Newz: The Clipboard Has to Go, Systemic Failures in FHA Appraisal and Loan Review
May 22, 2026
What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)
- LIA AD: Am I Still on the ‘Do Not Use’ List?
- Joe the Appraiser: Calling It Like It Is. The Clipboard Has to Go
- Florida Megamansion That Starred in ‘Scarface’ and Was Used as President Nixon’s Winter White House Hits the Market for $237 Million
- Systemic Failures in FHA Appraisal and Loan Review by Desiree Mehbod
- MY AD: List of my articles about UAD 3.6
- America’s Homes Are Older Than Ever—and Local Red Tape Could Make Them Harder To Fix
- Survey: While Some Brokers Push Private Listing Networks, Most Soon-to-Be Sellers Want their Homes Seen By Every Buyer
- MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlier
————————————————————————–
Joe the Appraiser: Calling It Like It Is.
The Clipboard Has to Go
By Joe Pravettone
Excerpts: I’m Joe. I’ve been doing this a long time. Long enough to remember when “cutting-edge technology” meant a pager, microfiche, and a Thomas Guide rattling around in the glove box. (If you know, you know.)
I’ve spent nearly 30 years in this profession — 15 years in the mortgage world doing processing, underwriting, and operations, and another 15 deep in appraisals, wearing just about every hat there is, from fee appraiser and AMC staff to QC.
Let’s start with the UAD.
If you’ve been in this business longer than five minutes, you’ve felt it. That low-grade tension humming in the background. The new Uniform Appraisal Dataset is here. The forms are changing, the workflow is changing, and a lot of appraisers are somewhere between uneasy and ready to stress-eat.
I get it. I really do.
But here’s the other reality: We’re also heading toward a volume surge. Rates are easing. Refinances are starting to creep back. And when you combine industry-wide change with rising volume, things can get messy.
So let’s be honest about something. The clipboard has to go. I know, I know, you’ve got a system. Your scratch paper has a system. Your clipboard definitely has a system. You’ve been doing it your way for years, and your way works. I’m not saying it doesn’t. But the road has curved, and it’s time to turn the wheel.
To read more, Click Here
My comments:
This article was written by a long time lender appraisal “insider”. Worth reading.
As the November 2, 2026 UAD 3.6 deadline approaches more lenders and appraisers are getting ready. But, many appraisers don’t like the changes. Those that get ready will have lots of work from AMCs, who are looking all over the country now for appraisers who will do UAD 3.6 appraisals for them. GSEs do about 50% of mortgage loans. Lenders who don’t sell their loans to GSEs will be using the forms software you have been using. I am working on an article on how to get business from them.
I remember the “old days” of microfiche, Thomas Brothers Maps. When I first started appraising 50 years ago, I remember filling up my car by peeling off the back of polaroid photos. I still have old Thomas Bros. maps in my car “just in case” my electronic maps don’t work or are inaccurate. I also have some very old microfiche files but don’t have anything to see them on.
I definitely prefer using an inspection app. I will be writing an article on which tablets are required. I will also have an article with paper checklist instructions that go through SFR, condo and 2-4 units UAD 3.6 appraisals.
