Forest Guitar made of trees, dedicated to a man’s lost love.Excerpt: Breaking up the flat agricultural areas of Argentina’s Pampas is a guitar formed entirely out of trees. Stretching for 2/3 of a mile, the multi-colored instrument was created by one Argentine farmer to memorialize his wife who tragically died at the age of 25.
My comment: Just for Fun ;> Fascinating photo and brief writeup.
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Scope Creep Causes Creepy ScopeBy George Dell, MAI, SRAExcerpt: …scope creep has turned into scope running. I’m sure many appraisers, particularly residential people will agree. He (David Braun) points out that as the reviewers ask for more, appraisers are finding ways to not be specific. This has turned into a self-perpetuating loop: “As the providers, users, and enforcement bodies have differing opinions on the proper level of the scope required . . .”
My comment: Interesting blog post. Short. Worth reading. |
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Wells Fargo to stop using AMCsExcerpt: Wells Fargo recently stopped using Appraisal Management Companies and is aggressively trying to build an appraisal panel of their own… Wells Fargo is utilizing Appraisal Port.
My comment: Hopefully, more lenders will make the change. Appraisers who work for direct lenders, that don’t use AMCs, give them priority over their AMC clients. |
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Appraisal Report in MLS ListingsExcerpt: Private prelisting appraisals are a good revenue stream for many appraisers. Do your clients understand the intended use and intended users? Do you, the appraiser, understand the intended use and the intended users? We often get complacent and assume everyone understands, and then the unthinkable happens; you find your appraisal report attached to a MLS listing or worse, attached as a photo on Zillow. Yes, this actually is happening!
My comment: In my current Paid Appraisal Today newsletter, the E&O annual update article, I write about what may not be covered in your E&O and how to check if it is covered. You may be surprised… |
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Update on FTC vs. Louisiana Appraisal Board and C/R feesLA granted stay against FTC appraisal orderExcerpt: Last week, the Federal Trade Commission forcefully rejected Louisiana’s request to pause regulatory action over appraisals… How quickly things change.
Now, in news exclusive to HousingWire, FTC Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell granted a stay in that decision late last Friday.
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PACE Financing: What Appraisers Should KnowExcerpt: PACE, an acronym for Property Assessed Clean Energy, is a relatively new and somewhat innovative financing mechanism for energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects (think insulation, replacement windows and photo-voltaic solar systems as typical examples). While PACE is effectively a loan, it is repaid as an assessment on an owner’s property tax bill, and is available for both residential and commercial/industrial properties in selected areas of the country. So what does this have to do with appraising? … it is clear that PACE assessments can and do impact property value
My comment: I have been hearing about PACE loans and appraisals for awhile. Good explanation. Worth reading.
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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 paid monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue go to https://www.appraisaltoday.com/products.htm or send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com . Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 8AM to noon, Pacific time.
Mortgage applications decreased 2.8 percent from one week earlierWASHINGTON, D.C. (August 2, 2017) – Mortgage applications decreased 2.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 28, 2017.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier to its lowest level since March 2017. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 9 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.5 percent of total applications from 46.0 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.6 percent of total applications. The FHA share of total applications increased to 10.3 percent from 10.2 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.1 percent from 10.5 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent from the week prior. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged at 4.17 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) increased to 4.11 percent from 4.06 percent, with points increasing to 0.25 from 0.24 (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 increased to 4.07 percent from 4.05 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 3.45 percent, with points decreasing to 0.44 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.30 percent from 3.29 percent, with points increasing to 0.29 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased 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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