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There Go My Brackets
The most dangerous places to drive in the world
Take a break and check out these places…
Excerpt:
Driving can be dangerous, and every one of us who attempt to control those speeding steel boxes of ours will, at some time or another, experience a dangerous or life-threatening situation. But the truth is, despite the occasional error of judgement or climate, driving in the US is largely safe, and you will most likely get to your destination calm and in one piece (or just in one piece, because traffic, right?). The world, however, is not the US, or even western Europe. And as you will see, driving styles, laws, and road conditions vary so much, that what might be an everyday commute for a native of Afghanistan would be a death-defying (or outright death-inviting) thrill ride for a driver in the Land of the Free.
http://www.grunge.com/15503/dangerous-places-drive-world/
My comment: Guess I won’t complain (as much) about getting stuck between 2 giant big rigs on the freeway ;>
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Complaints about high appraisal fees and long turn times
RAISE YOUR FEES!!!
Appraisers Remain Under Siege – Jonathan Miller
(Scroll down the page past the second graph)
Excerpt:
Here is a series of feedback from Rob Chrisman in his must read newsletter on the mortgage industry. It is a heavily read source of in-the-trenches mortgage insights that I subscribe to. He gave me permission to share his recent content on the appraisal industry and will share more of it in the coming weeks. I inserted my thoughts following each quote:
“And appraisals are always a hot topic. I received this note from an originator. “Our appraisal environment is out of control. Appraisals we used to get in 1-2 weeks have quickly gone to 3-4 weeks. Appraisals that were just $400 are now $550 and sometimes up to $1,100 for FHA and conventional appraisals. With the rules regulating appraisers on how to become an appraiser and how appraisers have to monitor everything an apprentice appraiser does, it is causing our homebuyers hardship. With the appraiser’s current workloads and the amount of appraisers we have lost in recent years, there is no motivation to bring apprentices on (due to those regulations), leaving the current appraisers working night and day to keep up with their workloads. That is also causing them to keep moving up the appraisal fees (basically rush fees to keep pushing who can pay the most up the line).”
Miller’s comments
It’s called “market forces” and because the AMC movement has gutted the industry, there are much fewer competent appraisers left. And please lay off the “hardship” angle. It’s tired and worn out. Mortgage rates are at historic lows and with the Brexit they will likely stay that way for a while. As I have said before, there is not a shortage of appraisers, there is a shortage of appraisers willing to work for half the market rate.
Worth reading, especially for Jonathon’s comments. http://www.millersamuel.com/note/june-24-2016/?goal=0_69c077008e-ca10724b99-116855313
Link to Chrisman article – scroll down the page to “And appraisals are always a hot topic”
My comments
Why are complaints about appraiser fees and turn times increasing so much? Supply and Demand. AMCs and lenders not allowing trainees to sign on their own – no new appraisers. AMCs trained their appraisers to bid against each other. Now, they are getting payback.
The Appraisal Foundation is frantically trying to reduce requirements for appraiser licensing in response to the current appraiser shortage. But, the problem is that lenders will not allow trainees to sign on their own. There was no shortage in the last boom prior to 2008.
In all the previous boom periods, since lenders started using appraisers in the 1930s, the increase in volume was handled by hiring armies of trainees who left the profession when business slowed down. Prior to licensing, lenders did this. After licensing, fee appraisers did it. But, soon after 2008 lenders would not allow trainees to sign on their own, so there was no one to handle the increase in business.
When AMCs took over appraisal ordering, many experienced appraisers left the profession due to low fees, increasing lender requirements, hassles, etc. Some stayed, who had direct lender clients or were willing to work for AMCs.
The AMC fee model is a bidding system, with AMCs often looking for the lowest bid. Now, sometimes they spend days looking for an appraiser who will work for low fees. Some of us have finally adapted by significantly increasing our fees.
AMCs have trained us to bid against each other. Even when business is very strong, AMCs continue to try to get low fees. Finally, after 8 years of this, appraisers have realized that when there is a shortage of appraisers we can increase our fees. We finally learned about Supply and Demand. This never occurred before.
Many appraisers (and other business owners) have great difficulty turning down work, even with low fees. After years of telling appraisers to raise their fees, finally some appraisers are listening.
In 100 Years, $77 Billion Worth Of San Francisco Property Could Be Underwater
Excerpts:
Around the city, more than 200,000 commercial and residential buildings-along with major infrastructure like the airport-are at risk from either temporary flooding or permanent loss due to sea level rise if the city does nothing to prepare. Even more dangerously, the risk extends well inland, and isn’t limited to property directly on the coast.
Armed with the new maps, San Francisco is currently creating a strategy to try to save as much property as possible. “It’s almost inevitable that, in the end, the plan will be a combination of multiple approaches,” says VanderMarck. “One approach in some areas will be to surrender to the fact that seas are rising-it’s impractical, either economically or for other reasons, to try to defend against that in certain areas.” In other places, the city may build higher walls or other defenses.
In the Ocean Beach neighborhood, for example, it’s likely that the city will reroute portions of the road that’s currently along the water, replacing some areas with open space, while also building up dunes and protecting some infrastructure like a wastewater tunnel. On Treasure Island, where the city is planning to build a new sustainable community, any new housing will be set back from the water, with parks along the edges-parks that very likely will be reclaimed by the bay.
My comment: FEMA is rezoning all the coastal properties in the U.S., including my small island city in San Francisco Bay. Of course, the big complaint was having to buy flood insurance for those who have mortgages….
Check out the full article and the very interesting graphics:
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Not C/R fees? File a complaint with the FDIC!!
Excerpt:
Here is what VaCAP received from an appraiser who reached out to the FDIC:
I just had a call from an extremely pleasant lady named Susan Welch from the FDIC Consumer Response Center (1-800-378-9581). I had sent a note over regarding an AMC attempting to get me to sign a “Base Fee Letter” agreeing to a drop of my base fee for full appraisals to $325 from $400-500. She said the FDIC is VERY interested in hearing from appraisers regarding AMCs paying low fees. As you know FDIC regulates the banks, who are responsible for third party oversight with AMCs they engage. FDIC wants Regulation Z to be followed and will enforce it for appraisers.
Incidentally I opted to have them proceed while keeping me anonymous, a la whistle blower status. Susan said she would be surprised if they had not investigated this within 90 days.
FDIC bank examiners will contact the bank involved and look at their procedures for engaging appraisers, look at fees appraisers are actually paid versus what is considered C&R based on things like the VA sheet and go from there.
Click here for more info plus read the comments:
http://appraisersblogs.com/low-amc-fees-fdic-appraisers-regulationz
Mansion under $100,000
Mansions cost millions, right? Well, not necessarily. This week’s most popular home on realtor.com® is a mansion priced under a million. In fact, it’s priced below $100,000.
Yes, it’s in Toledo; and yes, it needs some work to bring it into fighting shape. But still, a mansion with a five-digit price tag is a rare beast indeed. The listing agent told us a recent open house attracted more than 1,000 people over two days. He added that this mansion would be worth millions if it were in a major coastal metro-making it a savvy purchase for a buyer who doesn’t mind summering on the Maumee River.
Scroll down the page to Number 1. FYI, Number 3 – Amityville Horror House for $850,000
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/most-popular-homes-mansion-under-100k
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Twinkies Enabled the Sale of the Playboy Mansion
By Jonathan Miller
Excerpt:
It’s been a confusing week for me.
I’ve been trying to reduces the sugar in my diet and I actually feel much better. But then I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about the recent sale of the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angles, California. Apparently the next-door neighbor who restarted the Hostess brand purchased the $200 million listing for more than $100 million but the price was not disclosed.
In other words, the sale of Twinkies made this all possible.
Read the full commentary and scroll down the page for interesting comments on free appraisals, purple formica, value of a bedroom, etc.
http://www.millersamuel.com/note/june-10-2016/?goal=0_69c077008e-bfd1d18c9f-116855313
Time-lapse video of the International Space Station expandable habitat
Excerpt: On Saturday, May 14, NASA successfully completed the deployment of the first expandable habitat on the International Space Station. With help from the ground, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams began inflating the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) at 9:04AM ET.
He opened the valve 25 times to inject air into the module in short bursts, according to NASA. Time in between allowed the BEAM to expand and stabilize, as the NASA and Bigelow Aerospace teams monitored the module’s internal pressure. The BEAM was expanded to its full size seven hours later, at 4:10PM ET.
My comment: WoW!!!
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United States Spy Town Auction
It’s not the first time that an entire American town has gone on the auction block, but it might be the most unusual. Sugar Grove Station, West Virginia was originally a United States Navy military base to support part of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operation. Though the array of giant parabolic dishes that continue to track location and content of international telecommunications activity is still in operation and not part of the sale, they are completely obscured from view behind thick forest on their ridgetop one mile distant. When it became unnecessary to house related analytical staff at the base, it was retired in the fall of 2015 and put up for auction to the highest bidder over $1 million.
Built between 1960 and 2014, the fenced and gated rural town has private full-service utilities to support as many as 500 people on over 120 acres. Included are 80 homes on tree-lined residential streets in like-new condition, a swimming pool, bowling alley, youth daycare center, community center with fireplace which was designed to function as a restaurant with bar, a gym, full-sized indoor basketball court, tennis and racquetball courts, a football field, large playground with kiddie pool, and twelve guest cabins for visitors. There are also several large buildings for multiple use as well as a four-section hobby building for working on cars, woodworking shop and other creative pursuits. For community safety, a police station and fire station are already in place.
https://www.toptenrealestatedeals.com/homes/weekly-ten-best-home-deals/2016/06-06-2016/1/
Zillow CEO sold his home for 60% of the Zestimate.
There is nothing wrong with Zestimates, unless you want to know what your home is worth.
From Jonathan Miller’s Housing Notes
Note: Scroll down the linked page to read this section
Excerpts:
The day after the home sold for $1,050,000, the Zestimate showed a value of $1,750,405. This indicates that their CEO took a 40% haircut on the value of his home which was exposed to the market for a reasonable time and sold for 19% below its list price. But of course he didn’t dump the property. It couldn’t have been worth anything close to the Zestimate since the property was exposed to the market for a reasonable period of time and sold well below the list price which was well below the Zestimate.
The people at Zillow are smart and built a strong ground breaking brand, but that doesn’t always mean they are making the right decisions. Little did I know, when I met one of the founders at a party the day before they launched a decade ago, how much disruption they would cause. I innocently asked the question, “So, what do you do?” And in the response I heard things like “Expedia” and “Rhymes with Pillow.” Their intro to the public began with the “Zestimate” which unleashed a property narcissism within us as we have checked the value of our homes and compared those values to the houses of friends, colleagues, neighbors, celebrities, etc. That search tool was later de-emphasized as they focused on listings and building a nationwide property database.
Read this Most Interesting article, including Miller’s “insider” comments at:
http://www.millersamuel.com/note/may-27-2016/?goal=0_69c077008e-65219836a6-116855313
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Also, read this article from Inman about Zillow:
Excerpt:
Citing the chasm between the sales price of Rascoff’s former home and the property’s Zestimate may be one way for real estate professionals to show clients that Zestimates are, as Zillow says, only a conversation starter for pricing a home, not the final word on its value.
Philip Gray, a San Leandro, California-based appraiser, is taking this approach. Bringing up the Zestimate of the property Rascoff recently offloaded will help him deal with the frequent pushback he receives from homeowners “who think Zillow is the magic 8-ball,” he said.
https://www.inman.com/2016/05/18/zillow-ceo-spencer-rascoff-sold-home-for-much-less-than-zestimate/
My comments: One of my most popular blog postings, even today, is from a few years ago, is about Zillow. I regularly have people tell me what Zillow said their house was worth. Of course, I say that it is not very accurate, but it is hard for an appraiser to compete with a free “number”. Guess maybe I should write up something for consumers. Now I have something to say ;>
8 Extraordinary Pieces of Architecture Grown From Living Trees
Excerpt:
We usually use trees as building material in the form of struts and planks. But all over the world, people have found ways to create dwellings, bridges, and sculptures out of trees without even cutting them down. Using trees to create living structures is much slower to build (read: grow) than traditional methods, but it creates some truly fantastical natural creations. Take a look at some of the world’s coolest feats of arbortecture.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/8-extraordinary-pieces-of-architecture-grown-from-living-trees
My comment: All I can say is WoW!! Great photos plus some text info. Just Click On It!!
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Celebrity names not adding to appeal for home buyers?
May. 16, 2016 – 3:00 – Douglas Elliman Broker Chris Leavitt on the challenges celebrities face trying to sell their homes.
Very funny commercial before the short 4 minute video – Fox news.
Another great one from Jonathan Miller. I guess he watches a lot of tv and tweetlings, when not doing lotsa graphs and other stuff ;>
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4895807387001/celebrity-names-not-adding-to-appeal-for-home-buyers
5 of the oldest homes in the country (listings) Video
Worth waiting for the commercial to end. Very short video. All were built before George Washington was born, back to the 16th century.
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Professional attire for appraisers from Dave Towne, of course…
Recommended new attire to please all AMC’s who demand that ‘we’ dress professionally.
But this actually looks best with white shorts and silver edged flip flops!
Inflated numbers: Are builders, lenders and appraisers working together? (in Atlanta, GA)
Excerpts:
A local banker is blowing the whistle about what he calls improper dealings in a metro subdivision.
One official told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland that on the surface, it smacks of the housing crisis all over again.
(Editor’s note. The first appraisal did not “make value”).
“And he (the builder) said, ‘I want you to go with my preferred lender, Brand Mortgage. They’ve never had a problem getting the value needed,'” he said.
In a filing with federal regulators, Brand Mortgage admits it has partial ownership of its own appraisal firm, Valuation Management Group.
VMG dispatched a different appraiser.
“And they came back with a value $25,000 higher than the original appraisal. The same as the sale price, coincidentally,” Laymac said.
Check out the article and the short video of the news story. Worth waiting for the commercial to be over.
My comment. Nothing new. I quit doing new home tract appraisals many years ago. Builders have been pressuring appraisers for inflated values for as long as I have been appraising – in good and bad markets. They try to get higher appraisals so they can increase their prices. Borrowers, including appraisers, just want to get their purchase loans. No comments below the original story. What do you think? Post your comments below!!
