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DO NOT FILL OUT ANY PART OF ANY FORM ASKING FOR YOUR OPINION OF VALUE (INCLUDING DIRECTION IN VALUE) AND/OR REPAIR COSTS. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY OPINION OF MARKETABILITY.

Forms that are being used

1. You are working for a lender who allows you send a letter. That’s what I did in 1999-2000 disaster inspection reports in my area. BEST OPTION.

2. FANNIE FORM 2075 OR FREDDIE FORM 2070. THIS FORM IS THE ONLY APPROPRIATE STANDARD FANNIE MAE FORM. This was used for many years for exterior inspections with no appraisal (comps, value, etc). You can discuss the condition of the home in a comments section.

3. Catastrophic disaster area property inspection report. I have seen these from three software vendors. All were different. Unfortunately, some of them have sections for reporting “cost to cure” and/or opinion of direction in value. You will have to modify them, similar to the discussion below on the 1004D. See what it looks in your forms software.

4. Fannie form 1004D – Appraisal Update and/or Completion Report. available 3/05. This form has been widely used by lenders, starting in 2005. See below. THIS FORM IS FOR AN APPRAISAL, NOT INSPECTION-ONLY. EVERYTHING BELOW THE TOP OF THE FORM (address, client, etc.) IS NOT APPROPRIATE. YOU MUST WRITE UP YOUR OWN SCOPE OF WORK, INTENDED USE, ETC. PUT THE APPROPRIATE INFORMATION IN NARRATIVE FORMAT IN A TEXT ADDENDUM. BE SURE TO PUT DISCLAIMERS ON BOTH PAGES OF THE REPORT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION PLUS THE ADDENDUM See below.

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Fannie form 1004D – Appraisal Update and/or Completion Report. available 3/05. This form has been widely used by lenders, starting in 2005, for appraisals “subject to completion”, typically new homes. These reports are done by the appraisal who did the original appraisal. THIS FORM IS USED BY AMCS AS IT CAN BE TRANSMITTED AND IS A STANDARD FORM.

THIS FORM IS FOR AN APPRAISAL, NOT INSPECTION-ONLY. ALL THE FORM BELOW THE TOP OF PAGE 1 IS INAPPROPRIATE AND MISLEADING.

Below that section, the only item that can be used is the Intended user. YOU MUST HAVE AN ADDENDUM DISCUSSING WHAT THE LENDER/CLIENT WANTS.

– You can put text comments info Conclusions on Page 2. Do not check any boxes. Do not fill in any repair estimates. Write up your description in the comments. Such as: None apparent (do NOT discuss affect on collateral or marketability). Or, home has been completely destroyed, except for foundation. No roof, walls, etc.

– DO NOT FILL OUT ANYTHING IN THE RECOMMENDED INSPECTION SECTION. Repeat the above disclaimer. You can include a brief, general, description of the home in the comments section. Even if is there is no damage apparent, you did not previously appraise the home. Be sure to explain this. For example: subject and nearby homes do not appear to have been affected by Hurriane Sandy.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTION IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS FORM AND IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR. The disaster forms and the 2075 form include a neighborhood section. Optionally, you may include a statement on neighborhood/nearby homes, such as “Almost all the homes within 2 blocks of the subject are almost completely destroyed” Or, the subject is 1 mile from any apparent storm damage.

You MUST write up your own addendum/letter, covering:

– Statements that:

THIS IS NOT AN APPRAISAL AND IS PROVIDED TO ASSIST THE LENDER AFTER A DISASTER. THE SCOPE, INTENDED USE, CONTINGENT AND LIMITING CONDITIONS, AND APPRAISER’S CERTIFICATION ARE SUPERCEDED BY THIS ADDENDUM. THE SIGNATURE PROVIDED ONLY INDICATES WHO DID THE EXTERNAL INSPECTION. ALSO PUT THIS STATEMENT BELOW “HAS THE MARKET VALUE DECLINED” SECTION. DO NOT CHECK THE BOX.

– Intended use. Do NOT include “To determine if the property has declined in value since the date of the original appraisal for a mortgage finance transaction.”

– Scope of work. ONLY include “perform and exterior inspection of the subject property from the street”.

BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE DISCLAIMER BELOW

“While the appraiser noted no VISIBLE damage, the appraiser is neither an engineer nor a contractor and is not qualified to comment upon whether or not damage may be present which was not apparent from a visual, exterior inspection.”

Source: Liability Insurance Administrators

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REFUSING TO FILL OUT THIS FORM. Some appraisers are refusing to fill out this form. This has the same problem since 2005. Nothing has been done about this. It is your decision. As you can see, it is not appropriate and only the first section of the form can be filled ouit.

If you choose to fill out this form, it is your choice.

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WHAT’S THE ANSWER? A standard disaster inspection report, used by all lenders.

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My last local disasters were in 1989/1990 – Oakland firestorm and Loma Prieta earthquake. I did re-inspections on properties I had previously appraised for lenders. No values or estimated costs, etc., of course. Most of the appraisal work was for insurance companies to determine the value of the property previous to the disasters.

The most recent large disaster was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This was pre-HVCC and lenders ordered the property inspections as AMCs were not predominant. Many lenders ordered 1004D forms and many appraisers refused to fill them out.

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Be sure you can find the subject!!

GPS is not exact. A subject can be hard if there is nothing there and all the nearby homes are gone. I know from experience!! I had previously appraised the homes after a disaster and had difficulty finding them!!

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What about fees?

The primary factor is how much time it will take. You can work for any fee you choose, even $1, for any report.

Since you will not be providing any opinion of repair estimates, direction in value, etc. look at how long it will take you driving, research (finding the subject), writeup, and transmitting the report. Also, if you can do lots of them on the same day, in the same neighborhood.

I’m hearing from a minimum of $75 (low Fannie 2075 fee) to $200+ each.

If you are doing interior inspections, be sure someone accompanies you. Be very, very careful. Don’t do them for a low fee. They are probably ok in areas with minimal damage, such as broken windows, etc.