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News By Edition
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Valuation Review Edition
September 1, 2014
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Best practices for appraising for litigation purposes
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
As appraisers strive to diversify their professional opportunities and maximize their earning potential, many have turned to litigation work to supplement their workload.
Eminent domain work is frequently the type of assignment that draws appraisers into the legal realm, but there are other types of assignments that routinely require the expertise of appraisers: environmental contamination proceedings, ad valorem tax assessments, construction defects, diminution in value cases, bankruptcies, fraud and misrepresentation cases, estate tax filings and divorce work.
Although the need to accurately assess value is still the top priority in the courtroom, appraisers also must know how to work with attorneys and comport themselves during testimony and cross examination. In short, litigation work takes a skill set that can be vastly different from what is required for mortgage lending assignments.
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AI Annual Meeting Live Coverage: The appraisal assignment that can lead to big money, even bigger opportunities
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
To grow as an appraisal professional, sometimes you have to move out of your comfort zone.
And there is perhaps no better area of the industry that highlights that sentiment more clearly than appraising for special purpose properties.
Unique property types can present a variety of challenges, of course, but the benefits can be substantial.
At the 2014 Appraisal Institute Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, a panel consisting of three senior managing directors at Valbridge Property Advisors talked about how to appraise special purpose properties and the benefits that such work can provide in a session titled, “The Unique Appraisal: Case Studies in Appraising Special Purpose Properties.”
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Appraisal fees lag behind as other closing costs spike
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
New data from Bankrate.com, an aggregator of financial rate information, shows what many settlement services professionals have seen with their own eyes over the past 12 months — closing costs are on the rise, just not necessarily for appraisals.
Closing costs, comprised of both origination fees and third-party fees, jumped 6 percent nationally over the past year, with the average cost topping out at $2,539 for a $200,000 loan: Origination fees increased 9 percent (to an average of $1,877 on a $200,000 loan) and third-party fees, such as for appraisals and credit reports, increased only 1 percent (to an average of $662 on a $200,000 loan).
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FHA releases new draft of appraisal requirements
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) posted for public review four new draft, appraiser-specific policy documents July 31 that will be incorporated into the agency’s Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook, commonly known as the SF Handbook. The draft policies cover appraiser eligibility and oversight, conducting appraisals and more.
The “Appraiser and Property Requirements for Title II Forward and Reverse Mortgages” section of the SF Handbook policies are part of the FHA’s ongoing effort to consolidate the SF Handbook to make it easier for stakeholders to do business with the agency. The changes bring together content from more than 30 SF Mortgagee Letters and Handbooks into a single policy source for appraisers.
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Appraisal Q&A: Communicating confidential info, CE requirements
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
To help promote the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and dispel common myths about the appraisal profession, Valuation Review has partnered with experts from The Appraisal Foundation to answer your on-the-job questions about appraisal best practices and other commonly misunderstood areas of the appraisal world, such as USPAP guidelines. In this Appraisal Q&A, we look at what USPAP says about communicating assignment results, disclosing confidential information, and continuing education requirements.
Q: I was recently contacted by a lender regarding an appraisal I had performed for another client. The lender had somehow obtained a copy of my appraisal report and had some questions they wanted me to answer. However, this lender was not my original client and was not named as an intended user. Are there any USPAP prohibitions against discussing my appraisal with this lender?
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Wells Fargo to relax lending standards amid slumping mortgage volumes
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
What do you do if you’re a lender trying to recover business in the face of slumping mortgage volumes while simultaneously trying to avoid facing the threat of legal action associated with issuing subprime loans?
The answer, at least for Wells Fargo, is to make concessions for the wealthiest of borrowers.
According to Reuters, the largest U.S. lender has eased its standards for the “jumbo” mortgages it takes on from other banks, which are too high-cost to receive backing from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Fannie expects improved economy amid housing turbulence
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Fannie Mae has released its August 2014 Economic and Housing Outlook, which projects future movement in interest rates, the housing market, the mortgage market and the overall economic climate. Continue reading for all the details.
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Court: Lehman lawsuit against appraiser is too little, too late
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
A lawsuit filed by global financial services firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LHBI) against a Florida appraiser nearly four years after it declared one of the largest bankruptcies in American history is too little, too late, as a circuit court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision that the company’s filing exceeded the Sunshine State’s four-year statute of limitations.
LHBI had argued that a 2006 appraisal by Barbara Gayle Phillips, a licensed appraiser in Florida, was at least $300,000 off its true value — but by waiting until 2012 to file its lawsuit, LHBI missed Florida’s statute of limitations for negligence actions.
The case, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. v. B.G. Phillips and Tristate Appraisers LLC (U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit No. 13–14782), began in March 2006, when Phillips conducted an appraisal of property in Panama City, Fla., which valued the property at $1.2 million and secured two mortgage loans, one for $960,000 and the other for $120,000. These two loans then were sold on the secondary market to Lehman Brothers Bank, a subsidiary of LBHI, and then to LBHI in May 2006. LBHI, in turn, sold the first mortgage to SASCO and the second mortgage to CitiMortgage.
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Lender, AMC nailed for inflated appraisal fees
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
A national lender and its affiliated AMC have been disciplined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for violating the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) by allegedly attracting prospective borrowers with misleading interest rates and then locking them in with inflated appraisal fees.
On Aug. 12, the CFPB fined Amerisave Mortgage Corp., its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Co., and the organizations’ collective owner, Patrick Markert, millions of dollars for enticing tens of thousands of borrowers with deceptive advertising and then illegally overcharging them for third-party services.
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Mortgage software company announces $30 million acquisition
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
One of the leading providers of software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry has announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a leading information, education and compliance training provider in the mortgage industry for $30 million. Keep reading for the details.
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Metro-West appraisers to adopt new background check profiles
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Comergence, a provider of Web-based risk management solutions and background information for the mortgage industry, has announced a deal to provide its REALM for Appraisers services to the more than 175 certified appraisers that work for Metro-West Appraisal Company.
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Q&A with Appraisal Foundation: Understanding USPAP conflicts of interest
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
To help promote the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and dispel common myths about the appraisal profession, Valuation Review has partnered with experts from The Appraisal Foundation to answer your on-the-job questions about appraisal best practices and other commonly misunderstood areas of the appraisal world, such as USPAP guidelines. In this Appraisal Q&A, we look at what USPAP says about conflicts of interest, performing “evaluations,” modifying completed appraisal reports, and complying with standards of square footage measurements.
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BofA agrees to record-breaking settlement
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tony West announced Aug. 21 that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corp. — the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history ¬— to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch.
As part of this global resolution, the bank has agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) — the largest FIRREA penalty ever — and provide billions of dollars of relief to struggling homeowners, including funds that will help defray tax liability as a result of mortgage modification, forbearance or forgiveness.
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Appraisal software gets fresh look
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
A new version of appraisal software that makes it easier for appraisers to accept, manage and submit orders to lenders was released Aug. 23. Keep reading to learn about the new offering.
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CFPB unveils eClosing pilot program participants
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the selection of participants for its mortgage eClosing pilot program to explore how the increased use of technology during the mortgage closing process could affect consumers, lenders and settlement services providers. Read on for all the details.
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Mortgage services provider announces new senior VP
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
A Denver-based end-to-end mortgage services provider announced the company has named a new senior vice president of business development of its Loan Servicing Division. Keep reading to see which industry veteran has been tabbed for the job.
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Residential real estate company names new regional VP
Posted Date: Monday, August 25, 2014
The largest independent residential real estate company in the United States has named a new regional vice president of its Corporate Real Estate Services division. Continue reading to learn the details.
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Lender sues competitor for $20M over stolen talent, ‘trade secrets’
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Affiliated Mortgage Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Benchmark Bank of Plano, Texas, has sued its competitor, Envoy Mortgage, for $20 million over allegations that former Affiliated executives stole “trade secrets” and siphoned talent when they left Affiliated to take jobs leading Envoy’s correspondent lending division, The News Star reported.
The civil lawsuit was filed in the 4th Judicial District Court in Louisiana more than a year ago, but the claims have taken on new importance after Affiliated announced Aug. 15 that it would be exiting the correspondent lending business, as reported by HousingWire.
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AMC names senior VP
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
An appraisal management company operating in more than 30 states announced the hiring of its new senior vice president and national account manager. Keep reading to learn about the new hire.
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East Coast lender names senior vice president
Posted Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
A Virginia-based lender with affiliates throughout the East Coast has named a new senior vice president that will be charged will helping to strengthen the company’s commercial loan division. Keep reading to learn about the 25-year veteran who will be taking over the new position.
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Moving beyond the 1004: Taking appraising to the next level
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
As I go to conferences and meetings across the country, I am hearing the same thing over and over about how this industry is entering a perilous situation, that the appraiser population is aging and there are not any new appraisers to take their place. At the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials’ ARRO Spring 2014 Conference held earlier this year, there were discussions about how there are now some rural counties that currently have no appraiser coverage because the former appraiser retired and there was no one to replace them.
A few years ago, when the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) was implemented, it was called the “perfect storm” for the industry. Appraisers lost trusted business relationships built over years and were replaced by AMCs that took half their fees and regulations that added more scrutiny to their already heavy workload. Getting “customary and reasonable” fees is still an issue for some appraisers.
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FHFA plan for Fannie, Freddie aims to improve U.S. mortgage market
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) kicked off what it said will be a multi-year effort to develop a single security that would be issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The agency published a request for input on its initial plans Aug. 12. Comments are due by Oct. 13 and can be submitted via FHFA.gov.
The single security project is intended to improve the overall liquidity of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by creating a single security that is eligible for trading in the “to-be-announced” (TBA) market.
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Key figure in housing recovery to step down
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
One of the principal figures in charge of reviving the post-recession housing market announced Aug. 11 that she will be leaving her post as the head of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to pursue other opportunities.
Carol Galante, who has been the commissioner of the FHA since July 2011, helped stabilize the housing market during her tenure by ensuring that the FHA backed loans from borrowers amid tightening regulations and restricted lending practices from banks — all while fighting for the FHA to remain economically viable.
The FHA has been an especially crucial organization for some of the country’s higher-risk borrowers, such as first-time homebuyers, because the FHA insures lenders against losses in the case of default. Borrowers who opt for the FHA’s insurance can still secure a mortgage with just 3.5 percent down.
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Mortgage services provider to acquire valuation product line
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
A nationwide mortgage services provider announced Aug. 13 that it has completed the acquisition of a national real estate data company’s collateral valuation assets. The bundle of mortgage services offerings will include appraisal, broker price opinion and hybrid valuation products that will complement the company’s existing product lines in support of home-equity and first-mortgage lending. Keep reading for the details.
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New book aims to help appraisers better understand markets
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The analysis of real estate markets is a core skill of modern appraisal and is critical for risk management in the marketplace, according to a new book from the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers. The book was written to help appraisers examine a property’s productivity, delineate the market, study and compare supply and demand, investigate market trends and develop a capture estimate for the property being appraised. Keep reading for additional details and to see where you can get the new publication.
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MISMO committee announces schedule for changes
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The MISMO Residential Standards Governance Committee has announced the schedule for the next two releases of the MISMO Residential Data Standard. Updates to the Standard, which supports data exchange transactions and corporate data models across the residential mortgage lifecycle, are expected to be released for public comment in November 2014 and July 2015, respectively. Keep reading for the details.
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W.Va. appraiser cleared of disciplinary actions
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
A West Virginia appraiser is breathing easier after a state court ended actions taken against her by the West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board to resolve complaints filed against the appraiser dating back to 2001. According to the court, the board initiated disciplinary proceedings against the appraiser in a manner and timeframe that violated state law.
Throughout these proceedings, the appraiser, Linda York, steadfastly denied that she engaged in improper, wrongful or deficient conduct in her work as an appraiser.
The case is State of West Virginia, ex rel. Linda York, petitioner v. West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, No. 13–0827).
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Housing affordability drops below long-term averages
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
RealtyTrac, a provider of real estate data and analytics, released a report Aug. 7 that shows housing affordability for many median-income households has dropped below historical averages.
According to the report, which was compiled from analysis of more than 1,000 U.S. counties during the second quarter, income-to-price affordability percentages indicate homes are less affordable in 34 percent of the counties analyzed than their long-term averages over the past 14 years.
The report was calculated by assessing the median income necessary to make monthly payments on median-priced homes in each county and comparing that income-to-price affordability to the same percentages dating back to January 2000.
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National appraisal provider names COO
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
A national provider of real estate appraisals, analytics and appraisal reviews has announced that it has hired a new chief operating officer, who will be charged with leading the company’s operations, information technology, product management and human resource divisions. Continue reading for the details of the hire.
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Appraisal Institute presents eight national awards
Posted Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers with nearly 22,000 professionals in almost 60 countries, presented awards to eight appraisal professionals at the Appraisal Institute Annual Meeting Aug. 6 in Austin, Texas. Keep reading to see the appraisers who were recognized.
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Appraiser’s claims of wrongful termination, USPAP violations by coworkers fall flat in court
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
An appraiser who filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against her employer got a disappointing valuation of her own recently when a Colorado federal court denied her claims.
Appraiser Adrienne Wagner, an employee of LandSafe Appraisal Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, alleged that she was fired for reporting potential Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) violations by her coworkers. Her employers, in turn, claim she was fired for sending inappropriate emails to her superiors throughout her three-year stint at the company.
When the court agreed with Wagner’s employer and denied her claims, saying her case “doesn’t have the goods,” Wagner appealed, but the court last month affirmed the previous decision.
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Appraisal Institute announces VP, charts course for the future
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The Appraisal Institute had a busy week last week.
Besides hosting the Appraisal Institute 2014 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, Aug. 4-6, which brought together appraisers from across the globe for three days of continuing education classes and networking opportunities, the Institute also named its 2015 vice president and charted its course for the group’s future initiatives.
Jim Amorin, an Austin-based appraiser, was elected 2015 vice president of the nation’s largest professional association of appraisers by its board of directors Thursday. Amorin’s one-year term at the Appraisal Institute will begin Jan. 1, followed by one year each as president-elect, president and immediate past president.
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Ten appraiser groups join Community Partnerships Program
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
A la mode, a Florida-based developer of desktop, mobile and Web tools for the real estate and mortgage industries, has announced that 10 new appraiser organizations have joined the company’s Community Partnerships Program. Continue reading to learn about the Community Partnerships Program and the groups that will be joining its ranks.
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AMC appoints industry veteran to new executive role
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
A national provider of residential and commercial valuations and asset management for the mortgage, banking, credit union and real estate industries has announced that it will be appointing an industry veteran as the company’s new chief administration officer. Keep reading to learn about the hire and to see what the individual will be tasked with in his new position.
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Partnership to allow appraisers to package property database access, E&O insurance
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
A San Diego-based property data provider serving real estate professionals has announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with a provider of risk management services and insurance solutions to package a product that allows appraisers to get property database access and E&O insurance together. Continue reading for the details.
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Lenders say that mortgage rules have reduced their willingness to lend
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
The Federal Reserve released the results of its July 2014 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices on Aug. 4. The survey addresses changes in lender opinions over the past three months, and is compiled from the responses of 75 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
This particular survey contained a special set of questions designed to gauge the impact that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage standards have had on lender practices since the rules went into effect Jan. 10 as part of the Truth in Lending Act.
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What do you think of the state of the appraisal industry?
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
Valuation Review’s 4th Annual 2014 Voice of the Appraiser survey is now open for comment, and more importantly, we need your help! The multiple choice survey will only take 5 to 10 minutes to complete and is meant to capture the pulse of the industry directly from the appraiser’s point of view. Along with multiple-choice questions, there are plenty of opportunities to write in your own comments, share insights or just plain sound off.
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New mobile app gives property info for more than 100 million homes
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
Homefacts, a provider of neighborhood data and statistics and a wholly owned subsidiary of RealtyTrac, has announced the launch of a new mobile app for iPhone users. The new Homefacts app enables users to view detailed property and neighborhood information and statistics on more than 100 million homes in the United States. Continue reading for the details.
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Mortgage services provider names new senior vice president
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
A domestic-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider announced July 30 that the company named a new senior vice president, national sales manager of the company’s settlement services division. The new addition will be responsible for sales, sales management and revenue growth for the company. Keep reading to learn more about the hire.
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Increased home prices could result in unintended consequences
Posted Date: Thursday, August 7, 2014
According to a newly released study from the National Association of Home Builders, the increasing costs for new median-priced homes could force hundreds of thousands of prospective buyers out of the marketplace. The number of households that would be affected by price increases varies across states and metro areas and largely depends on population, income distribution and new home prices. Keep reading for the details of the study.
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Committee passes bill exempting lenders from certain appraisal requirements
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
The Financial Services Committee voted to pass H.R. 5148, the Access to Affordable Mortgages Act of 2014, by a vote of 31-23 on July 30.
H.R. 5148, which was sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., would exempt lenders from complying with the appraisal requirements put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act for mortgages of $250,000 or below as long as lenders hold the loan in portfolio for at least three years. Essentially, the bill would not require full appraisals in such cases.
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Appraiser survey takes pulse of the industry
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
The Appraisal Institute has released the results from its new appraiser survey highlighting industry trends in the first part of 2014.
Over 1,400 randomly selected appraisers participated in the survey, and depending on how one looks at the answers, the results can be viewed as either positive or negative.
The number of working appraisers throughout the country continued to slip in the first half of the year, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in previous years. The number of active appraisers in the U.S. fell from 81,050 on Dec. 31 of last year to 80,500 at the end of June, which is a drop of just under 1 percent. Over the past six years, the number of active appraisers has fallen by 2.6 percent annually on average.
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Accurate Group’s new software will help appraise HELOCs
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
Accurate Group, a provider of real estate appraisal, title and compliance services, announced the launch of EquityRenew July 31. EquityRenew is designed to help banks accelerate processing of the approximately $167 billion in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) that will reset over the next three years. The solution is expected to help banks protect profits from HELOC defaults, reduce internal costs and time spent on analysis, and ensure regulatory compliance. Continue reading to see how the software will be used to help appraise properties for the nation’s lenders.
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Fannie releases results of lender survey
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
Fannie Mae has released the inaugural results of its quarterly Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey. This new industry research initiative tracks insights into current lending activities and market expectations among senior mortgage executives at Fannie Mae’s lending institution partners. Keep reading to see how lenders feel about the state of the housing market.
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Loan provider names new managing director
Posted Date: Monday, August 4, 2014
A national provider of multifamily and healthcare mortgage loans announced July 28 that it has named a new managing director. The new addition will focus primarily on managing client relationships with various real estate owners, originating new loans and identifying opportunities for new initiatives in the marketplace. Continue reading to learn about the company’s new hire.
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