22nd May 2012

Judge to hear payment claims against SD appraisal firm

More than 20 Arizona appraisers have filed complaints that accuse a San Diego company of failing to pay them in a timely fashion for finished work, public records show.

The claims against AppraiserLoft, which shuttered without warning last fall, will be heard at 8 a.m. on May 17 by an administrative law judge in Phoenix. Before it wound down in October, the company helped lenders assign and manage appraisal orders in San Diego County and throughout the nation.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Judge to hear payment claims against SD appraisal firm

posted in Appraisal Management Companies, Appraiser News | 0 Comments

16th May 2012

APB Valuation Advisory #3: Residential Appraising in a Declining Market

APB Valuation Advisory #3: Residential Appraising in a Declining Market, includes guidance on:

– How Should an Appraiser Define a Declining Market
– What Databases are Available to Support a Market Trend Conclusion?
– What are Some Alternative Value Definitions?
– Defining a Market vs. a Neighborhood
– Verification of Data
– Support for Adjustments
– Integration of the Opinion of Market Trends into the Appraisal Analysis
– Using Statistical Tools to Develop a Rate of Change in the Market

My comment: better late than never, now that some markets are increasing or stable. Worth reading. Good analysis of the issues with practical advice. .

click here to download
https://appraisalfoundation.sharefile.com/d/s312c40fc01b4987b

posted in Appraisal Process Training | 0 Comments

16th May 2012

Coalition of Arizona Appraisers joins American Guild of Appraisers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Guild of Appraisers (AGA) today announced that the Coalition of Arizona Appraisers (CoAA) has voted to affiliate their organization with the American Guild of Appraisers.

In a meeting held in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 8, 2012, a quorum of the Coalition of Arizona Appraisers met with leaders from the AGA and Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) and finalized the affiliation. “The issues that face us as individual appraisers today reach far beyond our individual states; to think anything less would be naive,” said John Dingeman, vice president of CoAA.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Coalition of Arizona Appraisers joins American Guild of Appraisers

posted in Dodd-Frank C&R Topics | 0 Comments

11th May 2012

Appraiser Blacklisting

Editor’s Note: Suspension Merry-Go-Round is reprinted from Working RE’s current print edition (click cover image at top left to access). Since the story published in February, Working RE has run two updates on blacklisting, Lender’s Choice: Violate USPAP or Blacklisted and Fighting Your Way Off a Blacklist. As you will read here, some relief is available thanks to AMC regulation passed in the state of California. AMC legislation is also working in other states guarantying timely payment to appraisers, prohibiting indemnification clauses and bolstering appraiser independence. Strong AMC legislation at the state level is in the best interests of every appraiser. As we learn in the three part webinar series Maintain Independence, Limit Liability, and Fight Influence, presented by Richard Hagar, SRA, many maladies appraisers suffer from these days are prohibited by state and/or federal regulation, including blacklisting without cause, lower than customary and reasonable fees and attempts to exert undue influence on an appraiser’s work product. About attempts to influence appraisers Hagar says, “Lenders and AMCs have two options, review the work and A) Accept it and fund the loan or B) Reject it based on a USPAP compliant review. Once rejected they must turn bad appraisers into the authorities and stop using that appraiser. But do not try to influence or instruct the appraiser. The ‘old’ banking ways are dead. Banks and appraisers better become educated on the change and FAST.”

Suspension Merry-Go-Round


By David Brauner, Editor

…continue reading the rest of this post: Appraiser Blacklisting

posted in Become Appraiser | 0 Comments

9th May 2012

Appraisals Can Offer Valuable Reality Checks for Sellers

Chris Connors, SRA, of the Appraisal Institute’s Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Chapter, was featured May 2 in The Washington Post, the nation’s 8th largest newspaper, in a consumer-focused article on whether sellers should obtain a professional appraisal before putting a house on the market.

The story reached a potential audience of more than 8.2 million subscribers and unique monthly online visitors.

Sellers and agents may not always agree on market price, so a full professional appraisal can be an important reality check for the seller. The article noted that Connors had finished an appraisal on a house where the seller previously had interviewed two real estate agents. The first agent suggested an asking price around $800,000; the second one recommended a price closer to $1.1 million.

“The seller was quite angry with me when my report supported the first estimate, and I told him the other guy just wanted to get the listing.” Connors said.

Also featured in national media coverage this past week were Eric Haims, MAI, and Daniel Aarons, Associate member, in Real Estate Weekly; Mark Linné, MAI, SRA, on FoxBusiness.com; and Joni Pilgrim, Affiliate member, in National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

These stories are among the recent media coverage included in the “AI in the News” feature on the members-only section of the Appraisal Institute website.

Appraisal Institute members appearing recently in local media coverage include Paul Carter, MAI, SRA, and Michael Clapp, MAI, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal; Steven Berg, MAI, SRA, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald and Chicago Tribune; John Brown, MAI, Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard; Thomas Dehn, SRA, Stuart (Fla.) News; Kevin Talbott, SRA, Key West (Fla.) Citizen; Ed Morse, MAI, Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.); Darrel Standard, Associate member, Beatrice (Neb.) Daily Sun; Mark Kenney, MAI, Lower Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Journal News; Claud Clark, Associate member, Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register; Cindy Carroll, SRA, Marco (Fla.) Eagle; Randolph Glennon, MAI, Mainebiz.com; Gary Crabtree, SRA, KGET-17 (NBC) and KBAK-29 (CBS), Bakersfield, Calif.; and Richard Hagar, SRA, KPLU-FM 88.5 (Seattle).

See the latest media coverage about the real estate valuation profession, the Appraisal Institute and its members. Media coverage at “AI in the News,” found on the member log-in page of the Appraisal Institute’s website, is updated daily and also includes the latest news releases from the Appraisal Institute.

Original Article : http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17818

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9th May 2012

Who is the blame for the Mortgage Meltdown?

Fed: Excessive Optimism

A report released May 2 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston contends that the mortgage meltdown was more the result of “overly optimistic beliefs” than extensive negligence among mortgage originators and investors.

According to the report, part of what led to the housing market crash was widespread euphoria over rising home prices among banks, investors and homeowners — all who underestimated growing risks.

The report also noted that borrowers overextended themselves to buy the largest houses they could afford, believing that prices would continue to climb. “Rising house prices generate large capital gains for home purchasers,” the report noted. “They also raise the value of the collateral backing mortgages, and thus reduce or eliminate credit losses for lenders.”

The report further contended that adjustable-rate mortgages were not responsible for increased mortgage defaults, noting that ARMs originated in 2006 had a much higher delinquency rate than those originated in 2005 despite a less severe payment shock. Additionally, data showed that 84 percent of delinquent borrowers who ended up in foreclosure had missed payments that were equal to what they were paying at mortgage origination.

The report called the foreclosure crisis “a consequence of distorted beliefs rather than distorted incentives.” The report also noted “a collective mania about house prices, rather than individual malfeasance on the part of mortgage industry insiders, may be the best explanation for why the foreclosure crisis occurred.”

Read the complete Fed report.

Original Story: http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17866

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9th May 2012

CoreLogic is going… going… GONE 09/30

CoreLogic announced May 8 that it will close its CoreLogic Valuation Services business unit, the firm’s appraisal management company based in Danvers, Mass. All business operations at the AMC will be discontinued on or before Sept. 30.

The company said its decision will not impact any joint-venture appraisal businesses.

“We do not anticipate any immediate impact to our appraiser panel,” CoreLogic announced. “In the short-run, as we begin to transition to our new business model, we will continue to accept appraisal orders from our customers and will focus on completing all outstanding orders in a timely manner.” The company said that currently there are no changes in the way panel members receive, complete or submit appraisal orders.

“Our appraiser panel is critical to our success as a business, and we remain committed to our partnership with each of our panel members,” the company stated.

CoreLogic said that additional information would be announced in the near future.

original story:
http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17869

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7th May 2012

Webinar: Building Your Business and Gaining Clients

I will be presenting a Webinar with WorkingRE / OREP tomorrow. Please check it out and sign up if interested!

~ Bryan

Webinar: Building Your Business and Gaining Clients

– “Thanks for all of the tips. I found this very valuable.” – Patrick Jones

– “We learned so much on Tuesday, we decided to come today and bring our office manager.” – Lu Waara

Want to learn proven marketing techniques that’ll get you higher paying work? You don’t have to be trapped doing only lender and AMC work, learn to diversify your business today! In Building Business and Gaining Clients, Bryan Knowlton to will explain how to branch out into estate work, bankruptcy work, legal work, and more! Creating a good marketing plan and building your online presence are both skills that Bryan has perfected for years! Let him show you what works for him.

In this Webinar, Bryan will share his expertise on the following topics:

*Getting more Non-AMC work: Estate, Divorce, Date of Death, Bankruptcy, Tax Re-Assessment, Private Lenders, Credit Unions
* Optimizing your Website to get more orders
* Local Search Techniques to Grow Your Business
* How to Market to Attorneys
* Landing more AMC work
* Marketing to RE Brokers and Agents- setting sales prices, FSBO
* Is being ‘Licensed’ enough these days?
* How to Find Clients Seeking Appraisal Services Online
* Creating a Mailing List, Simple Post Cards, Inexpensive Business
Cards, Inexpensive Websites
* Q&A

Date: May 8th, 10-11 a.m. PST

Price per Webinar:
Regular Price: $39

OREP Member Price: $29 (OREP Insureds, Affiliate Members, or Working RE Paying Subscribers) ***If you qualify for a discount, click here.

As soon as you sign up and send payment, you will be emailed an official invitation to the webinar where you can reserve your seat. Attendance is limited to the first 100 registrants per segment, so don’t delay!

Sign up here and reserve your spot!

posted in Appraiser Marketing, Appraiser News | 2 Comments









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