appraisal business

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More Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos for Appraisers

Weird Real Estate Agent Photos for Appraisers

By Ann O'Rourke on July 29, 2022 / appraisal business, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, USPAP / Leave a comment

57 Weird Real Estate Agent Photos

Excerpt: Yes, many great real estate photos really capture the house. This post though is a tribute to the other kind that we’ve all seen – hilariously terrible MLS photos.

From horror movie-esque semi-abandoned homes for rent to home decor that overshot “unique”, the owners and agents behind these funny ads thought things were perfect just as they were for their photos and open houses.

Caption for Photo Above: That way, you can still work on the garden even if it’s raining!

To read more, click here

My comment: We all love these photos! If used in the MLS on a comp, makes you wonder how it sold ;> Or an expired listing that didn’t sell. Data for those fixer homes (contractor specials).

Appraising Weird Stuff is Challenging!

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ANSI Z765-2021 Resources for Appraisers

Fannie’s New ANSI FAQS July 2022

By Ann O'Rourke on July 22, 2022 / ANSI, appraisal business, Fannie Forms, lender appraisals, liability / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, appraisal how to, liability

Fannie’s New ANSI FAQS July 2022

Standardized Property Measuring Guidelines

Excerpts: Updated guidance, including some new and substantively revised FAQs

In response to your feedback, we’ve updated the Standardized Property Measuring Guidelines with some new and substantively revised FAQs, including clarifications on the terms “declaration” and “statement of finished sq ft.”

A few of the Q&As

Q5. When common practice in the local market differs from the ANSI standard, can the appraiser modify the subject’s GLA to conform to local custom?

Q6. The standard mentions a “statement of finished sq ft”; does Fannie Mae require appraisal reports to make an affirmative statement that the standard was followed?

Q7. The standard describes three scenarios in which a “declaration” is required. What is the difference between the statement of finished sq ft and the declarations?

Q19. Will appraiser adherence to the ANSI standard cause confusion when the subject GLA differs from other sources such as MLS or public record?

Q20. The GLA of comparables available to appraisers may not be based on the ANSI standard. How should appraisers manage this issue?

To Read this 5-page Update click here

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Bryan Reynolds speaks with Fannie Mae representative about the new ANSI FAQ. 37-minute podcast. Listen to this podcast!!

The Appraisal Update – Episode 109 | Fannie Mae’s New ANSI FAQ

Speaker: Bryan Swartwood III, Fannie Mae Credit Risk Senior Manager – Single Family Collateral Policy

Topics: The two Bryans discuss below grade, subject GLA different from MLS, comps not measured using ANSI, what happens to appraisers not following ANSI, ceiling height below 7 ft., manufactured homes, using exception code, and many more from the FAQs.

To listen to the podcast, click here

It is on the top of the web page now. scroll down the page looking for Episode 109. If possible, a copy of the ANSI Standards and the new FAQs makes it easier to follow the speakers. I subscribe to The Appraisal Update Podcast from Appraisal eLearning.

My comments: I listened to the podcast. The speaker was very good with practical advice. Reading the 5-page FAQs was okay, but the speaker helped me remember and understand what was written.

I received the Fannie email notice on July 19, 2022, at 10:30 Pacific time. The Appraiser eLearning podcast was available on July 19 at 2 PM. Whether or not FAQs were original, revised, or new is not indicated in the document. I did not compare it to the original Fannie FAQs.

When Fannie first announced in December 2021 that ANSI would be required on April 1, 2022, there was lots of confusion among appraisers who had never used ANSI or were not using it properly. ANSI was designed by home builders, not appraisers or lenders. Also, what Fannie wanted was not clear.

ANSI standards and Fannie requirements sometimes appeared to conflict. The forms were not designed to accommodate ANSI, such as where to put the different square footages on the form. Owners, reviewers, underwriters, real estate agents, and many others who read the appraisals are sometimes confused. These FAQs help to answer some of the questions.

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Residential Appraisals and AirBnb Income?

Appraising Short-Term Rentals/Airbnb

By Ann O'Rourke on July 15, 2022 / appraisal business, Clubhouse, cubicasa, FHA / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, appraisal how to, cubicasa, FHA

Debate on Appraising Short-Term Rentals

By Julie Friess, SRA, AI-RRS, MA

Video 22 minutes. Worth Watching!

Excerpt: What can appraisers learn when it comes to short-term and long-term rentals? What role does an appraiser take when sorting between the two? What can appraisers learn when it comes to short-term and long-term rentals? What role does an appraiser take when sorting between the two? These questions and much more will be answered.

My comments: Julie is not referring to an owner-occupant renting out a spare room in their house for a short term. She is talking about an investor buying and renting many rooms in a house, sometimes changing the floor plan. The photo above is a good example: an exterior door for access to a bedroom. This is not typical for a single family home

In the video, Joan Trice and Julie disagreed on how to appraise Short Term Rentals. I have been a commercial appraiser for over 40 years. It is obvious to me that you need experience and knowledge of what to do when appraising them as commercial properties.

If the GSEs are unclear on this, that is their problem, not yours. Just Say No! Don’t Risk Your License!

Julie has lived for decades in Sedona, a popular vacation location. Many homes were changed to investor-purchased Airbnbs with few home rentals available for local residents. Julie and a group of other concerned residents are now preparing for August 5, 2022, when there is an election for new city council members.

Julie and I are co-hosts every Thursday at 2 PM Pacific Time in our Clubhouse group (Real Estate Appraisal Questions). To attend, download the Clubhouse app on your smartphone. All sessions are recorded and available. Recent topics include Water rights, views, location, and more. Short-term Rentals. Zoning, Highest, and Best Use. Past, Present, and Future of Residential Appraising.

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Two articles by Julie on my website:

Residential Appraisals and Airbnb Income?

Click here to read

Excerpts from the article: Don’t get caught like a deer in the headlights! State appraisal boards ARE disciplining appraisers across the country for improperly using the business income (Short term Rental – STR) from AirBnBs on the residential 1007 Fannie Mae form.

Lenders and AMCs want residential appraisers to value these properties as both the real estate and the business values of these properties – Wrong!!

Tales of a Trainee at Appraisal Camp Sedona

Click here to read

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Non-lender Appraisals Good fees and few hassles
Purchase vs. refi appraisals

Too many appraisers?

By Ann O'Rourke on June 10, 2022 / appraisal business, george dell, mortgage loan volume, real estate market / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, mortgage loan volume, real estate market

How can we fix the excess of appraisers?

Too many appraisers?

By George Dell, SRA, MAI

Easy — we do what we have always done, each time . . .

Excerpts: 1) We will raise the standards (“cost of entry”). 2) We will make it harder to become an appraiser; 3) Let the lower fees discourage newcomer appraisers.

In past issues of the Analogue Blog, we have considered the “five forces of friction” on the advancement of appraisal. Here we consider how these “frictions” will behave as appraisal demand has dropped, just as each of the five forces have found ways to reduce or “eliminate” the need for valuation expertise. Recall the five forces of friction: practices, standards, education, regulation, and client expectation.

This blog considers how each friction will respond to this “excess” of appraisers.

Practices:

Current practice is still embedded in the concepts of 8 ½ X 14 paper forms, spreadsheets, or narrative explanation of the opinion of the person (appraiser, evaluator) or automation programmer. Practices will continue to evolve toward objective data selection and predictive models. But this evolvement will continue to stay behind the inherent potential of applied data science. Habitual practice of “comparing comps” over “measuring markets” will prevail (in the absence of change in the other “frictions”).

To read more, click here

My comments: Of course, lots of politicians, appraiser organizations, appraisers and others are complaining now about an appraiser shortage and trying to recruit trainees. This is the past. Loan applications are way down, the lowest in 22 years. What was your business like before the pandemic? Not much work probably compared with 2020-2022. The Inevitable Cyclicality of Mortgage Lending. I hope you saved up lots of money over the past few years!

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Tips on appraising new construction homes

By Ann O'Rourke on May 27, 2022 / appraisal business, appraisal how to, Fannie, liability, va / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, appraisal how to, Fannie, liability, va

6 Tips for Appraising New Construction Homes

Excerpts: New construction is treated a little differently by lenders, FHA, and the GSEs. When appraising new construction homes, you must take into consideration certain features and attributes that don’t necessarily apply to re-sales. It requires more work, so you want to be sure that you are charging for your effort. However, perhaps more than that, you want to be sure you’re following the proper protocol. Stick to these best practices to ensure you cover all your bases.

3. Talk to multiple local builders You can gain valuable information from builders—as long as you talk to them now to evaluate current costs and value. Some of the best construction cost data is compiled by you as you complete new construction appraisal assignments. When appraising new proposed construction, the prior data can be reviewed for those construction projects that are most similar to the subject property in quality, size, and features and be used as cost data to support cost estimates for the current appraisal. As the cost of construction materials generally continue to spiral upwards, it may be necessary to adjust for time, depending on how old the cost data is.

To read more tips, click here

My comments: Well written and worth reading. New home construction appraisals can be tricky. I quit doing them a while ago – too many various hassles, but many appraisers like doing them. There are few new homes built in my area, except stacked condos. Land is too expensive.

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Price per square foot not very reliable for appraisals
Fannie Wants Desktop Appraisals

CubiCasa – Home Measurement From Inside A House

By Ann O'Rourke on May 20, 2022 / ANSI, appraisal business, desktop appraisals, real estate market / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, desktop appraisals, real estate market

CubiCasa and a Desktop Mess – an appraiser’s experience

By Jamie Owen

Excerpts: I called the listing agent on the property I was to appraise and asked if they knew how an appraiser might go about obtaining a floor plan (for my desktop appraisal). She had no idea and had never heard of this type of thing being needed. I was really at a dead end here. I called the bank and explained the situation. They ended up converting the assignment to a traditional type of appraisal so that I could just make the inspection myself.

I called the chief appraiser of the bank that ordered the appraisal. I know him well and have worked together with him on some complex assignments. He said the whole thing is a mess. Some appraisers are submitting reports where they have the listing agent hand-draw the interior walls on copies of the county auditor’s sketch outline. This is also a no-no. Fannie Mae will accept nothing hand-drawn in terms of the sketch…

I decided to test CubiCasa. I downloaded the software to my iPhone 11… I must tell you that I was very impressed! The scan took 15 minutes to do. By the way, I measured the home also. It took about 15 minutes for me to measure the home. But it would have taken a lot longer if I had to add walls and doors!

In less than a day, the sketch was sent to me via email, and it was awesome! It was professional-looking and had all the data that I needed. Its measurements were within 15 square feet of mine on a home that was just over 2,400 square feet. It also broke down the square footage of each floor and the dimensions of each room and its gross living area calculations.

I have been using it and then comparing my measurements with its measurements. It is consistently within 1-3% of my measurements. The 3% variance is with larger homes with complex angles and tricky areas to measure. In my view, that’s pretty good!

To read more and see a fun video and animated gifs, click here

My comments: Desktop appraisals are a new type of assignment for appraisers. I wrote about CubiCasa and Desktops in recent newsletters. I tested it and spoke with knowledgeable people. I am using it. No more exterior measurements!

Appraiser Retirement?

Appraiser retirement plans?

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Fannie ANSI Update – 19 New FAQs

By Ann O'Rourke on March 18, 2022 / ANSI, appraisal business, Fannie Forms, Reviews / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, ANSI, appraisal business, Fannie forms, reviews

Fannie ANSI FAQs Update

Updated Standardized Property Measurement Guidelines – 19 new FAQs, 5 Pages

Excerpt from the short Fannie email sent 3-15-22 at 8 AM (Pacific time): “…Are you ready? We’ve updated the Standardized Property Measuring Guidelines fact sheet to include more answers to your frequently asked questions. Thanks to all the appraisers, AMCs, and lenders who submitted questions.”

My comment: There are no changes to the first page, including comps measured differently and the exception process. Links are included for references in Fannie’s Selling Guide in the Guidelines.

FAQ topics include:

Q5. When common practice in the local market differs from the ANSI standard, can the appraiser modify the subject’s GLA to conform to local custom?

Q8. The ANSI standard specifically notes that the definition of above and below grade could cause some houses to have no above-grade finished square footage.

How should appraisers report GLA in this scenario?

Q9. How will lenders know that appraisers used the ANSI standard?

Q15. Will appraiser adherence to the ANSI standard cause confusion when the subject GLA differs from other sources such as MLS or public record?

Q16. How should appraisers account for rooms located in above-grade finished areas that do not qualify as GLA under the ANSI standard?

Q18. The GLA of comparables available to appraisers may not be based on the ANSI standard. How should appraisers manage this issue?

Q19. How should appraisers value finished areas that the ANSI standard does not include in GLA, such as where the ceiling height is less than 7 feet?

To download the PDF to read the answers and other FAQs, click here

My comments: Read This Document! I have been waiting for an update to the one-page original Fannie document since it was first released about 3 months ago. There are many, many issues when using ANSI for lenders and AMCs. Appraisers sent many questions to Fannie and made comments during webinars with Fannie.

If you’re looking for a class, webinar, or other ANSI info, go to www.appraisaltoday.com/ANSI

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Appraisal Obsolete? Now or in the Future?

AMC Mergers and Acquisition for Appraisers

By Ann O'Rourke on February 4, 2022 / AMCs, ANSI, appraisal business, appraisal management company, waivers / Leave a comment

Tags: AMC, ANSI, appraisal business, waivers

AMC Mergers and Acquisition – Someone has a positive view of residential lender appraising!

Nationwide Property & Appraisal Services purchased by investment firm Arcapita Group Holdings

Excerpts: The deal gives Arcapita an AMC that serves mortgage lenders in all 50 states, has a network of over 15,000 licensed appraisers, and grossed $144 million in revenue in 2021.

“We were attracted by Nationwide’s highly cash generative business, experienced management team, and strong base of clients across the country,” Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik said in a statement. “Close to 50% of Nationwide’s customers have maintained their relationship with the company for over six years, highlighting the longevity of its customer relationships, and the company benefits from a free cash flow conversion rate of over 99%.”

The AMC has acquired five other companies since Corridor bought a stake in Nationwide in 2016. In June, Nationwide acquired Portland, Oregon-based First Choice Appraisal Management, expanding its reach into the Pacific Northwest.

Other large financial firms are also putting money into the appraisal management space, which is highly fractured.

In October, private holding group StoicLane acquired control of the appraisal management company Lender’s Valuation Services (LVS).

To read more, click here

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Class Valuation purchases Metro-West

Excerpt: In a press statement, Class Valuation said Metro-West, founded in 1987, is the largest independent residential appraisal firm in the country, with staff appraisers in over 80 U.S. metros.

Class Valuation, which itself is owned by private equity firm Gridiron Capital, said the acquisition of Metro-West would fit into its larger strategy of fusing tech tools such as automation and 3D measurements to help clear the well-documented capacity issues in appraisal.

“One area of focus for us has been the growth of a staff appraiser network and building out a nation-wide trainee program,” John Fraas, CEO of Class Valuation, said in a statement.

This is the fifth acquisition Class Valuation has made in the last 12 months, and the seventh in recent years. In September, Class Valuation acquired Kansas City, Missouri-based Pendo Management for an undisclosed sum.

There’s been a surge in private equity investment in the U.S. appraisal space over the last two years.

To read more, click here

My comments: The investors see money to be made in appraisals. What will they think when it inevitably crashes again, like it always does. I wish I had an AMC I could sell to investors ;>

If you work for any of these AMCs, keep close track of your billings, so they don’t get lost in any accounting mergers. No one knows, of course, if their appraisal management will change.

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Appraisal Completion Certifications – be careful

Desktop appraisals okay for some Fannie Loans March 2022

By Ann O'Rourke on January 21, 2022 / ANSI, appraisal business, appraisal forms, appraisal how to, bias, desktop appraisals, Fannie, liability, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: ANSI, appraisal business, appraisal how to, bias, desktop appraisals, Fannie, square footage

Desktop appraisals okay for some Fannie Loans March 2022

Fannie announcement – About Desktop Appraisals

Beginning in March 2022, desktop appraisals will be an option for some loan transactions. This fact sheet provides high-level information on Fannie Mae’s requirements for desktop appraisals and answers some frequently asked questions. We’ll be adding information to the fact sheet, such as additional FAQs as needed.

Excerpts:

Use Form 1004 Desktop
Must include floor plan with interior walls.
The appraiser must have sufficient information to develop a credible report.

To read the fact sheet, click here

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Desktop Appraisal to Become the New Norm

by Isaac Peck, Editor, WorkingRe

Note: This article was written before the Fannie announcement above.

Excerpts: A number of questions remain regarding how the GSEs will establish the eligibility criteria for what types of loans, transactions, and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios will qualify for these desktop valuations. For example, Thompson’s comments that such a move will provide relief on rural appraisals runs contrary to most conventional appraisal experience in the industry where appraisal waivers, hybrid appraisals, and other “alternative” valuation products have primarily been used in cookie-cutter, tract home neighborhoods where model-match comps are more readily available.

In fact, over the years many senior executives at the GSEs and at major lending institutions have acknowledged the need for traditional appraisals on rural properties—which are much more likely to have unique features and require more complex analysis.

There is also the question of whether the introduction of desktop appraisals will potentially lead to a broader range of alternative appraisal products into the mix. Given that some senior executives at Fannie Mae were predicting that hybrid appraisals would become mainstream by 2022, it is actually a little surprising that desktop appraisal assignments are the first alternative product to get a permanent place on the GSE’s valuation roster. Appraisers will just have to wait to see what the future holds!

To read more, click here

My comment: Interesting and worth reading about the background of Fannie’s change

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