
Speakers
- Michael Cartwright, ASA, President, Mineral Business Appraisal Reno NV,
and Appraisal Internet Search Guru
- Gail Cooper, MAI, President, Corporate Real Estate Advisors, Inc.-
Palatine, Illinois, author of "Don't Get Caught in the Web" a book of
Internet appraisal resources.
==============
To be removed from this list, just hit your reply button and type "remove"
in the subject line or top part of the message. To change your email
address, hit the reply button and type in your old and new email addresses,
and your name. FYI, it may take a week or two to get our email database
corrected.
===============
Ann O'Rourke, MBA, SRPA, SRA, raising my fees!
Appraiser and Publisher of Appraisal Today newsletter
2015 Clement Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
mailto:ann@appraisaltoday.com
phone: 800-839-0227//fax: 800-839-0014
http://www.appraisaltoday.com for appraisal news, info, and a few jokes!
April 8, 2001 - Appraisers in the news/Canada/Reference sites
______________GYRATING APPS ______________
The market composite index of mortgage loan applications-a measure of loan
purchases and refinances - for the week ending
March 30 decreased 1.4 percent to 650.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis from
659.9 the previous week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications
Survey of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was
released April 4. On an unadjusted basis, the application index decreased
1.5 percent, but was up 105.9 percent compared to the same week a year
earlier.
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_________INFLATED APPRAISALS IN THE POCONOS _________
The April 8 issue of the Pocono News had a story (Unreal deals) about a
homeowner losing his house to foreclosure who overpaid for a new home. The
finger was pointed at inflated appraisals.
Per the story, the home owner was laid off and "When he called in a local
real estate agent, he received the shock of his life: His four-bedroom
colonial home was worth $80,000 on the resale market, only 44 percent of
the $183,750 he paid for the new home
just a year before."
Interesting story about the effect of inflated appraisals on real people
and their community.
To read it, go to http://www.poconorecord.com
. I was on the home page on
Sunday but did not have a unique link. You may be able to find it in the
archives.
Hmmm... wonder what is going to happen with Fannie's "master appraisals"
for new home developments?
__APPRAISALTECH 2001 SPECIAL PRICE EXPIRES APRIL 30!!__
The special $50 off AppraisalTech 2001 price expires April 30. I was going
to extend it a month but decided not to as I will be running ads with the
"full" price in May.
Regular price for the Two Day Appraisal Technology conference, August 23-24
in South San Francisco, is $295. The special $245 price will expire April
30, except for paid subscribers to Appraisal Today.
If you sign up and your state denies CE credit, I will give you a full
refund, if you want. I have approval or reciprocity from 19 states, plus CE
approval from NAIFA, ASA, and the AI (acceptable for CE log submission).
The two adjacent hotels have special rates of $99 (Ramada) and $139
(Holiday Inn) per night, pretty cheap for area.
So far 10 vendors have paid for booths in the Expo - ACI/Polaroid, SFREP (2
booths), Appraisers Toolbox, Geolocator, Liability Insurance
Administrators, Flood Insights, AppraisalTrac, Dataquick, and E-ppraisal.
For info, go to http://www.appraisaltech2001.com
or call 800-839-0227, or
fax 800-839-0014.
______________MARCH USPAP Q&AS ______________
Here are the questions -
1. If a home has sold more than once in the past year, am I required to
analyze all of the
sales, or just ownership is due to a foreclosure, or is between family
members or other related parties?
2. It is my understanding that lenders are required to provide borrowers
with a copy of the appraisal performed in conjunction with their loan if
the borrower requests the appraisal
in writing within a certain time frame. Does this requirement mean that
borrowers are also intended users of the appraisal report?
3. Is it a violation of USPAP to offer as a marketing tool for my services
a coupon for a 10% discount off the cost of an appraisal to potential
clients such as mortgage lenders and the general public?
To read the answers (PDF format), go to
https://www.appraisalfoundation.org/asb-q&a.htm
__________APPRAISER PRESSURE IN RALEIGH __________
A recent story in the Raleigh News Observer, "Appraisers feel pressure to
bump up values," had a good description of the pressure on residential
appraisers.
Per the article, "Complaints about appraisers have risen. The state
Appraisal Board, which licenses and regulates appraisers in North Carolina,
received 152 complaints in 2000, almost triple the 53 received in 1995.
About 30 percent of those complaints were made by homeowners, with the
remainder coming from other
appraisers and real-estate professionals.
Some of the complaints stem from simple measurement mistakes, but many
involve appraisers inflating values to "hit" predetermined prices, said Mel
Black, executive director of the Appraisal Board."
"Increased competition has also made it more difficult for less-established
appraisal firms to turn down this kind of work, (Robert) Birch said. The
number of appraisers has increased 20 percent to 3,728 in 2000 from 3,102
appraisers in 1998. There are now 1,000 more appraisers statewide than
there were in 1992.
"There are simply too many appraisers chasing too few deals," Birch said.
"Some of them are cutting corners to pay the bills."
To read this story, see what other appraisers have to say, and add your own
comments, go to http://www.naifa.com/chat/general/index.cgi?read=10478
and/or
http://www.appraisersforum.com/messages/18556.shtml
____NEW IN THE APRIL ISSUE OF APPRAISAL TODAY ____
- Make more money by delegating
- Use your lender list applications to market your business
- How to find what you need on the Internet
- A few good computer tips
- How many appraisers does it take to change a light bulb?
- Open houses - easy marketing and a free lunch!
- Appraiser fraud watch - FL, MN, and FHA
- Realestate.com shuts down
- PropertyFirst and Loopnet to merge
- Useful USPAP Scope of Work advice
- Freddie Mac implements no-appraisals on up to 80% LTV purchases
- Exposure draft - USPAP 2001 changes
To order a FREE sample issue or get more information, go to
http://www.appraisaltoday.com/sample.htm
or call 800-839-0227 or fax
800-839-0014 .
For an order form (online and offline), go to
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____FIND THAT MISSING EMAIL IN THE EMAIL ARCHIVES!!____
I just updated the Email archives on my web site. If you know the email you
missed, go to http://www.appraisaltoday.com/email1.htm
. If you aren't
sure, just use the Search tool - the link is on the top of every page.
Emails are archived by month, so use your browser's Search function to find
what you need on the page.
_______TWO GOOD REFERENCE "MASTER" SITES _______
Fact Finder, on the iWon site, is a worthwhile place to search for info on
cities - http://www.iwon.com/home/search/factcity_tutorial/
Posted by Curt Drawn, originally recommended by PC magazine.
I checked our my city, Alameda, and was pleasantly surprised at all the
good links - the links I use for commercial appraisals and usually end up
mistyping in my browser were all in one location! Lots more than the usual
demographics, which are way out of date, with very inaccurate forecasts for
my city, as the 2001 stats are being released now.
Reference Desk at http://www.refdesk.com/
is a good site to bookmark for
general reference, especially if you have children. Of course, there's
links to all kinds of fascinating stuff for adults also, such as the
Washington Post's Comics site, AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, and it goes
on and on. Thanks to David Beal for this great, fun link!!
I have already bookmarked both these sites!!
______________APPRAISING "UP NORTH"______________
Sometimes it is useful to see how appraising is doing in other countries.
Canadian appraisers have had a much tougher time than U.S. appraisers. Have
you heard of emilie - an automated underwriting program that doesn't use
appraisals or "point" valuations? Yes, they have AMCs in Canada. Typical
appraisal fees are well below U.S. levels, both for commercial and
residential.
I have been writing for the Appraisal Institute of Canada's Canadian
Appraiser for over 4 years, and spoke last year at their national
conference in Winnepeg. Canadian appraisers have given me a good
prospective on U.S. appraising.
A very good article is at http://www.negotiator.ca/evaluating
. Note: you
need Internet Explorer to view this article.
Thanks to reader Barry Lebow for posting this great article on his web site!!
4/1/01 FAQs/Census 2000/FHA healthy?
Appraiser FAQs
I get lots of emails and phone calls asking the same basic questions. So...
I put the info on my web site at http://www.appraisaltoday.com/appraise.htm
What kind of questions?
- How can I become an appraiser?
- How can I get more appraisal business?
- Collecting past due billings
- Fannie Mae Guidelines
--------------------
Census 2000 data
To get the latest released Census 2000 data, plus the release schedule for
more data, go to
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet
Easy to use - worth bookmarking!
-------------------------
Harney on Freddie no-appraisals
Last week's email had a link to Freddie's press release on their
no-appraisal program, being implemented this week.
To read Ken Harney's Sunday article on Freddie's elimination of appraisal
requirements on some loans, including what Fannie says,
Go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/columns/realestate/harneykenne
thr/A17442-2001Mar30.html
To read appraisers' comments and to add your own, go to
http://www.appraisersforum.com/messages/18076.shtml
---------------------
Apps up
The market composite index of mortgage loan applications-a measure of loan
purchases and refinances - for the week ending March 23 increased 18.5
percent to 659.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 557.0 the previous
week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey of the Mortgage
Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was released March 28. On an
unadjusted basis, the application index increased 17.0 percent, and was up
93.7 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.
The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased to 291.6 from 299.8
the previous week; the seasonally adjusted Refinance Index increased to
2802.5 from 2053.0 the previous week. Other seasonally adjusted index
activity included the Conventional Index, which increased to 883.9 from
736.9 the previous week, and the Government Index, which increased to 286.2
from 256.6 the previous week.
Refinancing activity represented 59.5 percent of total applications,
increasing from 51.0 percent the previous week. ARM activity increased from
8.6 percent the previous week to 9.3 percent.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages was
6.84 percent, increasing slightly from 6.82 the previous week, with points
decreasing slightly to 1.32 from 1.33 the previous week (including the
origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
-------------------
Predatory lending info
If you're interested in predatory lending, check out the MBA's new
Predatory Lending Resource Center at http://www.mbaa.org/resources/predlend/
I'm not too sure about the connection between appraisals and predatory
lending, except for value pressures. However, about 10 years ago I stopped
doing appraisals for a big, regulated, lender that was making loans in a
very low income area. I had doubts that the elderly homeowners would be
able to make the payments. I didn't know how to get the practices changed,
so I just chose not to participate. Now, of course, if they were doing it,
I would report them to their regulator. Unfortunately, predatory lending
has been around for quite a while. I'm glad to see some publicity on it.
--------------------------
FHA healthy?
Check out the testimony at the Subcommittee on Housing and Community
Opportunity Hearing on "The Financial Health of the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) Single-Family Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund" March
20, 2001
Testifying were:
- Thomas J. McCool, Managing Director, Financial Markets and Community
Investment, General Accounting Office
- Susan Gaffney, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
- Marvin Phaup, Deputy Assistant Director, Congressional Budget Office
Here's a quote from Gaffney:
"Another critical control is the systematic testing of property appraisals
by HUD. The direct endorsement lender selects the appraiser that sets the
value of the property for FHA insurance. With the high loan to value ratio
of most FHA loans, an accurate appraisal is critical to minimizing HUD's
insurance risk. HUD's procedures call for field reviews of 10 percent of
all appraisals. Also, there are additional requirements that assure
oversight of each appraiser's and each lender's performance and follow-up
when problems are noted. During our audit we found that these controls were
not being
followed. Branch Chiefs at three Homeownership Centers commented that they
did not have enough staff to monitor appraisers or to sanction poor
performers. Since completing our audit, HUD has made significant strides in
the area of improved appraiser oversight, by identifying high risk
appraisers for review."
http://www.house.gov/financialservices/032001wl.htm
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=========================
Ann O'Rourke, MBA, SRPA, SRA
Appraiser and Publisher of Appraisal Today newsletter
2015 Clement Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
mailto:ann@appraisaltoday.com
phone: 800-839-0227//fax: 800-839-0014
http://www.appraisaltoday.com for appraisal news, info, and a few jokes!
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