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News By Edition
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Valuation Review Edition
June 23, 2014
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Fannie director explains who’s responsible for industry stagnation
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2014
October Research, LLC’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) held June 9-11 in New Orleans brought together experts from across industries to look at how shifting trends are helping shape the housing market and the businesses that rely on it.
Most agree that the U.S. economic and housing sectors are steadily improving and that they will rebound to historically normal levels, for the most part, within a year or two.
But there is a segment of the population that has the potential to either supercharge the recovery, or hold it back, depending on a few variables — and there is a good chance one of these individuals might be currently living in your basement.
First-time homebuyers are making up a significantly smaller portion of the market than is historically normal — these buyers accounted for just 29 percent of all buyers in April, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors, which is down from a historical average of around 40 percent.
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AMC proposed rule draws comments, concerns from NAR
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Steve Brown has submitted a letter containing the agency’s comments and concerns to the minimum requirements for the registration and supervision of appraisal management companies (AMCs) that were proposed by six government agencies March 24.
The proposed minimum requirements — which would grant the state agencies that certify and license individual appraisers the same authority to oversee appraisal management companies — were jointly issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the National Credit Union Administration.
NAR expressed its concerns that the guidelines defining appraisal panels are restrictive and may hinder best practices.
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Restaurant appraisals are big business, require certain valuation approach, expert says
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
Appraisers should understand and correctly use methods and techniques employed by investors to determine the value of restaurants, according to an article published in The Appraisal Journal. The article looks at the valuation parameters used by restaurant operators, lenders and intermediaries in actual transactions in the real estate market and argues that appraisers should incorporate these considerations in the approach into valuation of restaurants. Keep reading to see what the article said appraisers need to know.
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The Appraisal Foundation seeks board members
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
The Appraisal Foundation has begun its annual search for qualified candidates to serve on the Appraiser Qualifications Board and the Appraisal Standards Board. The board of trustees may appoint up to four members to the AQB and up to five members to the ASB. Keep reading to see what the positions entail and how to apply.
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The Appraiser Qualifications Board answers appraisers’ questions
Posted Date: Monday, June 9, 2014
The Appraiser Qualifications Board of The Appraisal Foundation, which establishes the minimum education, experience and examination requirements for real property appraisers to obtain a state license or certification, has issued its June Q&A to respond to questions raised by appraisers on the applicability of the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, the interpretations of the Criteria in specific situations and to offer advice for the resolution of appraisal issues and problems. Keep reading for the Q&A.
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NS3 Live Coverage: NS3 attendees help “Make a Child Smile”
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
The goal of October Research, LLC’s 2014 National Settlement Services Summit is to help settlement services companies build their businesses and grow their bottom line, but conference goers took time out from networking and attending panel discussions Monday to focus on a more important goal — helping restore the city of New Orleans, one nut and bolt at a time. The third-annual “Make a Child Smile” charity event, sponsored by Winward Consulting | Software LLC, saw attendees across industries roll up their sleeves to help assemble 30 bikes that will be donated to New Orleans children in need.
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NS3 Live Coverage: October Research announces industry award winners
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
October Research, LLC, publisher of The Title Report, The Legal Description, Valuation Review, RESPA News and Dodd Frank Update, announced the winners in its annual awards program June 10. The awards program was launched to honor men and women in the mortgage and settlement services industries for exemplary accomplishment in the areas of leadership, innovation and philanthropy.
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Detroit sets plan in motion to revitalize blight-ravaged city
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
The Motor City could look significantly different over the next few years if the city goes through with recommendations made by an Obama Administration task force aimed at helping reduce blight in Detroit.
The Detroit Blight Removal Task Force, which was created in 2013 as part of a $300 million federal initiative to help revitalize the bankrupt city, recommended in a 341-page report released May 27 that the city spend at least $850 million to rid the city of approximately 40,000 dilapidated and abandoned buildings over the next five years, The New York Times reported.
The money would also be used to restore thousands of buildings and clean up empty lots.
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The green building boom is near, report shows
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
McGraw Hill Construction, a provider of data, news, insights and intelligence for the construction industry, has released a new report that shows that green building projects are expected to explode in popularity over the next few years. The report, “Green Multifamily & Single Family Homes: Growth in a Recovering Market,” is compiled from surveys of builder and remodeler members of the National Association of Home Builders and reveals the evolution of green building for single-family homes. According to the latest study, green building is poised to go from niche to mainstream. Keep reading for what to expect in the market in the near future.
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Pennsylvania appraiser convicted by federal jury for inflated appraisals
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
A federal jury in Pennsylvania handed down its decision June 11 in a mortgage fraud case in which an appraiser was accused of providing fraudulently inflated appraisals.
After deliberating for nearly five hours, the jury found James Lignelli of Presto, Pa., guilty of three counts of bank fraud, according to a June 11 announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Lignelli will be sentenced Sept. 26 and faces up to 90 years in prison, a fine of $3 million, or both.
Lignelli’s prosecution was the result of an investigation by the Mortgage Fraud Task Force, a group of investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as mortgage industry leaders.
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South Carolina governor approves new appraiser licensing, certification standards
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
On May 16, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed into law HB 4644, or the Real Estate Appraisers License and Certification Act, a measure that conforms appraiser licensing and certification standards with national, uniform standards.
Under HB 4644, all appraisers must be at least 18 years old, submit proof of completion of qualifying education and/or experience, submit certificates of licensure from all jurisdictions where presently or previously certified, undergo a criminal background check in compliance with state board requirements and pass an examination, if applicable. Effective July 1, an applicant who does not become licensed or certified within two years after passing the licensure examination must retake the examination.
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Taking the temperature of today’s market
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
Valuation Review asked some industry leaders what the current role of desktop appraisal products, appraisal review products and automated valuation model testing plays in the appraisal world today for our upcoming “Appraisal Technology Report.”
Here is what Scott Richardson, senior vice president of valuation services for ISGN, said about utilizing desktop appraisal products in the first part of our story.
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Envoy Mortgage names new CEO
Posted Date: Monday, June 16, 2014
Envoy Mortgage, a mortgage bank conducting business through its nationwide retail locations, correspondent lending channel and in-house loan servicing operation, announced that it has named a new chief executive officer. Continue reading to see who will be taking over the position.
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Crucial Alaska appraiser legislation dies at end of legislative session
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Alaska Senate Bill 129, a measure extending the termination date of the state’s Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers, failed to obtain the approval of the governor before the end of the state’s legislative session.
SB 129 was introduced Jan. 22. It passed the Senate on March 14 and the House on April 18. According to legislative records, the bill contained clerical errors and never made it to the desk of Gov. Sean Parnell.
The bill’s sponsors sought to establish regulations necessary to comply with the requirements of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act. Federal regulations impose licensure requirements affecting those who perform federal appraisal transactions in all 50 states. Some of these requirements were implemented in 2013, and a new wave of requirements will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015.
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NS3 Live Coverage: Former All-Star gives NS3 attendees ‘Four Commitments’ of success
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
At first glance, it’s hard to find the common ground that a former NBA All-Star and settlement services professionals might share.
After all, when was the last time you had to fight Charles Barkley for a rebound?
But when you hear Mark Eaton’s story, it doesn’t take long to see how the 7-foot-4-inch former center of the Utah Jazz’s journey to the pros is applicable to those working in the settlement services industry today.
Eaton gave the keynote address, “The Four Commitments of a Winning Team!,” at October Research, LLC’s 2014 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) Wednesday.
His address centered on how small changes can result in transformational change, both personally and professionally.
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NS3 Live Coverage: Keynote discusses vendor management from the lender’s perspective
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Regulators have made it clear that they want lenders to beef up their oversight of third-party service providers, but just how those expectations will impact the relationship between lenders and the settlement services industry remains unclear. In a keynote speech at October Research, LLC’s 2014 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in New Orleans, Mike Flynn, executive vice president and general counsel with Flagstar Bank, discussed vendor management from the lender’s perspective.
Flynn said that in the title space, regional and national underwriters and large agencies that have ongoing contracts with banks are already feeling the impacts of vendor management guidance released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) because it’s clear such providers are major third-party vendors.
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Company announces new hire to bolster banks’ lending, servicing operations
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A mortgage lending consulting firm that helps banks build profitable lending and servicing operations announced that a new senior associate with over 30 years of mortgage banking experience has joined the company. The new hire will advise the company’s banking clients on how to improve their mortgage performance. Keep reading to see who’s stepping into the position.
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Massachusetts attorney general follows through on threat, sues FHFA
Posted Date: Monday, June 9, 2014
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court June 2 against the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over alleged violations of Massachusetts state laws pertaining to nonprofit organizations’ authority to purchase foreclosed upon property and resell it to the former homeowner.
Coakley sent a letter to Mel Watt, FHFA’s director, in May threatening legal action if the government entity refused to revise policies that prohibit Massachusetts nonprofit organizations from helping foreclosed upon homeowners’ buy their homes back, HousingWire reported.
“Our office is considering all available legal avenues, including litigation, to ensure compliance with Massachusetts law, should FHFA fail to promptly amend its policies to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to participate in credible buyback programs,” Coakley’s letter read.
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The American home is growing larger, more extravagant
Posted Date: Monday, June 9, 2014
Good luck trying to convince Americans in the market for newly built homes that good things come in small packages.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data released June 2, the average American home built last year was built to cater to wealthy buyers like never before, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The data shows that the percentage of newly built homes in 2013 with at least four bedrooms climbed to 44 percent, up from 41 percent the previous year. The percentage of homes with at least four bedrooms was the highest ever recorded by the bureau since it began tracking the metric in 1973.
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Appraisal Institute warns homeowners to be cautious of choosing upgrades
Posted Date: Monday, June 9, 2014
The Appraisal Institute, a global professional association of real estate appraisers, issued a press release June 5 to advise homeowners to exercise good judgment when deciding which home improvement projects to take on, saying that not all renovations enhance property values. Continue reading to see the Appraisal Institute’s advice, and why it said appraisers can aid homeowners in choosing the right remodeling project.
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Ellie Mae announces integration of flood services to its loan review tool
Posted Date: Monday, June 9, 2014
Ellie Mae, a provider of on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry, announced that it has integrated its proprietary Encompass Flood Service into its Total Quality Loan program to provide mortgage lenders with the accurate, efficient and consistent ordering of required flood certifications from one centralized tool as part of their Encompass mortgage management solution. Keep reading to learn what capabilities the integration will afford users.
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Federal investigators zero in on smaller lenders
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
Federal investigators allegedly plan on shifting their focus to some of the nation’s smaller lenders over potential poor lending practices that contributed to the housing crash now that legal disputes concerning similar issues have been settled with larger banks such as J.P. Morgan and Bank of America.
The nature of the investigations is said to revolve around banks who pawned off mortgage loans to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) — the largest insurer of mortgages in the world — that did not conform to acceptable underwriting standards, an unnamed government official told The Wall Street Journal.
While no allegations of wrongdoing have been made public at this juncture, officials at smaller banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks, Regions Financial Corp., U.S. Bancorp and Capital One Financial Corp. have already acknowledged investigations in recent months that focused on their past mortgage origination, loan servicing and packaging of loans into securities.
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National lender names new regional manager
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
Mortgage Master Inc., one of the largest privately owned residential mortgage lenders in the nation, announced the hiring of a new Northern California regional manager. The new hire, who has 14 years of mortgage industry experience, will be tasked with attracting high quality mortgage originators, opening new retail production branches and expanding Mortgage Master’s market share throughout Northern California. Keep reading to learn about the new hire.
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Home prices continue upward trend
Posted Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
CoreLogic, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, released its April CoreLogic Home Price Index report June 3. The index shows that home prices continued trending upward for the 26th consecutive month in April. Keep reading to see the full details.
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