March, 2014 - Appraiser Income

26th March 2014

Online Petition to Make a Difference in Customary and Reasonable Appraisal Fees

Fellow Professional Appraiser,

I am asking you to take a moment from your busy day to PARTICIPATE in an important industry effort.

That issue is referred to within Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank legislation as “Customary and Reasonable Fees”:
http://appraisalbuzz.com/online-petition-to-make-a-difference-in-customary-and-reasonable-appraisal-fees

CUSTOMARY AND REASONABLE FEE

In General – Lenders and their agents shall compensate fee appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable for appraisal services performed in the market area of the property being appraised. Evidence for such fees may be established by objective third-party information, such as government agency fee schedules, academic studies, and independent private sector surveys. Fee studies shall exclude assignments ordered by known appraisal management companies.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Online Petition to Make a Difference in Customary and Reasonable Appraisal Fees

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21st March 2014

NCUA Proposes Appraisal Management Rule

By Nicholas Ballasy

The NCUA and six other agencies are proposing a rule that would implement minimum requirements for state oversight of appraisal management companies.

The NCUA introduced the proposal at the agency’s monthly board meeting on Thursday.

The requirements, which are part of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, “would apply to states that elect to establish an appraiser certifying and licensing agency with the authority to register and supervise AMCs.”

The state agency must register the AMCs, use only state-certified or licensed appraisers for federally related transactions, ensure competent and independent appraisers are chosen and require appraisals to comply with Truth in Lending Act standards and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

The other federal regulators proposing the rule include the Federal Reserve, CFPB, Treasury Department, FDIC; Federal Housing Finance Agency and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

NCUA Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Woodson presented the corporate stabilization fund quarterly report at the meeting on Thursday.

Total assets increased from $1.6 billion in December of 2012 to $2.7 billion. Net income increased from $1.6 billion to $3.2 billion.

“For 2013, the net position of the stabilization fund improved by nearly $3.4 billion from a $3.5 billion deficit at Dec. 31, 2012, to a $142.2 million deficit at Dec. 31, 2013,” the NCUA said.

“Effectively managing the Stabilization Fund to minimize federally insured credit union assessments is a top NCUA priority,” NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said in a statement following the meeting.

“Settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, coupled with improvements in anticipated future cash flows from legacy assets of the NCUA Guaranteed Notes program, led to a sizable improvement in the Stabilization Fund’s net position in 2013. I’m hopeful we can forgo charging assessments not only in 2014, but in future years as well,” she added.

http://www.cutimes.com/2014/03/20/ncua-proposes-appraisal-management-rule

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14th March 2014

American Title Launches Appraisal Company

OMAHA, Neb., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ Last year, American Title Inc. (ATI) acquired Collateral Intelligence, LLC (CI), a national Appraisal Management Company, and has today changed the name from Collateral Intelligence to ATI Valuations.

Omaha-based ATI is the nation’s leading real estate information provider to home equity lenders and the Boston-based ATI Valuations (formerly Collateral Intelligence) offers appraisals and alternative valuations to its clients in the mortgage industry.

“Our clients have been asking for us to help them with valuation services for years due to all of the changes, but we wanted to make sure that we had a best-in-class solution before bringing it to the market. When we became aware of Collateral Intelligence, we knew that it was a perfect fit,” said Mike Mackintosh, Executive Vice President of ATI. “Mark Sennott (CEO) and his team have a tremendous amount of experience, not only in the valuation market, but in working collaboratively with clients to create innovative valuation solutions that improve the process for all parties involved.”

Mackintosh said that ATI offers title products to most of the top ten Home Equity Lenders in the US and that the company has been growing rapidly as a result. ATI Valuations, meanwhile, has rolled out several appraisal hybrid products and appraisal desktops that are also what many Home Equity lenders are now looking for.

Since last year, the two companies have worked diligently to integrate the ATI infrastructure, which includes ensuring that subject matter experts work in their area of expertise. “We think that this will create the best solution for our clients since they will get access to title and valuation products through one company, but still have the best possible people working on the unique products,” said Mackintosh. The companies said the combined financial resources will be used to position ATI to better compete in the marketplace.

“We are excited to be associated with an industry leader like ATI,” said Mark Sennott, CEO of ATI Valuations. “We think our appraisal hybrids are a great match for their clients and our combined strengths will allow us to do much more for all our clients.”

SOURCE American Title Inc.

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