My New Blog

I have been silent for sometime now with plenty to say.  I am a very experienced NJ certified appraiser who had recently had the legs taken out from under him with the new valuation code of conduct.  I will not preform work for any AMC's and remain compliant with USPAP and will not violate this code.

Did we need a formal document to say that the appraiser should not be given undue influence?  I have been doing my job, signing my reports and being held responsible for what I put on a legal document since I started in this business in 1993.  Ethics is what has built my client base, nothing else.  A simple rule that follows the same principle is what took it away.

True story that I can document: a large Appraisal Management Company was hired by Chase to complete an appraisal on a home of one of my friends.  My friend had talked about his process and told me that his appraisal came in at $535,000.  I was shocked because I never thought that his home would appraise for that.  Upon viewing the appraisal I realized that the sales this appraiser used where in the range of $350,000 to $400,000 yet the appraisal still came in at $535,000.  When he called Chase, they said that they could not lend to him because the appraisal came in too low.  Now, my friend is holding identical documents (appraisals) one sent from Lenders Services(LSI) saying $535,000 and one sent from Chase saying $370,000.  The ONLY difference was the date and value.  There is fraud and no one is being questioned or called out on it.... 

Another true story, I completed an appraisal of a condo that was damaged by a flood.  To make a long story short, I completed the appraisal "subject to" all repairs. A rep from WAMU had called asking about the report and stated that their was no interior photos and the appraisal was completed "as is" condition.  They created a new report with my signature page falsifying the documents.  I have the conversations, emails and all reports to prove it. 

So, this is where the HVCC by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is supposed to clean up the mortgage industry. Thats my 2 examples, how many more are there?

Case in point, out of personal experience with a "automated appraisal."  I resently sold my home and purchased another.  Without getting into numbers, the AVM of this popular site estimated my home 14% higher than the what I sold it for.  The appraisal came in 4% higher.  The AVM never took into consideartion a multiple of factors limiting the properties marketability, primarily its location! 

On the home I purchased, the "automated appraisal" came in 22% higher than what I purchased my house for!  And it is a typical style and sized house for the neighbor hood.  The appraisal came in within 3% of our purchase.  How can this happen?

So your saying to yourself that this is an advantage to a homeowner.  Now take this senario on a refinance.  A homeowner wants to borrower using a 100% loan to value ratio.  The AVM states the house is worth $500,000+/- even though it is only worth $450,000+/-.  Now the borrower is in over their head, cant afford the mortgage they were put into and cant sell the house for the $500,000 the borrower was told it was worth by this lenders AVM...  Foreclosure...  Who's to blame???