appraisal Archives

Quirky houses can make lenders nervous

By Ann O'Rourke on July 10, 2013 / appraisal, appraisers, lender appraisals / 1 Comment

Tags: appraisal, appraisers, unusal homes

Excerpt:

Want to live in a geodesic home or a reproduction of a medieval castle? Jumbo borrowers shopping for offbeat homes may face challenges in getting a mortgage.

Kristi Gillis and her husband, Bill Hollars, bought a geodesic home in Montera, Calif., for $700,000 last fall. The couple was preapproved by a major bank for a jumbo mortgage, but when they told their lender they planned to buy the domed home, the bank withdrew the financing. Every lender they contacted refused to discuss a loan because of the house’s unusual shape. “What was upsetting is that we thought we’d done everything right,” Gillis said. “We both were pretty shocked, and even the agents involved were surprised.” (They did finally get a loan)

“An artsy person who lives outside the box will look at one house and think it’s stunning,” said Karen J. Mann, a Discovery Bay, Calif.-based appraiser who covers the San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Sacramento communities. “When an appraiser looks at it, it’s about what’s the norm for the area.

My comment: And the appraisals can be nightmares!! Fortunately, we can google the address and see the house before re-negotiating the fee or Just Say No!

Link to original article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/quirky-houses-can-make-lenders-nervous-2013-07-02?siteid=rss

Poll – Taking comp photos?

By Ann O'Rourke on July 2, 2013 / appraisal / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal

Poll Results 4/1/13 – www.appraisalport.com

With many ways available to view a property (ex. MLS and Google photos) how do you feel about having to always include your own comp photos?

Always necessary 1,928 votes 36%
Sometimes necessary 1,731 votes 32%
Rarely necessary 1,313 votes 25%
Never necessary 368 votes 7%
Total Votes: 5,340

My comment: interesting results. I have to take my comp photos, even if I have seen the property recently. I’m always afraid I will miss something… I guess I am just “old school”. Of course, I have only done a few desk appraisals or reviews. I just couldn’t seem to be able to do them. Oh well…

I love these www.appraisalport.com surveys!! Thanks to Steve Costello for doing them!!

Appraisers' forecast for 2014

By Ann O'Rourke on July 2, 2013 / appraisal / 4 Comments

Tags: appraisal

www.Appraisalport.com – another great poll!!

How do you foresee your workload and income changing in the next year if the government slows its purchase of mortgages and/or interest rates begin to rise?

I see things slowing a lot. (36.4%) 1,886 votes
I see things slowing a little. (38.5%) 1,993 votes
I don’t’ see any real change (18.9%) 978 vote
I see things picking-up a little. (3.8%) 198 votes
I see things picking-up a lot. (2.4%) 126 votes
Total Votes: 5,181

My comments: I suspect it will slow down but I don’t know how much. Lots of appraisers are turning down work every day now. Time to prepare for the upcoming slowdown, with the inevitable reduced fees. Fees are now based on supply and demand of work.

Make as much money as you can on each appraisal you accept.

The July issue of my Appraisal Today newsletter, see below, has an excellent article on negotiating with AMCs to make more money.

I also have an article on getting started doing divorce appraisals. I have always taken non-lender work, since I started my appraisal business in 1986. I would not be in business today if I didn’t have it to help me get through the down cycles of appraising, both the big and small swings in volume of business.

StreetLinks AMC's new AppraiserPlus Program-paid on inspection, no micromanagement?

By Ann O'Rourke on May 29, 2013 / AMCs, appraisal, appraisal management company / 21 Comments

Tags: AMC, appraisal

My comment: Hmmm… we will see what happens. Maybe too many appraisers took Streetlinks off their approved AMC list?

Full Streetlinks press release:

May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — StreetLinks Lender Solutions(R) announced today the August 2013 launch of its AppraiserPlus(SM) program. AppraiserPlus(SM) significantly enhances the professional partnership between StreetLinks and appraisers by removing the traditional hurdles of micromanagement and post-completion appraiser payment cycles. StreetLinks’ lender partners will continue to benefit from exemplary quality and service levels, with the assurance that they will never be responsible for an AMC’s failure to pay the appraiser.

“I have said many times that we want to make a positive impact on our industry and to continuously make it better than it was when we entered. AppraiserPlus(SM) is consistent with that goal by providing measurable benefits to appraisers and lenders through real partnerships — not traditional vendor micromanagement,” said StreetLinks President, Tom Hurst. “This program allows appraisers to focus on running their businesses and brings back the days of “COD” style payment. This announcement is a year in the making and as an original founder of StreetLinks, this is the most exciting announcement of my career.”

For years, traditional AMCs have put all appraisers into a single bucket and micromanaged every aspect of the process, resulting in real or perceived nuisance calls, texts and emails that interfere with the appraiser’s productivity. While StreetLinks has never set appraisers’ fees and has remained loyal to exceptional appraisers, the company also approached each order with a standardized follow-up process. AppraiserPlus(SM) changes that trend by restoring the days when appraisers were trusted to run their businesses and provide great service and quality reports, in addition to receiving the majority of their payments at the inspection versus weeks or months later.

AppraiserPlus(SM) will limit or remove calls, text messages and emails to participating appraisers during the appraisal fulfillment process, thus allowing appraisers to spend their time inspecting properties, compiling data and writing appraisal reports. Appraisers will have the opportunity to remove nearly all follow-up questions, revisions and stipulations by completing a StreetLinks QX review prior to report delivery. Additionally, AppraiserPlus(SM) will generate ACH payments to appraisers the same day the property is inspected.

Appraisers accepted into the program agree to consistent and fair service metrics and quality control requirements. Hurst noted that this will also ensure lenders that the best, most qualified appraiser will be handling each report.

“We have spent years developing great partnerships with our clients and continue to see unprecedented growth and capture market share. This program will strengthen our partnerships with appraisers while driving additional value for our clients,” Hurst added. “With multiple AMCs recently closing their doors, some lenders have been put in a tough spot — including being left to pay millions in situations where the AMC collected the funds, but failed to pay the appraiser. AppraiserPlus(SM) mitigates such risk, making it a win for both appraisers and lenders.”

About StreetLinks

StreetLinks Lender Solutions provides innovative and comprehensive suite of valuation services and lending technology solutions to banks, lenders and other mortgage industry firms. StreetLinks’ commitment to quality and service, embodied by our partnership approach to clients and appraisers, continues to set us apart as the nation’s premier lending solutions partner. Our products and services are used by thousands of mortgage bankers and appraisers nationwide to simplify and improve everyday business operations. For more information, visit www.streetlinks.com/landing/AppraiserPlus.

Contact Information:

Tom Hurst

tom.hurst@streetlinks.com

317-215-8182

Link to streetlinks web site:
https://www.streetlinks.com/landing/AppraiserPlus

Source of Work – refis and foreclosures

By Ann O'Rourke on March 25, 2013 / appraisal / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal

www.appraisalport.com

Excerpt:

As we all know, the housing market has been going through some major changes over the past years. As the market changes, so does the source of many appraisal assignments. This month we ran some polls to see how much work is generated from both refinance activity and foreclosure activity.

The first poll asked, “How much of your work comes from refinance activity?” and received a total of 5,404 responses. The results show refinance activity accounts for a good portion of the current appraisal assignments. No surprise there. The top answer was, “I do 51%-75% refinance work,” with 35% of the vote. A close second was, “I do 25%-50% refinance work,” with 30% of the vote. Quite a large group (20% of the appraisers) responded that more than 75% of their work is for a refinance loan. This work seems to be holding steady for now and should continue if interest rates stay at these historical lows.

The second poll asked a similar question, but instead of refinance work, the focus was switched to foreclosure work. We had 5,395 total responses to this poll and we found that foreclosure assignments make up a much smaller portion of work volume for appraisers. There are a couple of potential reasons why foreclosure work isn’t as important for appraisers when compared to refinance work.

First, often foreclosure work is done by brokers providing BPOs, rather than by lenders ordering a full appraisal. Second, the default and foreclosure rate is actually falling rapidly in most areas of the country, which is good news for everyone. The top answer with 60% of the vote was that less than 25% of the work volume comes from foreclosures. Keep in mind that this answer includes those who get 0% of their work from foreclosures. About 22% of appraisers responded that they still get 25%-50% of their work from foreclosure activity. The last two possible responses of 51%-75% and more than 75% were essentially tied, each category receiving approximately 9% of the vote. So we can conclude appraisers are not currently heavily dependent on foreclosure activity for new assignments.

My comments: nothing new here. BofA’s recent appraiser layoffs and other layoffs due to shrinking foreclosures show that this is happening. They love their BPOs for foreclosures. There is work for Fannie and others trying to get money from appraisers who were to “high” in the boom time.

National Appraisal Compliant Hot Line to start by 3/29/13 Appraisal organizations ask for delay

By Ann O'Rourke on February 28, 2013 / appraisal, Appraisal Foundation / 7 Comments

Tags: appraisal, Appraisal Foundation

ASC notice to state regulators:
Excerpt: The Hotline will begin operation no later than March 29,2013. The Hotline will refer complainants to appropriate State and/or Federal agencies to handlecomplaints of alleged violations of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice(USPAP) and/or appraisal independence requirements. The Hotline will direct complainants tocontact you to formally file their complaint using the existing protocols established by your State.The Hotline does not initiate complaints, act on behalf of complainants, arbitrate complaints, assistin appealing the outcome of complaints, or follow up on complaint referrals previously provided

Link to full notice:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/126820613/ASC-Appraisal-Complaint-National-Hotline-Notice-to-States
————————–

Feb 4, ASA/NAIFA sends letter to ASC asking for delay

Excerpts of a few bullet points:
– The ASC designed the appraisal complaint hotline system behind closed doors, and has failed to allow stakeholders to comment on it prior to final implementation:
– The ASC’s hotline system, as proposed, violates congressional intent and the clear language of the dodd-frank provision authorizing it:
– Congress intended the hotline to provide appraisers with an ability to report efforts to undermine their independence, not as a catch-all mechanism to be used against appraisers by persons disgruntled because the appraised value did not meet their needs or for other non-specific or Non-serious reasons:

Link to letter http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.naifa.com/resource/resmgr/legislation/02.07.2013_letter_from_asa_a.pdf

———————-

Feb 12, AI/ASFMRA sends letter to ASC asking for delay

Excerpt:

However, in speaking with state appraiser regulatory officials, practicing appraisers and others involved with real estate and mortgage finance, virtually no understanding of the hotline and its intended purpose, as well as the proposed protocol, exists. As such, we believe that the protocol could be met with unnecessary trepidation simply because to date the ASC did not seek stakeholder input. As such, we respectfully request that the ASC refrain from approving the protocol, and instead release the protocol for public comment, similar to the process used by the ASC in drafting Policy Statements. Since the hotline likely will impact other mortgage and real estate professionals and regulatory agencies, we believe that all stakeholders deserve to have an opportunity to review comment on the hotline before it is operational. This is the foundation of good government and, in this case, we believe that such a measure actually will engender support for the proposed protocol.

Link to AI/ASFMRA letter
http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/newsadvocacy/downloads/ltrs_tstmny/2013/AI-ASFMRA-to-ASC-on-Hotline.pdf

My comments: The ASC was mandated by law to set this up. I have not read all these links, so I have no opinion. It is all up to you!!

So, just how accurate is the Zillow “Zestimate” anyway?

By Ann O'Rourke on February 19, 2013 / appraisal / 32 Comments

Tags: appraisal

Thanks to appraiser Tom Horn for this Most Interesting video!

Have you ever wondered how accurate the Zillow “Zestimate” really is? Whenever I am doing appraisals I have homeowners tell me what their Zillow “Zestimate” is. I am sure they are hoping that my appraisal is similar to that number (if it is high), however the two could be close, but more times that not they are pretty far apart.

I actually just found out recently how you can determine the accuracy of Zillow in your area. Take a look at the video to learn how.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pT9HPqsu-I&feature=player_embedded]

click here to see the original blog posting

Is the appraisal system broken?

By Ann O'Rourke on February 13, 2013 / appraisal, lender appraisals / 11 Comments

Speakers – John Brenan, Director of Appraisal Issues – Appraisal Foundation and Melissa Cohn, President of The Manhattan Mortgage Company

Nothing new, but at least they have an experienced appraiser (over 30 years) speaking. Of course, the mortgage person says the usual stuff about deal killer appraisers – out of area, QC delays, get rid of HVCC, loosen rules up, etc.

4:42 min long video, after relatively short commercial. Sorry, I was unable to “imbed” the video in this message. Click below to view.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000144447

Appraiser comedian at the Punchline

By Ann O'Rourke on January 29, 2013 / appraisal, humor / Leave a comment

Appraiser David Cash at the Punchline Comedy Club.
An oldie from 2008 but a goodie!! A blast from the past, pre-HVCC!!

I searched online but could not find any more videos. Also, there are lots of David Cash appraisers and I was not sure which one did this. I did find some other David Cash’s such as a hip-hop musician!!

If you know anything, please leave a comment!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ioDtuZh5_k]

The Value of Evaluators

By Ann O'Rourke on January 19, 2013 / AMCs, appraisal, appraisal management company, lender appraisals / 5 Comments

Another great article from the Illinois appraisal regulator

Excerpts:

The argument to promote evaluations as an alternative to appraisals was driven by rural lenders who feared a shortage of appraisers might slow down closings. That was it. That was the main beef. A simple supply and demand issue for banks in the boonies… twenty years ago! An evaluation was regarded as “a generally simpler assessment
of real estate market value.”

Evaluations versus Appraisals (2012) —
The most recent incarnation of the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines emerged in December of 2010. Section XIII provides the suggested content of a evaluation…“a generally simpler assessment of real estate market value.

(BPOs cannot be used for evaluations.) A valuation method that does not provide a property’s market value or sufficient information and analysis to support the value conclusion is not acceptable as an evaluation. For example, a valuation method that
provides a sales or list price, such as a broker price opinion, cannot be used as an evaluation because, among other things, it does not provide a property’s market value.

If you want to know what the feds meant by “a simpler assessment”, go ask them. I’d love to hear that explanation myself.

Many AMCs, while eager to take on the evaluation function, fail to understand who is ultimately responsible for the entire program. (Their clients, the lenders)

Banks cannot hand‐off liability to AMCs like a hot potato just because they can’t be bothered managing their own evaluation program. If an AMC makes a mess of the bank’s
evaluation program, the responsibility of the failure falls squarely back on the bank.

Turning an evaluation into an USPAP compliant appraisal takes far less effort than trying to cobble together a cadre of competent and reliable evaluators to provide something that by state statute,must fall short of an appraisal.

My comment: This is an issue that has been around since the early 1990s. What does an evaluation mean? Cheap and fast. Banks want them. AMCs would love to provide them. I have no idea who would do them and what they look like. I have no idea how a licensed appraiser would do them as they must be USPAP compliant.

Seems easier to me just to do an appraisal. Maybe a shorter appraisal that is not 30 pages long with 9 comps and pages and pages of explanations!! Now that is a very practical idea. Just go back to the past pre-HVCC and incredible scope creep since then.

Click here to read the full newsletter article.