News By Edition

This is my last editor’s message as a single man. In a few short days I’ll be walking down the aisle to a lifetime of matrimony. Needless to say, it’s got me thinking about commitment. I feel the importance of the event: The statement that no matter what — sickness, health, rich or poor — I’ll be there and do my best. Looking at things from that point of view is creeping into every aspect of my life — even the appraisal industry.

The value of selecting and maintaining an errors and omissions (E&O) insurance policy is most apparent after a claim is asserted. Nearly anyone can assert a claim and, irrespective of whether the claim has merit, a response is necessary. The typical E&O insurance policy requires the insurer to provide a defense to the appraiser, meaning the insurer will retain and pay for a qualified attorney to defend the appraiser. 

The significant increase in insurance claims and disciplinary complaints against appraisers over the last few years is directly related to the foreclosure phenomenon and subsequent pattern of appraisal reviews performed during the last decade. The validity of both the process and results of these forensic reviews may have little relationship to the subsequent actions by those seeking the deep pockets of the appraiser and their insurance carriers to recover monies lost in bad loans. This trend shows no sign

Lender Processing Services Inc., a provider of integrated technology, data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries, reports the following ”first look“ at August 2012 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing approximately 70 percent of the overall market. 

ISGN Corp., provider of end-to-end technology solutions and services to the U.S. mortgage industry, hired three key C-level executives for its executive leadership team, naming Amit Kothiyal as chief operating officer, Paul Imura as chief marketing officer and Badri Narrayen as chief human resources officer. 

Decision Ready, a provider of end-to-end compliance solutions for default servicing, appointed Bill Garland as executive vice president, strategic relationships and business development.  Garland is a seasoned mortgage executive with deep experience in operations, business development and client relations. He most recently served as senior vice president of ISGN Lending Solutions, where he managed client relations and business development for IT services. 

Home sales activity throughout Ohio increased 12.7 percent in August, helping the marketplace record its 14th consecutive monthly sales gain, according to the statistics provided by the state’s Multiple Listing Services. Sales of new and existing homes posted a 12.9 percent increase during the first eight months of 2012 compared to the same period a year ago, reaching 75,102 sales versus the 2011 mark of 66,536.

Mortgage applications decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Sept. 14, and the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage hit its lowest rate in the history of the survey. 

Mortgage Builder Software, a loan origination and servicing software (LOS and LSS) provider, gave an advanced look at its newly redesigned origination platform during a special event at the Millennium Hilton in New York City on Sept. 18. The next generation Mortgage Builder LOS also bears a new name — the first name change in 14 years for the company’s flagship product. Known since 1998 as Mortgage Builder, the new platform is called Architect. 

Ellie Mae, a provider of enterprise-level, on-demand automated solutions for the residential mortgage industry, released its Origination Insight Report for August 2012. 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 United States — that flow through Ellie Mae’s Encompass360 mortgage management software and Ellie Mae Network. 

A Bronx, N.Y., woman was sentenced to 186 months in prison for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme in Atlantic City, N.J., involving seven properties that were bought and sold 17 times in a little more than six months. She recruited and made large cash payoffs to a real estate appraiser  to falsely inflate the appraisals. After 17 separate real estate transactions, the straw buyers owned the seven properties — with mortgages they could not pay that were far in excess of the properties’ actual ma

The Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Sept. 7 regarding the bureau’s proposal to redefine annual percentage rate (APR). The GSEs indicated that the CFPB should work to minimize problems with other regulations as a consequence of the new APR definition. In its proposal, the CFPB suggested some ways it can mediate the effects of the more inclusive finance charge definition, which the GSEs said they

A California man was arrested and a 50-count indictment was unsealed, charging him and six others with mail fraud and wire fraud. The indictment alleged that the man and his father-in-law operated a Ponzi scheme in 2007 and 2008 that victimized more than 100 people and caused more than $7 million of losses related to the sale of shares in an investment program called the Naras Funds. The man and an appraiser are also charged with mail fraud related to a property flipping mortgage fraud scheme that operated

Ready to analyze the appraisal data and crunch the numbers – FNC’s Appraisal Score received a U.S. patent (U.S. Pat No. 8,244,563), making it the first patented appraisal review tool. The FNC Inc. blog “The Collateral Vision” announced the news Sept. 17 and reported that the patent process took five years. 

New survey findings, combined with an analysis of historic credit scores and loan performance, show home sales could be notably higher by returning to reasonably safe and sound lending standards, which also would create new jobs, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). 

The number of improving housing markets across the country rose to 99 in September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). This is up from 80 metros that were listed as improving in August and includes representatives from 33 states. 

The cool winds of autumn slip through the summer tree branches sending a chill down your spine. The season is changing as the nights grow cool and long. Darkness is descending on Valuation Review headquarters early this year, and we're already talking about the "31 Days of Appraiser Horror Stories!" But we need your help!