News By Edition

Valuation Review virtually attended the Appraisal Subcommittee’s (ASC) second hearing on appraisal bias and the appraisal regulatory system from the Constitution Center, headquarters of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in Washington, D.C.

Selected witnesses gave testimony to the ASC panel.

Read on for more details in Part I of this exclusive story.

John Brenan has enjoyed a career in appraising spanning over four decades, assuming various roles and titles with numerous companies.

Valuation Review caught up with Brenan to discuss his latest endeavor, which is owner and founder of his newly established business, JSB Consulting.

Read on for the full conversation.

Valuation Review sat down with Rachel Goldman, associate advisor for SVN Commercial Advisory Group, to get her thoughts on a career in commercial real estate and the challenges she faced as a Black woman in the industry.

Goldman, who said it was “incredibly difficult” just getting her “foot in the door,” still faces challenges today.

Read on to learn more.

Valuation Review spoke with the regional owner of EXIT Mid-Atlantic who works with and supports all of the EXIT real estate franchises in the Mid-Atlantic territory that includes the states of Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. 

He shared many facets of the business, including success tips that have afforded him the luxury of never having to lay off an employee.

Read on for Part I of this exclusive feature story.

The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that would ensure the accuracy of repair estimates within state auto policies.

House Bill 1437 (HB1437), which would amend Texas’ insurance code, will now head to the Senate for a final vote, according to the Repairer Driven News.

Read on to learn more about this legislation.

Consolidated Analytics recently announced its approval as a service provider for data collection field services to support Fannie Mae’s value acceptance + property data. Consolidated Analytics has worked closely with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to support their appraisal modernization initiatives.

ATTOM recently released its second quarter “2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report” showing that 1.3 million residential properties in the United States are vacant. That figure represents 1.3 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation.

With around 85 percent of Americans planning to travel this summer but inflation making trips costly, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on “2023’s Best and Worst Cities for Staycations.” To identify the best spots for staying local, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 42 key indicators.

The Appraisal Foundation has begun its annual search for qualified candidates to serve on the Appraiser Qualifications Board and the Appraisal Standards Board. The deadline for all applications is Aug. 1.       

Valuation Review concludes its conversation with Rachel Goldman, associate advisor for SVN Commercial Advisory Group, for more of her thoughts on a career in commercial real estate and the challenges she faced as a Black woman in the industry.

Goldman emphasizes that working hard can make a difference.

Read on for the conclusion of this feature story.

Valuation Review, who virtually attended the Appraisal Subcommittee’s (ASC) second hearing on appraisal bias and the appraisal regulatory system, concludes its special feature on this hearing where witnesses gave testimony to the ASC panel assembled.

The Appraisal Foundation (TAF), along with the Appraiser Qualifications Board and Appraisal Standards Board, seemed to be a verbal target for selected witnesses and panel members. Valuation Review reached out to TAF President David Bunton for his reaction and response to statements/testimony made at the hearing.

Read on for the conclusion of this story.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills into law, amending some preexisting industry regulations, according to The Capitolist.

HB 213 changes the statute of limitations and repose for lawsuits related to acts or omissions in the performance of appraisal services or appraisal management services.

Read on to learn more about this appraisal legislation.

There are a few things one needs to know when it comes to Department of Veterans Affairs loan appraisals. Chase Bank outlined some of the basics to keep in mind when moving forward with these types of loans.

Recently, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) posted for feedback on a proposal for a new home retention option to help struggling homeowners meet their mortgage obligations. The new option would allow mortgage servicers to use the FHA Partial Claim both to bring a borrower’s mortgage current and to provide temporary reductions to their monthly mortgage payments.

LoanLogics recently announced several document processing milestones achieved in large part through an 11-year relationship with Pennymac.

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). The PMMS showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.57 percent.

This year’s winners of October Research, LLC’s annual awards for Leadership, Innovation and Philanthropy include a forward-thinking employer, a title-decisioning pioneer, and a fisherman-turned-fundraiser.

CEO and Publisher Erica Meyer presented the awards at the 19th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3).

Read on to find out this year's winners.

For 10 years, attendees at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) have helped make a positive impact on each host city by participating in Make a Child Smile.

This year, attendees at the Hyatt Regency at The Arch in St. Louis filled hundreds of bookbags with school supplies for children at the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery.

Read on for more.

On June 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with five other agencies, invited comment on a proposed rule to implement the quality control standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act for the use of automated valuation models by mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling. The focus is on homeowners who may be concerned about a technology model alone determining the value of their house.