Earlier this year, HousingWire conducted an appraisal webinar and could not address all of the questions from appraisers in attendance. This webinar’s panel of expert appraisers will answer those questions and even take some more.

Some of the questions they attempt to answer are:

• Is there an appraiser shortage?
• Will technology take your jobs?
• How fair and reasonable are AMC fees?
• What is being done to encourage new faces to enter the appraisal market?

watch it here: http://knowledge.housingwire.com/your-appraisal-questions-answered/

Back in March, HousingWire gathered three industry experts to answers readers’ questions on the appraisal market. But as it turned out, one hour wasn’t nearly enough time to properly dig into the state of the highly debated appraisal market.

In the time that has passed since March, however, HousingWire has weighed in on the debate, publishing headlines such as:

• Hey 50-percenters, there is no “appraiser shortage” so knock it off
• Sorry, appraisers, you’re wrong – there is a shortage

Along with headlines on the latest news developments in the appraisal industry, such as: …continue reading the rest of this post: The highly contested state of the appraisal market and where it’s headed

CoreLogic to Acquire Mercury Network

Transaction Will Enhance Company’s Valuation Solutions Offerings and Expand Software Platform Revenues

Irvine, Calif., June 6, 2017—CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase valuation technology and appraisal management platform provider Mercury Network from Serent Capital. Concurrently with entry into the purchase agreement, the company has acquired a 45 percent passive minority stake in Mercury Network. The purchase of the remaining portion of Mercury Network is expected to close in 2017 and is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory clearance. The acquisition of Mercury Network is expected to be accretive to the EPS of CoreLogic and provide organic growth synergies to the Company on a go forward basis. …continue reading the rest of this post: CoreLogic to Acquire Mercury Network

The inspector general has issued a Fraud Alert regarding Appraiser Identity Theft

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uncovered a series of cases of appraiser identity theft. The schemes varied but resulted from someone using the State certification number of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) roster appraiser. The FHA roster appraiser was unaware of the misuse until it came to light, usually by accident.

Most of the schemes happened when an FHA roster appraiser provided his or her personal identification number (PIN) for the desktop appraisal software to a colleague or supervisor. Providing the PIN was often rationalized because:

…continue reading the rest of this post: Fraud Alert: Appraiser Identity Theft

IRVINE, Calif. – April 27, 2017 — ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest multi-sourced property database, today released its Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that homeowners who sold in the first quarter realized an average price gain of $44,000 since purchase, representing an average 24 percent return on the purchase price — the highest average price gain for home sellers in terms of both dollars and percent returns since Q3 2007.

Meanwhile the report also shows that homeowners who sold in the first quarter had owned an average of 7.97 years, down slightly from a record-high average homeownership tenure of 8.00 years in Q4 2016 but still up from 7.68 years in Q1 2016. Homeownership tenure averaged 4.26 years nationwide between Q1 2000 and Q3 2007, prior to the Great Recession. …continue reading the rest of this post: Home Prices Surge to Their Highest Point in 10 Years

Mortgage fraud risk is up across the country, according to the CoreLogic National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index (FRI) for Q1 2017. The FRI is a measure of loan-application level fraud risk in the mortgage industry, based on residential mortgage loan applications processed by CoreLogic Loan Safe Fraud Manager.

The index jumped 8 percent in Q1, up to 132 from 113 a year ago and 122 last quarter. CoreLogic notes that although this is the highest level for the Index since Q3 2010, at that time post-crisis controls against mortgage application fraud were tight. The CoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Consortium grew from 50 percent to 60 percent of application s between Q4 2016 and Q1 2017. …continue reading the rest of this post: Mortgage Fraud Risk Increases Nationwide

Tennessee Governor Signs Law Protecting Appraisers

On April 28, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law HB 376 that will establish a new statute of limitations regarding civil lawsuits and disciplinary actions against real estate appraisers.

As enacted, any action to recover damages against a real estate appraiser must be brought within one year from the discovery of the act of omission giving rise to the action. However, in no event can an action be brought more than five years after the date the appraisal was performed.

Additionally, the Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission cannot consider a complaint for a disciplinary acting that relates to an appraisal that was completed more than three years before the complaint was submitted. The new law will take effect July 1, and will apply to appraisals performed after that date. …continue reading the rest of this post: Tennessee Governor Signs Law Protecting Appraisers

AI Lobbies to Modernize Appraisal Regulatory Process

More than 100 Appraisal Institute professionals will go to Capitol Hill May 4 to urge congressional support for the modernization of the appraisal regulatory process.

Attendees of AI’s annual Leadership Development and Advisory Council conference, held May 3-5 in Washington, will lobby lawmakers to take legislative action to address appraisal modernization and the regulatory burdens that appraisers face. A hearing on the issue was held in November 2016, but so far no legislation has been introduced.

The Appraisal Institute believes that legislation is vital because the ranks of real estate appraisers have significantly declined in recent years, and AI research projects a further decline in the appraiser population over the next five to 10 years.

Key issues the Appraisal Institute wants to see addressed: …continue reading the rest of this post: AI Lobbies to Modernize Appraisal Regulatory Process

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General issued a Fraud Alert on Feb. 22 after uncovering a series of appraiser identity theft cases.

The schemes varied but resulted from someone using a state certification number of a Federal Housing Administration roster appraiser, HUD’s alert said, noting that the FHA roster appraiser was unaware of the misuse until it came to light, usually by accident. HUD said that most of the schemes happened when an FHA roster appraiser provided his or her personal identification number for the desktop appraisal software to a colleague or supervisor.

“We applaud the HUD Office of Inspector General for raising awareness about appraisal related identity theft,” Appraisal Institute President Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, said. “Given the range of interests in appraisal results, and the advent of electronic documentation and signatures, identity theft presents a significant risk to lenders and consumers, and it’s an issue that the Appraisal Institute has provided education and guidance to the industry for many years.”

The Fraud Alert said that over the last couple of years, HUD has received more than a dozen reports of identity theft by colleagues or supervisors. Examples were cited in Washington, Illinois and California.

HUD’s two-page Fraud Alert, which includes do’s and don’ts for appraisers, can be found on the HUD website.