|
|
News By Edition
|
|
Valuation Review Edition
April 23, 2012
In the April 23, 2012, edition of Valuation Review, appraisers discuss the merits of professional attire. Though it may seem like an appropriate dress code is common sense, appraisers can get themselves in trouble if they over indulge in their freedom and not dress the part of the professional. Also in this edition, the results of the VR.com poll asking appraisers if they use the latest in appraisal technology. MountanSeed Appraisal Management CEO Carl Streck answers Five Questions and ASA, NAIFA follow up on called-out AMC fees. All that and more in this edition of Valuation Review.
|
|
They’re going to like the way you look: Guarantee first impression success
Posted Date: Monday, April 23, 2012
Freedom is the earned right of every independent appraiser. There are some unspoken rules, however, that are larger than just the appraisal industry — the rules of professionalism. Though it may seem like an appropriate dress code is common sense, appraisers can get themselves in trouble if they over indulge in their freedom and not dress the part of the professional.
|
|
|
|
Genpact launches quantum mortgage operating system
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Genpact Ltd. released its Quantum Mortgage Operation System to help mortgage originators and lenders automate and streamline major elements of the loan origination process, resulting in shorter loan origination cycle times and a more transparent mortgage process.
|
|
|
Housing market potentially positioned for recovery
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The latest FNC Residential Price Index indicated that U.S. home prices declined steadily in the last half of 2011. Since July 2011, prices on non-distressed properties (excluding foreclosure sales, REO sales and short sales) have fallen 4.5 percent averaging nearly 1 percent per month, according to the RPI. The persistent downtrends in home prices are driven primarily by conditions in the distressed market where the excess supply of foreclosed and REO properties -- many vacant and neglected -- continue to p
|
|
|
Appraiser fees, blacklisting hit mainstream media
Posted Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
Appraiser blacklisting, low fees and cruddy treatment all around is nothing new to appraisers, but it made the top news of a local Arizona CBS news syndicate. A Phoenix-based appraiser refused to provide a bank with appraisal information when the bank was not the original entity that hired him for the appraisal in question. For that, he was blacklisted.
|
|
|
Energy-related ownership rights becoming big issue for title industry
Posted Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
The recent movement for clean energy and onshore drilling is making it more and more difficult for title insurance professionals, who need to adapt both in the way they search for ownership on property and the way they insure that ownership. Read on for details about an educational event that will provide instruction on how to conduct better transactions with these unique and, many times, difficult properties.
|
|
|
Casual culture clash
Posted Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
Certainly there has been a sea change in many industries. Yesterday’s casual is today’s business casual, and the past’s formal attire is not seen in the office. When the seemingly trivial social requirements like professional dress are relaxed, it can seep into other areas of the business. For appraisers that travel from house to house, this extends not only to their own appearance, but also to how they present themselves to the client.
|
|
|
Crafting appraisal quality Q&A
Posted Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
Crafting the perfect appraisal is not an exact science. It takes the perfect blend of report and service quality to keep clients happy. Valuation Review gave appraisers an open floor to ask Frank O’Neill, chief appraiser at DataQuick, and Frank Danna, president and chief executive officer of Appraisal Logistics Inc., for advice dealing with their most frequent service and report sticking points.
|
|
|
The impression that I get: What your appearance is saying to your clients
Posted Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012
The importance of the proper attire is an easy social taboo to undervalue. The outward impression you present imprints a lasting internal perception on your client, be it the home owner or lender. If the appraiser puts the time, effort and thought into his or her appearance, then we assume that carries over into all aspects of their personality and instantly plants the seed of trust and confidence in the client.
|
|
|
Foreclosure filings down, says RealtyTrac
Posted Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012
RealtyTrac released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2012, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 572,928 properties during the quarter, down 2 percent from the previous quarter and down 16 percent from the first quarter of 2011.
|
|
|
Freddie Mac gives UAD update
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
With the Uniform Appraisal Dataset hitting its stride, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been monitoring its use and working with lenders and appraisers to support the successful adoption of the new appraisal dataset.
|
|
|
Global DMS launches mobile app
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Global DMS launched eTrac ATOM — Appraiser Tracking On Mobile — a new mobile application for appraisers. eTrac ATOM allows eTrac’s appraiser users to access full functionality of their eTrac appraisal management systems through any Android or Apple smartphone or tablet computer.
|
|
|
A trial separation: ASA, NAIFA follow up on called out AMC fees
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012
In February, the American Society of Appraisers and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA) sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to explain the importance of calling out the separate fees in the prototype Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and settlement forms. As the CFPB continues to test different variations of the forms, the two associations sent another letter to reiterate the importance of their stance on separating AMC fees from the fee paid to the appraiser.
|
|
|
Ellie Mae releases origination insight report
Posted Date: Monday, April 09, 2012
Ellie Mae released a new monthly report on the state of the origination market. The report draws its data and insights from a robust sampling of the significant volume of loan applications — more than 20 percent of all originations in the U.S.— that flow through Ellie Mae’s Encompass360 mortgage management software and Ellie Mae Network.
|
|
|
|
Buying season numbers look promising
Posted Date: Monday, April 09, 2012
Clear Capital released its Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report with data through March 2012. Report highlights include: National home values dropped slightly in the rolling quarter-over-quarter analysis; regions posted mild quarterly gains, except the struggling Midwest, which continued its downward slide; the year-over-year numbers showed weaker performance for the nation and the regions, indicating the short-term relief has yet to be enough to turn the long-term tide; and forecast for rest of 2012 shows m
|
|
|
A real estate success story
Posted Date: Monday, April 09, 2012
A new Urban Land Institute survey of 38 leading real estate economists and analysts from across the United States projects broad improvements for the nation’s economy, real estate capital markets, real estate fundamentals and the housing industry through 2014.
|
|
|
Refinance activity plummets after February peak
Posted Date: Monday, April 02, 2012
The latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that purchase activity is holding steady across the country, but refinance activity dropped considerably since a peak in February. Mortgage applications decreased 2.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 23.
|
|
|
A fraudulent appraisal picture worth $1 million and 30 years in jail
Posted Date: Monday, April 02, 2012
A loan officer was convicted in federal court on one count of falsifying loan applications, which involved an appraisal for the property that was to be financed. The appraisal included pictures of a home that was allegedly on the property, but these pictures were actually of homes located elsewhere. Read on for the details.
|
|
|
|
|
Five questions with Carl Streck, CEO of MountainSeed Appraisal Management
Posted Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Five Questions with is an ongoing feature that asks professionals from all walks of the appraisal industry five questions about themselves, their business and their experience in the industry. Carl Streck is the chief executive officer for MountainSeed Appraisal Management LLC, based in Atlanta.
|
|
|
|