How to Respond to a Reconsideration of Value (ROV) Request

By McKissock
Excerpts: While the ROV process is an appeal process, it is not to be used for changing the value or altering other assignment results simply because someone is dissatisfied with the outcome. Similar to performing an appraisal assignment, your role as an appraiser is to respond impartially, objectively, and without bias to an ROV request.
When you receive a reconsideration of value request, there are proven ways to handle these requests, adhere to USPAP and applicable regulatory requirements, and preserve a rock-solid relationship with your client. Best practice is to respond in a professional manner, remain positive, respond accurately and timely, and always operate ethically.
Twelve tips for responding to an ROV request. Here are the first five:
1. Confidentiality
2. Pause before responding
3. Meet deadlines, if attainable
4. Take the ROV seriously
5. Start with a positive
To read about all the tips, click here
My comment: Comprehensive with good tips. Well written. Read this if you do ROVs.
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2-16-17 Newz .Land surveys in 1784 .Common appraisal errors

The First Appraisal – About 3,200 Years Ago

Appraisal Business Tips 

Humor for Appraisers

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To read more of this long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!

NOTE: Please scroll down to read the other topics in this long blog post on AMCs, FHA changes, surveying, unusual homes, mortgage origination stats, etc.

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Mortgagee Letter (ML) 21-27, Appraisal Fair Housing Compliance and Updated General Appraiser Requirements. The ML reinforces the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and FHA’s commitment to preventing racial bias in the valuation of single family properties by clarifying the requirements for the compliance with the Fair Housing Act requirements, which relate to the appraisal process for properties that will serve as security for FHA-insured financing.

The ML clarifies FHA’s expectations of appraisers and mortgagees, which are to comply with all applicable anti-discrimination laws, including the Fair Housing Act as they relate to appraisals for FHA Single Family Title II forward and reverse mortgage programs. The guidance in the ML also:
  • updates the appraiser’s post-approval requirements to emphasize compliance with all applicable laws including the Fair Housing Act and all other federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws.
  • adds clarifying language to the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (Handbook 4000.1), Sections A.1.a.iii(B)(6)(a) (Appraisal Integrity), and II.A.3.a.v (Quality of Appraisal) to emphasize the requirement for the mortgagee to ensure the appraisal complies with all applicable laws including the Fair Housing Act and all other federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws.
  • restructures Handbook 4000.1, Section II.D.2 (General Appraiser Requirements) to better clarify guidance specific to Nondiscrimination Policy; compliance with FHA guidelines and Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices; and Appraiser Conduct.
Stakeholders must review and familiarize themselves with the changes outlined in this ML to ensure they are in compliance with the Fair Housing Act and other anti-discriminatory laws. The policy updates noted in today’s ML will be incorporated in a future version of Handbook 4000.1.
Need Support? Contact the FHA Resource Center.
  • Visit our knowledge base to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7 at www.hud.gov/answers.
  • E-mail answers@hud.gov. Emails and phone messages will be responded to during normal hours of operation, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Eastern), Monday through Friday on all non-Federal holidays.
  • Call 1-800-CALLFHA (1-800-225-5342). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may reach this number by calling the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
About FHA INFO
FHA INFO is a publication of the Federal Housing Administrations (FHA), Office of Single Family Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410. We safeguard our lists and do not rent, sell, or permit the use of our lists by others, at any time, for any reason.
Visit the FHA INFO Archives to access FHA INFO messages. For additional information and resources, visit the FHA Single Family Housing main page on HUD.gov
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Appraisers Ghosting AMCs?

By Rob Chrisman
Excerpts: “This week, I received this note from Mike Simmons, Co-President of AXIS AMC. “I’ve heard of something overhanging the appraisal industry. Namely, that appraisers are ghosting (abandoning) orders and are beyond accountability”…
… “this year the energy at all the conferences felt more negative than usual. The voices were louder, and different. Not so much over new issues, because the issues really aren’t new, but there’s more anger now. And some of us in our industry share that frustration.”
“Part of everyone’s frustration is the feeling that appraisers aren’t subject to any oversight or can be held accountable by anyone. Except that’s not true. Every State has a Board or Commission (or some Agency) that serves as an overseer for appraisers.”
“I want to clarify something: while the issue causing most of the heartburn only involves a small percentage of appraisers, it’s spreading and eroding the public’s trust in all appraisers. The goal is to find ways to change the behavior of those few outliers that are causing all the noise.”
To read more, click here (Chrisman’s full email newsletter)
Scroll down to Appraiser Thoughts
My comments: Hard to treat AMCs like direct lender clients. No loyalty, no personal relationships over many years, send bids to many appraisers, excessive requirements, etc. But, if you choose to work for AMCs that run their businesses that way, that is not an excuse for ghosting. Very unprofessional.
To read appraiser comments and post your comments: click here (on appraisersblogs.com)
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Don’t Assume You Did it “Right” the First Time

By Claudia Gaglione, Esq.
It is not unusual for an appraiser to be asked to appraise the same property
on more than one occasion. Sometimes, it is a coincidence. The client
may have no idea the appraiser had a history with the property and the
appraiser might not even remember until he or she inspects the property
and recalls having been there before.
In other cases, an appraiser might be retained, specifically, because
they did appraise the property in the past. Since that appraiser already has
some knowledge, and familiarity with the property, the client might think it
makes sense to retain them over someone else.
Each appraisal assignment should be approached as a “new” assignment, and NOT as a “do over.” Problems can arise if the appraiser simply duplicates information from an old report into a new report without taking the time to verify or to double check what was contained in the old report.
To read examples of how appraisers made mistakes and get practical tips on avoiding them from an attorney who helps appraisers every day, subscribe to the Monthly Appraisal Today!!
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Fish Shaped House in Berkeley, California

Excerpts: The “Fish House” at 2747 Mathews St. in Berkeley, designed by Emeryville’s Eugene Tssui, is the least-expected and probably the most-photographed architectural design in Berkeley.
The house is designed based on the tardigrade, a segmented marine micro-animal. The tardigrade can survive extreme cold and extreme hot, extreme pressure or a vacuum, radiation doses, and can go without food or water for more than ten years.
When Tssui’s parents moved to Berkeley, they were concerned about earthquakes and wanted him to design a house in which they would be safe no matter what the Richter Scale said. Tssui consulted zoology and learned that the tardigrade is the most indestructible creature on the planet. True to his belief in biomimicry, he created a house based on the architecture of the lowly tardigrade. He believes that the Mathews Street house is safe from fire, earthquake, flood and pest.
Several neighbors from the block of 1920s California bungalows strenuously objected to the house design; the design review process dragged out more than a year. Tssui credits then-mayor Loni Hancock with stepping in and putting an end to the debate in the name of freedom of thought and design.
The house’s proper name is Ojo del Sol or Tai Yang Yen – the Sun’s Eye. The name alludes to the south-facing 15-foot oculus window, a common feature of Byzantine and Neoclassical architecture. The oculus here serves to light and warm the house. Tssui now uses the name given the house by the public, the Fish House, tardigrade or not.
For more photos, lots more info on the home, local opposition to the home, and the architect,click here (local newspaper article – very interesting)
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Land Surveying’s Evolution from the Doomsday Book to Drones

Excerpts: All real estate traces its roots back to land surveying, it’s the very foundation the property industry is built on. Centuries of deal-making form a chain of ownership all the way back to the very first surveys. Technology is changing land surveying, evolving the way we understand land and ownership at the center of every transaction.
The Doomsday Book, or Domesday Book in Middle English, formed the basis of property ownership across England and much of Wales for centuries. It may be the most important historical document you’ve never heard of…
The Industrial Revolution of the 1800s created more demand for land surveying than ever before as cities across the globe experienced explosive growth. Surveying became a profession, hired by cities, transportation departments, railways, and frontier speculators. As the value of national economies and land grew exponentially, so too did the importance of accurate land plot measurement and exact boundary descriptions. Surveyors set out across America to explore possible routes for a transcontinental railroad, using theodolites modified with scopes and tools for triangulation.
To read more, click here
My comments: Fascinating short article. In my first appraisal job at an assessor’s office, we had a week-long training class in surveying, taught by a local surveyor. We spent time learning how to read and understand legal descriptions. I also learned that surveying is an art and a science, especially rural properties with references to a tree, for example. I was very lucky.
Whenever a property owner is uncertain about boundaries with adjacent properties, I always tell them to get a survey. I never assume fences are on the property line.
RICS, The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, founded in 1868 in England, has 131,000 members worldwide, including many real estate appraisers. Chartered status (MRICS) is their leading qualification status. I knew several local appraisers that were taught and trained by RICS requirements in England before moving here. They learned about many aspects of real estate, including appraisal.
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Inside Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz’s Modernist Home Overlooking the Pacific Ocean – “Dreamland”

Excerpt: For more than a decade, Razor House, the stunning cliffside mansion by architectural designer Wallace E. Cunningham in La Jolla, California, has alternately been described as a “magnum opus,” an “architectural masterpiece,” and “America’s coolest home.”
“Every wall in this house, every bit of it, is sculpture,” he states. “These beautiful S shapes, these chevrons going down the hillside, curvatures flying in space over your head. It’s more akin to sculpture than architecture.”
Explaining Dreamland name, the name, Keys says the expansive, nearly 11,000-square-foot residence, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is rumored to be the inspiration for Tony Stark’s futuristic bachelor pad in the Iron Man movies, is “a place to create dreams and to be bold enough to dream your wildest dream—for us to even be here is a wildest dream.”
To read more, see photos and a video click here
My comment: Very interesting especially the photos. Tony Stark is my favorite Avenger!
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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. I have been following this data since 1993. 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 7 AM to noon, Pacific time.

Mortgage applications decreased 2.8 percent from one week earlier,

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 17, 2021) – 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 November 12, 2021.
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 4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week and was 31 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 6 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
“Refinance applications decreased for the seventh time in eight weeks, as mortgage rates moved higher after two weeks of declines. Activity has been particularly sensitive to rate movements, and last week’s decline was driven by a drop in conventional and FHA refinance applications, which offset an increase in VA refinance applications. All mortgage rates in MBA’s survey increased, with the 30-year fixed rate climbing to 3.2 percent.” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Purchase applications increased for both conventional and government loan segments, as housing demand continues to show resiliency at a time – late fall – when home buying activity typically slows. The second straight increase in purchase applications suggests that stronger sales activity may continue in the weeks to come. Despite elevated demand, purchase applications were 5.7 percent lower than a year ago.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 62.9 percent of total applications from 63.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 3.2 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 8.9 percent from 8.8 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.8 percent from 10.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.5 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) increased to 3.20 percent from 3.16 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.34 (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 $548,250) remained unchanged at 3.26 percent, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.32 (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 3.23 percent from 3.18 percent, with points increasing to 0.41 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 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 2.56 percent from 2.52 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.89 percent from 2.82 percent, with points decreasing to 0.16 from 0.25 (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.
My comment: Many waivers are done on purchases and relatively few on refis. Appraisal business will slow down.
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Ann O’Rourke, MAI, SRA, MBA
Appraiser and Publisher Appraisal Today
1826 Clement Ave. Suite 203 Alameda, CA 94501
Phone 510-865-8041

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