lender appraisals

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, click Read More Below!!

https://dwslaterco.blogspot.com/2018/09/working-together-is-it-for-you.html

Married appraisers working together

By Ann O'Rourke on September 14, 2018 / appraisal business, commercial appraisal, lender appraisals, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, unusual home, unusual homes / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, commercial appraisals, mortgage lending, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, unusal homes

Working Together in an Appraisal Business – Is it for you?

Excerpt: We are a husband and wife appraisal team. We are both real estate appraisers and have been working together now for 12 years. My husband has had his business for 30 years but I was formerly a school teacher. I joined him in 2006. I will admit that I wasn’t sure at first if it would work but we have been going strong ever since. I have reached out to other appraisers who also are married and work together. They have shared some of their stories with me as well as tips and advice for working together. If you are considering working together as appraisers or other forms of business here are a few tips:

1. Keep work life and home life as separate as possible…

Click here for more advice:

My comment: my husband Zeke worked part time in my appraisal business for many years. He was not an appraiser but was great at collections. Once a mortgage broker owed us money. Zeke was a very big guy. He put on his black suit with a black shirt and tie and said he was here to collect what we were owed. He came back with all the cash…

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 9-13-18 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!

http://appraisersblogs.com/schizophrenic-precise-dollar-adjustments

Very Strange Appraisal Adjustments

By Ann O'Rourke on August 24, 2018 / adjustments, appraisal business, appraisal how to, forecast, george dell, lender appraisals, mortgage loan volume, Reviews, weird properties / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, appraisal business, future, mortgage loan volume, weird properties

Schizophrenic Adjustments

By Dave Towne

Excerpt: Appraisers, I’ve written in the past about what I believe are strange ways to report adjustments in appraisals, and suggested ’rounding’ is a perfectly acceptable way to report them. This is largely due to buyers and listing agents thinking and listing in $100 increments – not down to exact dollar amounts.

During the past couple of weeks, I ‘came in contact with’ two separate appraisals done by different appraisers on totally different properties, in different market areas.

What struck me was the incredibly precise adjustments made for only certain items in these reports, while the rest of adjustments were ’rounded’ to even dollars. Here are the examples:

Click here to read more:

My comment: I love the image at the top of this post….. sorta creepy but very appropriate ;> Who do you think it represents?

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 8-23-20 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!

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

By Ann O'Rourke on July 5, 2018 / AMCs, appraisal business, Appraisal fees, fees, lender appraisals, real estate market, USPAP / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, appraisal business, appraisal fees, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, Fannie, real estate market, turn time, USPAP

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.

http://sacramentoappraisalblog.com/2018/05/17/itll-never-sell-that-high-but-then-it-did/

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

By Ann O'Rourke 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

Tags: adjustments, AMC, appraisal business, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, dodd frank, Fannie, Fannie forms, marijuana, mortgage loan volume, strange house, unusal homes, weird properties

Advertise with us. Very reasonable rates!

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:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/floating-island-is-planned-with-government-cryptocurrency-and-houses.html

https://georgedell.com/technology-human-logical-analysis-wins/

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

By Ann O'Rourke 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

Tags: AMC, appraisal business, appraisal management company, appraiser shortage, Fannie, FHA, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, weird properties

Advertise with us. Very reasonable rates!

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:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/uredd-rest-area-ureddplassen

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…

http://www.ecofriendlyhouses.net/ecofriendlyhouses.html

4-19-18 Newz//Corelogic acquires a la mode. USPAP Q&A problems. Earth-Friendly Homes

By Ann O'Rourke on April 19, 2018 / Appraisal Standards Board, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, Strange homes, unusual home, USPAP, weird homes / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal how to, Appraisal Standards Board, Fannie forms, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, unusal homes, USPAP

Advertise with us. Very reasonable rates!

Earth-Friendly Homes and Buildings for Earth Day, Sunday, April 22

Just For Fun!!

Click on the fotos of lots of ecofriendly buildings for more info. Fascinating, sometimes Weird, and Fun!!

A few: Mathematical Puzzle House, paper house, skyscrapers, Recycled Concrete Tube House, etc.

Appraisal Institute Requests Appraisal Standards Board to Rework Q&As

Excerpts: The Appraisal Institute in an April 13 letter to the Appraisal Standards Board formally requested changes to or the retraction of Q&A 2018-12, Employing an Extraordinary Assumption when a Client Provides Inspection Data and Q&A 2018-13, Appraisal Reporting – Certifications and Signatures.

The Appraisal Institute believes this advice is antiquated and out-of-step with appraisal practice and long-standing USPAP principles about not dictating the form, format or style of an appraisal report. Perhaps most concerning to AI is the apparent inclusion of additional requirements in this advice rather than in USPAP itself.

https://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/appraisal-institute-requests-appraisal-standards-board-to-rework-qas-/

My comment: I completely agree with the AI’s issues with Q&A 2018-12 and -13. The certification issue has been around since USPAP required that the “previous 3 years” be included in the certification. The ASB needs to modify USPAP itself as I don’t think it addresses these current issues in appraising very well. Unfortunately, the new edition was effective 1/1/18. 2 years to wait.

https://georgedell.com/what-is-a-comp/

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

By Ann O'Rourke 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

Tags: AMC, Appraisal Foundation, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, Appraisal Qualifications Board, appraiser shortage, real estate market, strange house, unusal homes

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 ;>

https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/home-decor-trends-to-avoid-if-selling/

7 Strange home remodeling projects for appraisers

By Ann O'Rourke on April 5, 2018 / adjustments, Appraisal Foundation, Appraisal Qualifications Board, appraisal waivers, appraiser shortage, data, evaluations, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, new appraisers, real estate market, rental market, state appraiser regulators, Strange homes, trainees, unusual home, weird homes / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, appraisal how to, Appraisal Qualifications Board, appraiser shortage, lenders, mortgage loan volume, new appraisers, real estate market, strange house, trainees, unusal homes

7 Strange home remodeling projects for appraisers

Excerpt: There’s a huge difference between decorating for your own pleasure and spiffying up your home to sell. If you’re staying put and pining for a purple bathroom, go for it! The resale value of your eclectic tastes don’t apply.

3. Too much purple or yellow

4. Too much cold white

7. A statement door that makes too much of a statement

To see all of them plus photos and details click here:

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 data, weird interior design, mortgage origination stats, Covid tips for appraisers, etc.

http://sacramentoappraisalblog.com/2018/03/22/what-type-of-heat-system-is-needed-for-a-loan/

What type of heater is needed for a loan appraisal?

By Ann O'Rourke 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

Tags: adjustments, AMC, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, forecast, lenders, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, strange house, unusal homes, weird properties

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!