News By Edition

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering the implementation of hybrid appraisals that enlist a third-party to collect the data for a lender and certified appraiser once past the automated underwriting system.

Valuation Review spoke with Realquantum Chief Operating Officer Dan Craig and DataMaster Chief Appraiser Jared Preisler about this, and other matters appraisers should take note of.

Read on to learn more.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking input pertaining to appraisal policies and procedures and is looking for assurance the GSEs are operating in a safe and sound manner.

Valuation Review reached out to Clear Capital’s Innovation Labs Executive Vice President Jeff Allen for thoughts on this matter, and other areas of importance for appraisers.

Read on to learn more.

BBG Senior Managing Director Rodman Schley will occupy the president’s chair in 2021 for the Appraisal Institute (AI).

Schley was elected by AI to serve a one-year term effective Jan. 1

Read on to learn more.

Richard “Chet” Theiss is an experienced independent appraiser in Texas.

Valuation Review spoke with Theiss for an earlier story surrounding master planned communities (MPCs) and why specific details seem to be omitted when the time comes to officially label land as an MPC.

Theiss talked with us again hoping to provide more clarity on the subject matter, and what may lie ahead for MPCs in 2021.

Everyone has seen that sign hanging in a restaurant window stating management reserves the right to not serve customers.

Does the same right apply to appraisers when it comes to not wanting to serve a client? Veteran appraiser Dustin Harris (“The Appraiser Coach”) believes so and shared his thoughts with Valuation Review as to why this should be the case.

Read on to learn more.

BBG announced a new practice group offering comprehensive valuation and advisory services for right-of-way and eminent domain projects.

This group will be led by an industry leader and other highly skilled company professionals.

Read on to learn more.

ClosingCorp announced that Triserv, a national appraisal management company providing best-in-class appraisal and valuation solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and servicers, is now able to receive and manage appraisal orders via the ClosingCorp Order Management platform. Read on to learn more.

SLK Global Solutions, a leading provider of digital platforms and business process management solutions to the banking, mortgage and financial services industry, has enabled a leading U.S. bank that originates residential mortgages to improve its underwriting efficiency and speed up closings by 11 days through its pre-underwriting support solution LoanAccel. Read on to learn more.

Guaranteed Rate, one of the country’s largest retail mortgage lenders, has entered into an agreement to acquire Texas-based Stearns Holdings, LLC from funds managed by Blackstone.

A national top 25 lender with more than $20 billion in origination volume in 2020, Stearns was founded in 1989 and operates in all 50 states through retail, joint venture, partnership and wholesale channels.

Read on to learn more about this acquisition.

Fannie Mae recently updated appraisal matters in its Lender Letter (LL-2021-01) to all Fannie Mae single-family sellers. Several categories were addressed including risk management policy reminders and resources pertaining to appraisals. Read on for more information.

Riley County, Kansas Assessor Greg McHenry assumed the office of president of the International Association of Assessing Officers on Jan. 1. Read on for more details.

The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB), according to appraisal attorney Peter Christensen, is seeking to have an appraisal fee price-fixing case heard by the Supreme Court.

Christensen, who outlined specific details of the potential legal move by LREAB in a recent article, shared some of his findings and thoughts with Valuation Review.

Read on to learn more about this case.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Charlie Oppler issued a statement responding to the Federal Housing Finance Agency and U.S. Treasury Department announced changes that will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to retain more of their earnings as important capital rather than passing them directly to the Treasury. Read on to learn more.

CoreLogic has successfully integrated its income calculation and analysis solution with Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor asset and income modeler for self-employed solution, according to a press release. Read on to learn more.

SitusAMC Holdings Corp. has acquired ReadyPrice, the company announced in a release. Read on to learn more about this industry acquisition.

More conversation for commercial appraisers to take note of centers around cap rates, and the specific buildings and properties they are applied to.

Cap rate understanding can be of great importance to the commercial appraiser.

Hear more from Realquantum Chief Financial Officer Tim Keller.

Valuation Review continues its “virtual” assignment with more thoughts from Clear Capital Chief Appraiser John Brenan and Clario (Clear Capital subsidiary company) staff appraiser Alicia Roberts.

The task of inspecting properties has certainly changed as a result of the pandemic. But how challenging is it?

Read on to find out what adaptations our experts have taken, and what they see for the future.

President Joe Biden named Todd Harper as the new board chairman for the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), replacing Rodney Hood.

Hood originally took the position in April 2019 and will continue to serve as a board member.

Read on to learn more.

A report highlighting the county-level housing markets most vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic said pockets of the northeast and other parts of the East Coast were most at risk during the fourth quarter. Read on to learn more.

Recently, ValueScape’s Artificial Intelligence Data Augmentation Algorithm (AIDA) exceeded its 2020 milestone of auditing four million interior and exterior property images contained in reports used for collateral risk assessment.

Valuation Review reached out to company CEO William Leveson-Gower for specifics about this additional tool for appraisers.

Read on to learn more.

The appraisal profession is mourning the loss of a truly dedicated and hard-working individual. Scott Robinson, the 2016 president of the Appraisal Institute, died Jan. 22 from an accidental fall inside his home.

Valuation Review, who had the privilege to know Robinson and feature him many times in stories, reached out to several individuals who shared their emotions and immediate thoughts on a man gone too soon.

Read on for our special tribute.

Valuation Review continues its discussion on appraisal modernization and what a “new” environment will bring to appraisers with panelists Dan Craig (Realquantum) and DataMaster Chief Appraiser Jared Preisler. Read on to find out what could be on the horizon for the valuation industry moving forward.

Appraisers try to avoid the courtroom, but sometimes it can be unavoidable. In fact, appraisers should never assume they won’t be called to the stand to deliver testimony.

Valuation Review hosted the webinar “How to be an Expert Witness” featuring two veterans from the legal industry who shared helpful tips for appraisers called to be witnesses.

Read on for a brief summary and find out how you can order your copy of the webinar.

Metro-West Appraisal Co., LLC reached a settlement in the company’s civil complaint against Sun Point Appraisals, Inc. and its’ principal, Paul Johnson. Read on to learn more about the agreement.

LoanLogics has hired a new company senior vice president. Read on to find out who accepted the new role.

Mortgage lenders can look to the past to strategically prepare for the inevitable landing following 2020’s record origination volumes and production profit margins, according to the latest Insights Report from mortgage advisory firm STRATMOR Group. Read on to learn more.