Reconciliation for appraisers

By on July 19, 2018   /   AMCs, appraisal business, Appraisal fees, appraisal how to, Fannie, fees, Mortgage applications, unusual home   /   Leave a comment
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Reconciliation – Paint a Picture with Words

By Rachel Massey, SRA
Excerpts: The reconciliation is precisely the place we want to avoid any boilerplate…Appraisers relationships with their clients has similarity with other relationships, but mainly in that we have to really communicate with each other to avoid misunderstanding. This goes for the engagement of services and why we are being hired in the first place, and also goes for communicating our assignment results. In this article, the focus is on the reconciliation section of a written report. Reconciliation for appraisers is very important.

Read the article, and the comments at:

My comment: Excellent, well written article, as usual, from Rachel Massey. FYI, Rachel is a regular contributor to the paid Appraisal Today.

Appraisal Business Tips 

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Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe

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NOTE: Please scroll down to read the other topics in this long blog post on history of appraising, price declines, dining rooms, mortgage origination stats, etc.

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7-12-18 Newz// 3 Story Homes, Auction Prices, Portable Architecture

By on July 12, 2018   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal, appraisal how to, Appraisal Standards Board, AVMS, Mortgage applications, unusual homes, USPAP, weird homes, zillow   /   Leave a comment
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The Most Popular Article From Last Week’s Newsletter: Former Appraiser’s Hot Dog Stand!! FYI, unusual and weird stuff is very popular with appraisers ;>

Three-story Single-family Homes and Townhomes

Excerpt: Of the 729,000 single-family detached homes started in 2017, a little over 18,000 (2.5 percent) had three or more stories, according to National Association of Home Builder tabulation of recently released Census data.

In contrast, the 23,000 3-plus story townhomes represent 22.0 percent of single-family townhome starts.

More info here:

My comment: 3 story detached homes are not popular in very many areas. It is a long walk up to the 3rd floor. I have appraised them (attic conversions of a classic older home to a master bedroom, for example). I always look to see if an elevator can be added – usually has to be on the exterior of the home. Definitely a functional problem. I rarely see them on existing homes, except for attic conversions. Some newer detached homes have a small room on the 3rd story – family room, extra bedroom, etc.

For townhomes, I have seen a significant increase in 3 story new construction townhomes in my city (within the past few years) and other Bay Area cities. The first floor is a garage plus entry, second floor living room and kitchen, bedrooms on 3rd floor. Very profitable for home builders, especially in areas with high land prices and infill tracts. I have appraised them and the owners did not object to the 3 floors. There are sometimes a few townhomes that are 2 story.

My first apartment when I moved to San Francisco in my 20s was a third floor walkup. I vowed Never Again ;>

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7-5-18 Newz//Busy or Not?, Prices Dropping, Appraiser Hot Dog Stand

By on July 5, 2018   /   AMCs, appraisal business, Appraisal fees, fees, lender appraisals, real estate market, USPAP   /   Leave a comment
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Who’s busy and who’s not?

Varies widely around the country. Maybe it depends on housing affordability? See articles below. But, it is really hard to say what causes the geographic variation for appraisers.

Many areas have seasonal variations, but now we are in the traditionally strong summer months, so it is clearer that some areas have less appraiser work.

How do you tell if it is down? AMCs dropping fees. Fewer emails, phone calls, etc.  Other appraisers complaining.
What about steady to increasing biz? Decent fees, turning down work, etc.

Changes in turn times and fees when biz slows down

Appraisers just don’t seem to understand that AMCs work for lenders and try to do what they want.

Why do AMCs/lenders want faster turn times?
AMCs work for lenders. They are competing on turn times primarily, like they always have. Business is very competitive and is declining.

Value pressure?
Is there more value pressure from some of your AMC clients?
Some lenders want to close as many loans as possible and keep profits from dropping.

Why do AMCs drop fees?
Direct lenders have their own fee panels don’t send out bid request to lots and lots of appraisers. Their fees don’t change dramatically. They have never focused on changing appraisal fees frequently. AMCs need lower appraisal fees to keep their profits up, just like you do. I have always thought of AMCs as very large appraisal companies that mostly fee out all their appraisals.

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6-28-18// Newz .Appraiser Impostor Video, Unusual Motels/Hotels, Switch Off USPAP

By on June 28, 2018   /   AMCs, appraisal management company, appraisal waivers, bad appraisers, mortgage loan volume, Strange homes, unusual home, unusual homes, USPAP, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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Appraiser Imposter Captured on Video!!!

Click here to see the video of the imposter and the owner’s comments. Note: You may have to wait for the ad to finish. Worth the wait!!

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Imposter posing as appraiser, utility workers target Phoenix neighborhood
Excerpt: Last Wednesday, as construction workers bustled inside Huddleston’s home near 22nd Street and Glendale Avenue, a woman came to her door claiming to be an appraiser for the bank.

Huddleston said the woman told her she was there to take pictures, and had arranged the time with Kacia’s husband, Bryan.
“She knew my husband’s name, and as I was in the midst of texting my husband to see if she was supposed to be here, she walked right in,” said Huddleston.

My comment: Have you inspected the wrong house? I have definitely knocked on the wrong door, but never went inside… so far ;>

Stories of Surprising Roadside Hotels

It’s check-in time for your memories of unforgettable travel lodgings.

Just For Fun!!

Excerpt: Lots of interesting places!! Here are a few:
Red Caboose Motel Ronks, Pennsylvania
The guest rooms are actual train cabooses. Think tiny houses on rails.

The Atomic Inn Beatty, Nevada
“It was alien and bunker-themed, and was decorated with atomic bomb art.”

Wigwam Village #2 Cave City, Kentucky
Stay in a teepee.

Movie Manor
Monte Vista, Colorado
“It’s in a drive-in theater and you can watch movies from your bed.”

Click on the Motel/Hotel name for photo and more info

My comment: Back in the 60s I traveled between California and Oklahoma regularly, using Route 66, before the Interstate was completed. Lotsa strange motels!! Before motels morphed into chains that looked the same. There are still a few of these “old timers” left.

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13 Very strange bathrooms for appraisers

By on June 14, 2018   /   AMCs, Appraisal Foundation, appraisal management company, appraisal waivers, Fannie, hybrid appraisals, mortgage loan volume, USPAP, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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13 of the Craziest/Coolest Public Bathrooms

Just For Fun!!

Excerpt: We know, there is a lot to hate about public restrooms, but we’ve found they can actually be a very unexpected but very potent source of inspiration. We’ve never seen tile layouts like the ones in public facilities-and that’s why we like them. Overlapping squares with zigzag edges? A woven look with a whopping five different colors and two different tile sizes?

My comment: Wow! Vibrant colors and tiles….

Appraisal Business Tips 

Humor for Appraisers

Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe

For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com

Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!!

To read more of this 6-14-20 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!

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5-24-18 Newz//UAD and Fannie Form Changes. Floating Island. Refis dropping

By on May 24, 2018   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal business, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, data, Fannie, Freddie, lender appraisals, marijuana license, real estate market, state appraiser regulators, Strange homes, weird homes, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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It’ll never sell that high (but then it did)

Excerpt: There’s no way it’s going to sell that high. Have you ever thought that in real estate? Well, let’s talk about a property that many said would never sell at $4.1M, but then it did. I definitely have some takeaways about this lofty condo in Downtown Sacramento (CA), and I hope non-locals will relate to the commentary. (My note: median home sale price is $367,500)

Details and lots of graphs at:

My comment: The median home sale price is $367,500. This is definitely an outlier for the area.

A floating Pacific island is in the works with its own government, cryptocurrency and 300 houses

Just For Fun!!

Excerpts: The Floating Island Project plans to create off-shore housing that uses its own currency and operates outside of government regulations.
– The project is a pilot program in partnership with the government of French Polynesia.
– A long-term vision for the project is hundreds of new countries floating on the ocean.

As well as offering a home for the displaced, the self-contained islands are designed to function as business centers that are beyond the influence of government regulation.

Check out the video and lots more details at:

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5-10-18 Newz//Market Value Fallacies. Broken Mortgage Market. Crazy Appraiser Stories

By on May 10, 2018   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, data, hybrid appraisals, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, real estate market   /   Leave a comment
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Is it all a big lie? Are there really 6 fallacies of market value?

By George Dell, MAI, SRA, ASA

Excerpts: Some ten years ago, we saw the start of the economic meltdown. Were appraisers to blame?  Some tried to pin the blame that way. But was there a big lie underneath? The required (federally insured) definition of value has seven distinct elements. Were appraisers doing what they were told?
Seeking entertainment for my Stats, Graphs, and Data Science¹ classes, it seemed fun to see if these assumptions had not been religiously followed.  This led to a PowerPoint slide entitled:
 “Dell Operative definition of market value”
Check it out at:

My comment: Interesting comments plus some humor ;>

In the Trenches, Crazy Appraiser Stories

Just For Fun!!

Excerpt: You’ve all got them… The crazy car chases, the surprising living conditions, the exotic assignments and the unique collectors. Here are a few of our stories we found buzz worthy.
This was a beautiful 3,200 sq ft home with all the extras. After measuring…
The Stories plus 10 comments with more stories.
My comment: I love the foto of the crazy appraiser!!

Which of us does not have a weird experience… or lots of them ;>

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4-26-18 Newz//Tristar Waivers Denied. Fannie Update. FHFA Paper on Value of AMCs Questioned

By on April 26, 2018   /   AMCs, appraisal business, Fannie, FHA, forecast, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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Technology or Human Logical Analysis? Who Wins?

By George Dell, MAI, SRA, ASA, CDEI
Excerpt: There is evidence that human judgment WINS – the appraiser opinion beats the AVM and other valuations based on technology. In fact, I have often heard that the qualified appraisal, based on the human logical analysis – is the “gold standard” for the industry. This appears to be true of client groups, and appears to be recognized in administrative law, our federal and state and “quasi-governmental” bodies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Appraisal Foundation.

Even as we say this, the human model, the appraiser, continues to lose market share to other technologies and other “non-appraiser” value providers.

Worth reading at:

My comment: George Dell’s weekly blog posts are great, but short, as is appropriate for blogs. The May issue of the paid Appraisal Today newsletter will have a much longer article by George, “Will another profession replace appraisers?”

Uredd Rest Area (Ureddplassen)

Norway has built what may be the world’s most beautiful public toilet.

Just For Fun!!

Excerpt: Norway’s newest landmark is a place of absurd beauty. The redesigned rest area, situated along a section of the Norwegian Scenic Route, overlooks stunning views of the fjords and the open sea, and is a popular spot for visitors and locals to watch the northern lights in winter and the midnight sun in summer.

Now this picturesque place is quickly gaining a stranger kind of fame, for being home to what may be the most beautiful public toilet the world over.

Check out the Fantastic Photos and short description at:

My comment: Wow!! What do I use in the field? Fast food, bushes, etc. ;> Sometimes a crummy restroom or smelly portable toilet in a public park… Please hit reply of you know any other great public restrooms…

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4-12-18 Newz//What’s a Comp? Multiple offers way over list. Rotating House

By on April 12, 2018   /   adjustments, AMCs, Appraisal Foundation, appraisal how to, Appraisal Qualifications Board, Fannie, fees, forecast, lender appraisals, listings, Mortgage applications, real estate market, Strange homes, unusual home, unusual homes, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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Advertise with us. Very reasonable rates!

What’s a comp?

 
By George Dell, MAI, SRA

Excerpts: Our education tells us a comp is similar and competitive. So how do we measure “comparability”? If our job entails studying market data to get an answer … might it be important to know exactly how to describe a comp?

So what’s the issue? Why should we care? I am a highly trained expert. I have a license. “Trust me. I know a good comp when I see one.”

My comments: George is writing a longer article than his blog posts for the May issue of the paid Appraisal Today. I often wish his blog posts were longer, but they are designed to be short ;>

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What type of heater is needed for a loan appraisal?

By on March 29, 2018   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal business, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, Barry Bates, lender appraisals, real estate market, Strange homes, unusual home, unusual homes, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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What type of heater is needed for a loan?

March 22, 2018 By Ryan Lundquist

Excerpt: A guy wants to sell, but his central system is broken, so he has space heaters in each room. Does that work? Is it going to fly for a loan? What’s an appraiser going to be looking for when it comes to a heat source? Let’s consider some thoughts from Fannie Mae, HUD, local code, and different lenders.

Very well written, comprehensive and worth reading at:

My comment: I appraise a lot of Victorians, built when they were heated by fireplaces. Many added a floor heater on the first floor with no other heating source, including no heating on the second floor. The easiest way is to put baseboard electric heaters in the bedrooms, assuming electrical has been upgraded. I regularly get asked by local real estate agents about lender requirements. Now I know what to tell them!

Appraisal Business Tips 

Humor for Appraisers

Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe

For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com

Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!!

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 , weird decor, hidden factors that affect value, mortgage origination stats, Covid tips for appraisers, etc.

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