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Appraisers can be upset about the industry’s changes or not upset about them — it really doesn’t matter. Appraisers have got to accept that they’re here to stay so they can put their action plans to work. Norman Vincent Peale once said, “The secret of life isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.” If appraisers are going to be working with an AMC, and they want to make more money, have more control of their time and be able to pick and choose the companies they work with. They have to focus on the solution, rather than the problem.

Here are the final three tips for how to work with an appraisal management company (AMC) and make more money. 

The April 29 edition of Valuation Review is all about working together. Sure, there is a streak of independence that runs through the appraiser profession. Appraisers take pride in their knowledge and expertise, and rightfully so. But even the most independent appraiser can’t succeed alone.

I understand that a lot of appraisers are upset by the changes in the industry. Whether the new ways of doing business are right or wrong, they are here. The reality is that appraisal management companies (AMCs) are not going away. The current legislative and lending environment is only going to get stricter over the next several years, particularly as we go into the year of "implementation,” where all of the changes we’ve talked about are all going to be put into action. It’s going to shake up the mortgage lending and appraisal industries even more then they have previously.

Appraisers can be upset about the industry’s changes or not upset about them — it really doesn’t matter. Appraisers have got to accept that they’re here to stay so they can put their action plans to work. Norman Vincent Peale once said, “The secret of life isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.” If appraisers are going to be working with an AMC, and they want to make more money, have more control of their time and be able to pick and choose the companies they work with. They have to focus on the solution, rather than the problem.

The latest FNC Residential Price Index (RPI) indicates that U.S. property values rose again in February, continuing a trend that began in the spring of 2012, which has become widely recognized as the beginning of the housing market’s recovery. In February, the FNC RPI recorded a 28-month high after rising for 12 straight months. For the 12 months through February, the index increased 6.1 percent — its fastest acceleration since July 2006.

Veros Real Estate Solutions is the newest distributor of the Freddie Mac Home Value Suite, which includes the Home Value Explorer (HVE) and Home Value Calibrator. Freddie Mac's Home Value Suite is a defined set of valuation modeling tools that are designed to automate, streamline, and ultimately drive down the industry’s cost of collateral valuation. The suite was developed to serve lenders in processing and underwriting capacities, portfolio managers, quality control professionals, real estate brokers and Wall Street investors. Veros is authorized to directly distribute the products.

Narrative1 Software LLC launched Commercial Express, an innovative new product for commercial/multifamily valuation. Commercial Express is a short-format commercial appraisal software for faster data input, analysis and report generation. 

On the heels of Lee & Associates Valuation and Consulting Services opening a new Chicago office, the firm has added two veteran appraisers to its Atlanta office. Christopher Calhoun and Bennett Sands join Lee & Associates Valuation as Senior Appraisers. Lee & Associates Valuation and Consulting Services is the new service line of commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates.

InHouse Inc., a provider of appraisal technology for banks, lenders, credit unions and other mortgage originators, introduced new underwriter queues in its InHouse Connexions appraisal process management platform to improve the quality of appraisal submissions while enhancing lender compliance with government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and regulatory requirements.

The RESPA statute is among the most controversial consumer protection laws impacting mortgage and settlement services, and companies year after year defend themselves in court over violations. But industry professionals and business owners can prevent lawsuits and government enforcement actions by understanding what can and cannot be done under this unwieldy federal law and staying abreast of new guidance and judicial decisions.

As part of Freddie Mac’s efforts to enhance data quality, Freddie Mac compares a select set of appraisal data fields delivered through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) with loan delivery data entered into the selling system. Starting April 22, the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) will expand the set of data fields, and the selling system will compare a loan's property address delivered through the UCDP against the property address entered into the selling system.

CoesterVMS, a nationwide appraisal management company, launched its Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Suite, a web-accessible compliance program that allows lenders to verify compliance with all third-party regulations set forth by the CFPB every time an appraisal is done.  CoesterVMS’ CFPB Suite is powered by a proprietary technology that logs, files and sorts all CoesterVMS’ compliance related activities for every third-party regulation, from appraiser independence and appraiser selection requirements, to mandates for customary and reasonable fees, and current state licensing laws. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to extend the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) by two years to Dec. 31, 2015. The program was set to expire Dec. 31, 2013. “More than 2 million homeowners have refinanced through HARP, proving it a useful tool for reducing risk,” said FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco. “We are extending the program so more underwater borrowers can benefit from lower interest rates.”

Four individuals have pled guilty to offenses relating to mortgage fraud schemes. One of which pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud used her position as an apprentice appraiser to prepare appraisals with inflated values to help herself and others qualify for mortgage loans. She also failed to disclose material conflicts of interest to the mortgage lender when she performed appraisals on her own home and homes where she was the real estate agent.

ValuTrac Software, a software solutions provider to the appraisal management and mortgage lending industry, and Platinum Data Solutions, provider of collateral valuation and risk assessment technologies, announced that they have entered into a partnership. The companies will integrate ValuTrac’s ValuTrac Pro, a customizable appraisal management system, with Platinum’s RealView, a configurable appraisal data quality verification technology, to provide mortgage lenders and appraisal management companies a solution for managing workflow, ensuring compliance and mitigating risk in the appraisal review process.

Parts of the CFPB’s new loan originator compensation rule take effect as early as June of this year. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to get the training they need now in order to ensure compliance by its effective date. Dodd Frank Update is offering a 90-minute training webinar on the rule and how to comply with its various parts. Read on for more on this educational opportunity.

The February Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) found an increase in loan "cure" rates (those loans that were delinquent in the prior month and are now current). The majority of cures were on loans one-to-two months delinquent, with approximately 500,000 loans curing in February alone. As LPS Applied Analytics Senior Vice President Herb Blecher explained, these cures were not unusual, but rises seen in loans three-to-five months delinquent and foreclosure-initiated categories were unexpected.

While the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) still faces challenges ahead, the agency has taken a number of significant steps to mitigate risk and increase the solvency and strength of the mortgage insurance fund. That’s according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Gary Thomas, who testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity about the future of the FHA.

You may remember reading about a a Philadelphia mortgage scheme that was fueled by fraudulent appraisers earlier this week. That lawsuit has yet another addition. The fifth defendant is charged with participating in a massive mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated between May 2004 and February 2009, primarily in the West Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, involving KREW Settlement Services. KREW is a Philadelphia real estate settlement company that is alleged to have been at the center of the conspiracy. The defendant is alleged to have directly participated in securing a $324,000 mortgage loan from Washington Mutual Bank on 4930 Kingsessing Ave. in Philadelphia based on the submission of a false loan application and other false documents. The information alleged that other co-conspirators helped prepare the false supporting documentation, including false appraisal and false tax returns for Murphy, and failed to record Washington Mutual Bank’s mortgage.

The percentage of appraisers with a state certification is at an all-time high, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers announced. With more than half of U.S. appraisers aged 51 to 65, the Appraisal Institute anticipates opportunities for new appraisers.

 A woman was charged with participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy involving more than 100 Philadelphia properties and more than $20 million in fraudulent loan proceeds. She is charged with conspiracy to commit loan and wire fraud, making false statements in connection with a Federal Housing Administration loan, and loan fraud. The information also seeks the criminal forfeiture of more than $467,000.The conspiracy also included grossly inflated appraisals, false title insurance policies, false receipts for home repairs that were never performed, and straw buyers who knowingly allowed their names and identities to be used to purchase the properties and defraud the banks.

CoreLogic released its February CoreLogic HPI report. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 10.2 percent on a year-over-year basis in February 2013 compared to February 2012. This change represents the biggest year-over-year increase since March 2006 and the 12th consecutive monthly increase in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 0.5 percent in February 2013 compared to January 2013*.

February pending home sales flattened with limited buyer choices, but remained at the second highest level in nearly three years, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, slipped 0.4 percent to 104.8 in February from a downwardly revised 105.2 in January, but is 8.4 percent higher than February 2012 when it was 96.6. Contract activity has been above year-ago levels for the past 22 months; the data reflect contracts but not closings.