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News By Edition
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Valuation Review Edition
May 26, 2014
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Appraiser uses microphone to sound off on today’s issues
Posted Date: Monday, May 19, 2014
When Phil Crawford started developing his new weekly talk radio show, “Voice of Appraisal,” back in October 2013, he had one modest goal: To change the appraisal industry as we know it.
At a relatively young 39 years old, Crawford isn’t short on perspective. After years of being a guest on Cincinnati-based radio shows sharing his insight from his more than 15 years as a certified residential and certified general real estate appraiser, as well as a certified education instructor, the third-generation appraiser decided to branch out on his own to establish a platform for furthering the best interests of the nation’s appraisers.
The half-hour show touches on a variety of topics each week — from fees to value disputes to dealing with AMCs — nothing appraisal-related is off limits. Yet, no matter the number of topics the show touches on, the common theme of unifying the appraisal profession is central to Crawford’s message.
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Valuation Review to partner with The Appraisal Foundation to answer your appraisal questions
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
In an effort to help promote the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and dispel common myths about the appraisal profession, Valuation Review is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with experts from The Appraisal Foundation to answer your appraisal-related questions in the pages of Valuation Review. The Washington D.C.-based Appraisal Foundation will bring the same expert advice that it uses to develop USPAP guidance to our Valuation Review readers in a column titled “Appraisal Q&A.” Keep reading to see how you can anonymously submit your questions.
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New FHFA head breaks silence, charts course for Fannie, Freddie
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
In his first public remarks since taking over as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in January, Mel Watt outlined changes May 13 during a speech at the Brookings Institution to how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will approach their role to help strengthen the U.S. housing market in the coming years.
Watt’s silence had begun to weigh on industry lawmakers, and other professionals with a vested interest in the direction of the government sponsored enterprises (GSE), since he plays an integral role in providing guidance on housing policy initiatives.
Watt’s main message was that Fannie and Freddie were committed to helping make credit more accessible for borrowers by easing requirements on banks.
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National mortgage banker announces acquisition of Western lender
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
A full-service residential mortgage lender licensed in all 50 states has purchased the assets of a direct mortgage lender with branches in California and Nevada. Under the terms of the transaction, the Western lender’s five branches will be rebranded. This is part of the national lender’s strategy to expand its retail lending footprint in the Western U.S. Keep reading to see the full details of the transaction.
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Freddie to back trailer park loans
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Freddie Mac Multifamily has announced it will begin purchasing and securitizing Manufactured Housing Community, or trailer park, loans. These will be commercial loans made to the community owners who own the land on which mobile homes reside. Keep reading to see why Freddie is backing the loans and who will be eligible for them.
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Regulator issues guidance for lenders
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) unveiled its “Blueprint for Access” May 13, which is guidance aimed at helping underserved portions of the population attain housing.
In an effort to shore up the residential market after the housing crash and prevent such a downturn in the future, banks were forced to tighten lending restrictions. These tighter lending practices have become too restrictive, however, according to the FHA.
“According to the Urban Institute, the average credit score for loans sold to the GSEs is 752,” the FHA noted in its guidance. “Currently, there are 13 million people with credit scores ranging from 580 to 680. Shutting these consumers out of the market hurts American families and undermines our efforts to build more stable communities, create pathways to the middle class and increase homeownership opportunities for minority and low-wealth borrowers.”
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Appraisal Institute announces its new certification organization
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
The Appraisal Institute, the global professional association of real estate appraisers, announced the formation of a new certification organization that will issue cross-disciplinary valuation certifications to individuals who meet select criteria. Keep reading to learn what the new organization will mean for the appraisal industry.
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Fed chairwoman says economy poised for growth as housing sector lags behind
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen told Congress’s Joint Economic Committee May 7 that the U.S. economy is gaining strength, but the housing sector is struggling to catch up.
The economy and housing markets are linked together in many respects. The sluggish economy of the past several years has been cited as a dominant factor in keeping many potential homebuyers, especially would-be first-time buyers, from being able to afford a home.
However, even as the economy is poised for more sustained growth, the housing sector may not follow suit.
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Appraisal Practices Board looks for new experts
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
The Appraisal Practices Board of The Appraisal Foundation has announced it is seeking Subject Matter Experts to assist in the research and development of voluntary guidance on “Collection and Verification of Data used in the Sales Comparison Approach for Non-Residential Properties.” Continue reading to see the requirements the APB is looking for in its search.
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FHFA executive arrested for threatening former director
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
The federal agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is in a period of damage control after Richard Hornsby, chief operating officer at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), threatened the life of the agency’s former director, Edward DeMarco.
Hornsby was charged April 30 with one felony count of threatening to kidnap or injure a person after he allegedly threatened to shoot DeMarco and kill himself, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The threat to shoot DeMarco was preceded by weeks of incendiary comments made by Hornsby regarding DeMarco, all allegedly stemming from Hornsby’s poor job performance ratings.
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Home prices break record highs in major U.S. cities
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, released analysis May 13 that showed shifting home price trends in more than 380 U.S. markets. The data was based on information from the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes. The indexes show that some major metros have reached home price peaks never seen before. Keep reading to see which cities’ prices are skyrocketing.
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Cash is king in today’s housing market
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
New housing market data shows today’s tighter restrictions on residential lending have necessitated a buyer’s market where cash is king.
According to a report from RealtyTrac, a provider of U.S. real estate data, the number of all-cash buyers is at the highest level recorded since the company began tracking such data in the first quarter of 2011.
Specifically, RealtyTrac’s 2014 U.S. Institutional Investor & Cash Sales Report showed that 42.7 percent of all residential property sales were all-cash purchases in the first quarter of this year, up from 37.8 percent in the previous quarter and up from 19.1 percent a year ago.
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Florida appraiser not liable for alleged overstatement of value
Posted Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
An appraiser and his appraisal company were not liable for allegedly overstating the value of a Florida residence, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found.
The case is Levinson v. Landsafe Appraisal Services Inc. (No. 13-11756).
The plaintiff, Fred and Louise Levinson, sought to purchase a new home in Delray Beach, Fla., from property developer TOUSA Homes Inc. back in 2008. The purchase was to be funded through a loan from Wells Fargo Bank, which was brokered by Preferred Home Mortgage Co. Preferred Home was then a wholly owned subsidiary of TOUSA Homes. Preferred Home required an appraisal on the property and hired Landsafe Appraisal Services Inc. to perform the valuation. Licensed appraiser Octavio Martinez was given the assignment, and he valued the Delray Beach property at $591,000. The Levinsons closed on the property for $590,565 soon thereafter.
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Fannie, Freddie unveil new UCDP updates
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released the “Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) Release Notification and Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Update” for May. The update specifies four main changes to the UCDP that industry professionals should be aware of for Fannie and Freddie loans.
The main change is a reminder that the government sponsored enterprises (GSE) will only accept MISMO XML submissions in the UCDP beginning July 13. As part of this requirement, appraisals in PDF, ACI XML and AIReady formats will not be accepted after the specified date, and the PDF extraction services will be retired on July 13 as well.
Non-MISMO files will still be able to be accepted in the UCDP prior to July 13, but if these non-MISMO reports are slightly altered and resubmitted after that date, an error message or hard stop will be returned.
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Senate Banking Committee narrowly approves housing finance reform bill
Posted Date: Monday, May 19, 2014
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee narrowly approved a bipartisan housing finance reform bill despite concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The committee approved S. 1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013, May 15 by a vote of 13-9. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., the committee’s chairman, said he had hoped the bill would garner more support. However, he said he will continue to work with committee members before the bill comes to the Senate floor.
“This bill represents our effort to draft the final chapter of financial reform by addressing the most significant unresolved issue from the financial crisis — the housing finance system,” Johnson said ahead of the committee vote.
The bill, supported by Johnson and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the committee’s ranking member, is based on a plan crafted last year by Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner, D-Va.
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LRES names new vice president of valuations
Posted Date: Monday, May 19, 2014
LRES, a California-based national provider of residential and commercial valuations and asset management for the mortgage, banking, credit union and real estate industries, announced the company has named a new vice president of valuations who will be responsible for enhancing the delivery of property valuations and improving product operations and gross margins for the company. Keep reading to see who will be helping lead LRES’ valuation division into the future.
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Lenders cite CFPB mandates as industry’s top concerns
Posted Date: Monday, May 19, 2014
QuestSoft, a California-based provider of automated compliance software and services to the mortgage, banking and credit union industries, announced the results of its eighth annual compliance survey May 15. The survey, which was compiled from responses from over 500 lenders, gauged lenders’ top compliance concerns of 2014. According to the survey, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mandates and deadlines dominate mortgage bankers’ top concerns in 2014.
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Mortgage banker to utilize new loan servicing platform
Posted Date: Monday, May 19, 2014
Black Knight Financial Services, a provider of integrated technology, data and analytics solutions for the lending and settlement services professions, announced that a Texas-based privately owned mortgage banking company has signed a seven-year contract to implement MSP, Black Knight's mortgage and consumer loan servicing platform. Continue reading to learn why the mortgage banker is implementing MSP.
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Mobile appraising could get easier due to smartphone trend
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Appraisers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices to aid them in completing appraisal assignments in the field. Thanks to new smartphone applications that help expedite the valuation process all the way from accepting an assignment to delivering a report, mobile devices are becoming an all-in-one tool appraisers depend on. However, one of the setbacks that industry professionals encounter when using their mobile devices can be the inconvenience of trying to use the small screens that many smartphones on the market have.
According to new data from market research firm Canalys, smartphone manufacturers are starting to cater to the eye-strained masses by making their products’ screens larger, and the public has responded accordingly.
The number of smartphones shipped worldwide with screens five inches or more jumped a whopping 369 percent from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of this year. The larger smartphones accounted for 34 percent of all smartphones shipped.
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Housing to serve as engine for job growth, economist says
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
An economist from the National Association of Home Builders told Congress earlier this month that housing stands poised to serve as an engine of job growth as long as the right policies are in place. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy during a hearing examining the drivers of job creation, NAHB economist Robert Dietz said that home building and remodeling have generated a substantial amount of opportunities for U.S. workers. Keep reading to see who Dietz said stands to benefit most from housing expansion.
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NS3 Preview: Keynote to stress changing expectations for third-party vendors
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to streamline mortgage disclosures and the closing process will likely demand heightened cooperation between lenders and settlement services providers in the coming months. However, regulators’ vendor management expectations are already having an impact on the lender/service provider relationship. In a keynote speech at October Research, LLC’s 2014 National Settlement Services Summit in June, Mike Flynn, executive vice president and general counsel with Flagstar Bank, will describe what lenders need from their settlement services providers to remain compliant.
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Why appraisers stand to profit from increased lender scrutiny
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
In the residential appraisal industry, everything always trickles down from lenders to their third-party vendors.
Necessarily, as compliance requirements have become the hot-button issue for lenders in recent years, the need to conform to banks’ expectations has become paramount for appraisal management companies (AMCs) and independent appraisal firms, alike.
But what exactly are banks looking for from their third-party vendors in 2014? And why is third-party oversight any different now than in the past?
Valuation Review talked with a man uniquely qualified to answer those questions.
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NS3 PREVIEW: Speakers address strategic partnerships and CFPB enforcement
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Strategic partnerships can be highly beneficial for the parties involved. With the benefits, however, also come some risks if the venture is not compliant. Compliance is crucial to avoiding a RESPA violation and enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. During October Research, LLC’s 2014 National Settlement Services Summit in June expert attorneys will discuss the ins and outs of complying with the laws and regulations governing affiliated business arrangements and marketing services agreements, as well as CFPB enforcement and increased regulatory scrutiny.
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Lender to adopt new software system to help service loans
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
A provider of technology solutions and services to the U.S. mortgage industry has announced that a California-based residential lender has selected its proprietary software system to help service its loans. Keep reading to see the parties involved and why the lender is adopting new technology.
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Homebuyer, seller attitudes improve in time for busy season
Posted Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Fannie Mae has released the results of its April National Housing Survey. The survey, compiled via live telephone interview of over 1,000 Americans, shows respondents’ attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances and overall consumer confidence. The April survey could foreshadow an increase in housing activity in the coming months. Keep reading to see why.
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