September, 2014 - Appraiser Income

24th September 2014

Review appraisers increasingly are being named as defendants in lawsuits

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.

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16th September 2014

Free FHA Appraisal Webinar from HUD 09/18/2014

Webinar Title:	FHA Appraisals
Date/Time:	Thursday, September 18, 2014 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern)
Event Location:	Webinar – No Fee
Registration Link:	http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=100315
Description:	This session will provide an update and overview of FHA Single Family mortgage insurance appraisal requirements. It will address the most common appraisal questions and appraisal deficiencies. Property inspection requirements, appraisal validity period, case numbers, REO, manufactured homes, well and septic, attic and crawl spaces, lead-based paint, termite infestation, and the FHA Appraiser Roster will be addressed. FHA appraisers, underwriters and lender management personnel with all levels of experience may benefit from this session.
Special Instructions:	On-line registration is required.

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11th September 2014

Appraisal Management Company Fined For Late Payments

Editor’s Note: Getting paid- more evidence that meaningful AMC legislation at the state level is an appraiser’s best friend.

Appraisal Board Sanctions AMC for Late Payments
By Isaac Peck, Associate Editor – WorkingRE.com

Getting paid by appraisal management companies (AMCs) in a timely fashion has long been a challenge for appraisers, who, in many cases, have been forced to wait months for their money. While several state boards have adopted “prompt pay” provisions into their appraisal regulations, it is rare for AMCs to face formal sanctions over late payments. In what many will view as a win for rank and file appraisers, the North Carolina Appraisal Board (NCAB) recently assessed a civil penalty against an AMC, Residential RealEstate Review, Inc., for its failure to comply with North Carolina regulations which require AMCs to pay appraisers within 30 days of the submission of the appraisal (N.C.G.S. 93E-2-4[d]).

The Investigation
The civil penalty originated from a complaint filed in December 2013 by an appraiser who claimed the AMC failed to pay within 30 days. After receiving the complaint, NCAB requested an audit of the AMC’s payments to North Carolina appraisers for the calendar year 2013. After examining the payment schedules of the AMC, Residential RealEstate Review, NCAB discovered that out of 1,277 appraisal assignments in North Carolina that year, 74 of those payments were late- received later than the 30 day deadline.

On August 12, 2014, Residential RealEstate Review signed a Consent Order admitting to violating the North Carolina Appraiser’s Act by its failure to pay appraisers within 30 days and agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine. The penalty for subsequent violations can be as much as $25,000.

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