Appraiser Income

Now we have another thing to watch out fore.  Informing the appraiser…

http://www.wsj.com/articles/when-a-mortgage-hinges-on-home-values-1418835033

Low appraisals are rare for Bank of America ’s jumbo mortgages compared with two years ago, says John Schleck, senior vice president, centralized sales executive for Bank of America. “With rates this low and values pretty stable, it may be a good time for a borrower to step in before values go higher,” he adds.

If an appraisal does come in lower than expected, here are a few tactics a borrower can try:

• Higher LTV jumbos. More lenders, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo , are offering jumbo mortgages at 85% loan-to-value ratio.

• Inform the appraiser. While federal regulations forbid lenders from interacting directly with an appraiser, a refinancing homeowner can drop the needed loan amount into conversation during an appraiser visit, Mr. Carson says. Real-estate agents also can provide information about a property to the appraiser.

• Rebuttal. A last recourse is for the lender to file a rebuttal to the appraisal- management company, pointing out errors and suggesting alternate comparables. However, these rarely result in an amended appraisal, Mr. Carson says.

By Jeff Lazerson, Special to USA TODAY

repost from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/12/06/appraisal-real-estate/19906355/

Before the mortgage meltdown and the resulting Great Recession, you paid a reasonable price for an appraisal, and your loan officer typically received a reasonable opinion of value that led to your purchase or refinance getting funded.

Not so much anymore. Swift and furious post-crisis reaction from regulators gave birth to the 2009 Home Valuation Code of Conduct or HVCC, and the federal Dodd-Frank Law, passed in 2010, (which made HVCC statutorily mute) making things far worse for you in terms of appraisal cost and resulting valuations.

Appraisal charges have gone up roughly 33%. “Appraisals were $375 before, and since HVCC the prices went up to $500,” said Yorba Linda, Calif., appraiser Myles Lawson.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Appraisal Subcommittee – a federal agency that reviews state regulators of appraisers -could not point to any post-crisis publicly available data on appraisal accuracy when contacted for this column.

Ask any veteran loan originator. The No. 1 reason that transactions fall apart is low-ball appraisals, not tight credit standards. …continue reading the rest of this post: Appraisal hypocrisy hits home

 Local low-cost home appraisal company now in 23 states

AppraisalSave began in September 2013 with financial help from Start Garden.

With the appeal dropped and the Bar Order in full effect, it is unlikely that any further claims against Chase will be pursued for the over five million dollars in unpaid appraisal and BPO fees.

Editor’s Note: The take away of this decision sheds doubt on how many interpret federal law when it comes to lenders and AMCs; the court held there was no agency relationship between Chase and its AMC, Evaluation Solutions/ES Appraisal Services (ESA)- leaving many appraisers with unpaid fees.

Case Closed: Appeal Dropped in ESA/Chase Bankruptcy
By Isaac Peck, Associate Editor

Many appraisers will remember the bankruptcy case of Evaluation Solutions/ES Appraisal Services (ESA), an AMC whose primary client was JPMorgan Chase. After ESA declared bankruptcy in January 2013 with $11 million in unpaid debts, a number of real estate appraisers, agents, and brokers tried to file lawsuits against …continue reading the rest of this post: Case Closed: Appeal Dropped in ESA/Chase Bankruptcy

Aside from defending yourself against USPAP violations, there is a lot that appraisers and their attorneys often don’t understand about the regulatory/enforcement process and how to achieve the most favorable result.

Editor’s Note: Despite the many challenges appraisers face, there is always help available. See the free webinar offer below.

Complaints: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
By Bob Keith, MAA, IFA

Republished from WorkingRe.com

If you’re like me, you’ve probably never chosen to sky dive out of an airplane or bungee jump off a bridge. But if you had to jump out of an airplane or off a bridge, you’d probably choose to be with an expert right? Sometimes we don’t get a choice.

Sometimes we are forced into unfamiliar and dangerous territory. In these instances, what you don’t know can hurt you and that’s when it’s good to have an expert along.

Imagine you are forced to participate in defending yourself against a complaint that is being investigated by your state appraiser licensing board. You didn’t choose to participate in the process; you don’t really know anything about it and refusing to participate is not an option! In this event, what you don’t know can and probably will hurt you!

Aside from defending yourself against USPAP violations, there is a lot that appraisers and their attorneys often don’t understand about the regulatory/enforcement process and how to achieve the most favorable result.

I was a practicing appraiser for over two decades before becoming an AQB-Certified USPAP Instructor and subsequently the Executive Director of the Oregon Certification and Licensure Board. I served in that position for more than a dozen years and in that capacity I had Board-delegated authority to investigate complaints, determine USPAP violations, negotiate settlement terms with appraisers or their attorneys, and if necessary, pursue disciplinary actions through administrative hearings. I have been involved with hundreds of cases that were brought against appraisers.

Since my departure from the Oregon Board’s staff, I have counseled many appraisers across the country who were responding to complaints from their state appraiser licensing boards. My advice to them often involves not only USPAP compliance, but many times I am able to give advice of a different nature. …continue reading the rest of this post: Webinar on handling appraiser complaints

Editor’s Note: Real estate attorney Todd Stevens sees a trend in real estate law: attorneys are waking up to the potential liability of review appraisers. Couple this with the common misunderstanding among review appraisers that their risk is less than the author of the original report, and you get a burgeoning new area of litigation.

Review Appraisal Liability
By Todd Stevens
WorkingRE.com

In my practice, review appraisers increasingly are being named as defendants in lawsuits. In the typical transaction, the review appraiser has a contractual relationship with the lender while the original appraiser, retained by the mortgage broker or Appraisal Management Company (AMC) to perform the original report, does not. Lenders usually include language shifting some of the risk of loss to the reviewer. Lender/reviewer contracts often contain provisions permitting the party prevailing in a lawsuit to recover court costs as well as the fees paid to lawyers. Carefully read any contract you are asked to sign by a lender who is hiring you for review work. You may be able to negotiate out some of the more onerous provisions.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Review appraisers increasingly are being named as defendants in lawsuits