Levitating houses?
Excerpts:
… One architect’s proposed solution for low-lying cities that have trouble with flooding. Inspired by amphibious houses, Lira Luis’ concept asks: what if buildings could avoid flooding simply by not touching the ground at all?
As sea levels rise, some low-lying cities have started experimenting with floating buildings and amphibious houses. But one architect has another unlikely sounding suggestion: What if buildings could avoid flooding simply by not touching the ground at all?
Architect Lira Luis thought of the concept as she was working on another installation that happened to be on water and required invisible, easily removable attachments. She started using magnets for the attachments, and when she accidentally held the magnets the wrong way, she noticed that they repelled each other even through a layer of water.
Click here to read. A bit “techie” but fascinating.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3058400/this-architect-is-trying-to-build-houses-that-can-levitate
Thanks to Matt Cook for posting this Most Interesting Link!!
My comment: This is very relevant for predicted increases in sea levels. I live in a low-lying coastal city in San Francisco Bay. Recently, part of the city’s flood maps were revised to 100 year flood levels, requiring flood insurance if you have a federally insured loan. As usual, all the complaints from owners were about having to buy flood insurance. My house is about 5-6 feet above typical high tide now. When there are very high “King” tides (high tide plus heavy rains), it is closer to high tides. Flood maps for all coastal areas in the country are being revised.
Single Family Housing Policy Handbook: Draft Title I Section Posted Today for Feedback
Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) posted for stakeholder review and feedback, the draft Title I section of its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (SF Handbook). This posting is a continuation of FHA’s progress toward a consolidated, authoritative SF Handbook that will make it easier to do business with FHA.
When published, the Title I section will replace existing guidance on:
(1) Origination, Servicing, Claims and Disposition of Manufactured Home Loans, including Lot and Combination Loans;
(2) Origination, Servicing, Claims and Disposition of Property Improvement Loans;
(3) Doing Business with FHA for Title I Lenders; and
(4) Quality Control, Oversight and Compliance for Title I Loans and Lenders
The Title I section consolidates existing guidance found in approximately 120 Title I lender letters and other policy artifacts. The content will provide FHA’s Title I lenders, appraisers, and other stakeholders with a comprehensive resource of policy.
Review and Feedback
The draft section and supporting information is posted on FHA’s Single Family Housing Policy Drafting Table (SF Drafting Table) page located on HUD.gov. We invite stakeholder feedback on the draft Title I section from April 20, 2016 through June 6, 2016. Stakeholders are encouraged to use the respective Feedback Worksheets and feedback submission process outlined on the web page.
Industry Briefing
FHA will host an industry briefing conference call for stakeholders to review the organization and structure of the draft Title I section. While the content is geared primarily for lenders, servicers and appraisers, all stakeholders are welcome to participate.
Date: May 3, 2016
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern)
Title: FHA SF Handbook Draft Title I Section
Dial-in: (800) 260-0719; Access code: 390049
Quick Links
- View FHA’s SF Drafting Table main page at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/SFH_policy_drafts
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Coming in the May 15 issue of Appraisal Today!!
Available Monday, May 1
Practical tips on handling 1004MC issues By Doug Smith, SRA, AI-RRS – 5 page article on limited data, conflicts between reality and the poor statistical methods used by 1004MC, underwriters, liability, etc.
Tame your email inbox!! By Chase Pursley, appraiser techie. Lots of good tips. Most of us spend way too much time on email. And… sometimes lose important emails… somehow!!
Data Science. What is it? What does it mean for appraisers?
By George Dell, MAI, SRA, ASA
Plus more articles… So many good topics, can’t decide what to write about ;>
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Appraiser Randall Bell made millions appraising the homes where infamous murders occurred
Excerpt:
Randall Bell is the answer to this trivia question: What do the residences of Sharon Tate, Nicole Brown-Simpson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, and San Bernardino shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik have in common?
For 30 years, Bell has been an appraiser of real estate stigmatized by human killers, natural disasters and high-profile accidents. It’s a niche that has earned the married father of four book deals, speaking gigs, teaching assignments, homes in Laguna Beach and Coto de Caza, and valuable space in the Rolodexes of attorneys, other real-estate professionals and the media.
Very interesting article. Click here to read.
My comments: I have known about Randy Bell’s expertise for many years, but did not know some of the personal details in this article. If you ever appraise a home where there was a murder, buy his book. (Or if you are interested in the topic.) An appraiser I know accepted a assignment to appraise the home of a well known murder for a lender. He said that Bell’s book was invaluable. He also interviewed appraisers, agents, etc. Bell’s book, Real Estate Damages: Applied Economics and Detrimental Conditions, second edition, 2008 is available at www.appraisalinstitute.org Search for Randall Bell. His web site is www.landmarkresearch.com
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USPAP Matrix
The title above is for you conspiracy buffs, and to get people to open this email. Although, some may say there is some similarity to the Matrix series of movies ;>
Title: Yes, I can accept that assignment! USPAP flexibility at a glance
It is a table of assignment types, whether allowed by USPAP, and USPAP references
Here are a few: Evaluations for lending, assessment appeals and appraisals for charitable contributions, and contingent fee.
View it here (easier to read)
http://appraisersblogs.com/uspap-permitted-assignments
Download the original document here:
My comment: This is an old topic that was a big issue for commercial appraisers after the FIREEA mess in the late 1980s, resulting in the Self Contained, Summary, and Restricted Use appraisal report classifications. For unknown reasons, many appraisers still think that USPAP is restrictive. Many thanks to Dave Towne, Washington state appraiser for this info, obtained from the very active Illinois appraiser group, Illinois Coaltion of Appraiser Professionals, www.icapweb.org
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First draft of proposed changes for 2018-2019 edition of USPAP
Here are the topics and the page numbers in the 55-page document:
1 Definition of Report
2 Definition of Assignment
3 Extraordinary Assumption
4 STANDARD 3
5 STANDARD 6 – Dividing into STANDARD 5, Mass Appraisal,
Development and STANDARD 6, Mass Appraisal, Reporting
6 Standards Rules 7-2(c), SR 7-5, and 8-2(v)
7 Standards Rule 8-3
8 Advisory Opinion 37, Computer Assisted Valuation Tools
Click here to read and/or download
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Observations of a Review appraiser – a Blast from the Past
Written by Steven R. Smith, MSREA, MAI, SRA
Excerpts:
The lawsuit was against the partners of a failed lender, which included a title company and AMC. The allegations were that they either pressured appraisers to inflated value or used appraisers who would.
Universally, there were no Time adjustments. Every market in every report was Stable in 2007 according to these reports. Sadly, it was very easy to check the value trends and document the direction and magnitudes of the declining values.
The lawsuit was against the partners of a failed lender, which included a title company and AMC. The allegations were that they either pressured appraisers to inflated value or used appraisers who would.
The article has details on the extent of the reviews and other information and analysis
www.frea.com/blog/observations-review-appraiser
My comment: Steve Smith is very knowledgeable and experienced in appraisal problems, such as this one. I have known him for many years and have taken his fraud seminars in the past.
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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, go to www.mbaa.org
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my printed newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue go to https://www.appraisaltoday.com/products or send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com . Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 8AM to noon, Pacific time.
Mortgage applications increased 1.3 percent from one week earlier
according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 15, 2016. www.mbaa.org
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 55.4 percent of total applications from 54.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.0 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 10.6 percent from 10.8 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.6 percent from 11.9 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.83 percent from 3.82 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 3.77 percent from 3.74 percent, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.64 percent from 3.66 percent, with points increasing to 0.32 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. This is the lowest rate since May 2013. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.06 percent from 3.10 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. This is the lowest rate since May 2013. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.91 percent from 2.94 percent, with points increasing to 0.26 from 0.20 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
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