Readers Respond

Editor’s Note: Check out OREP/WRE’s new HVCC Appraiser Talkback Blog and Survey for additional reader comments and to make yourself heard nationally on HVCC and other important industry issues. (Click Appraiser Talkback Blog.)

Fannie’s 1004MC
When I reviewed the “new” 1004MC for the first time I began to laugh in view of all the whining, complaining and cries for higher fees from appraisers. There is not one single question in that form that my firm does not already consider and/or include in every report and have been for years. If anything, the new form will speed up my process by removing the need for so much narrative style. If appraisers were properly analyzing and reporting the market all along, the need for the form would not have occurred. – Jeffrey Shawan

Did you know that the FNMA 1004MC Addendum is required for all of these Forms: 1004, 1004C, 1004D, 2055, 1073, 1075, 2090, 2095 and 1025?  Even if they order a 1004D, for the purpose of determining whether the value has gone up or down or is stable, the 1004MC form is required. They even want the 1004MC with the FNMA 2055 Exterior ONLY Form. I will certainly be raising my fees for all of these forms where the 1004MC Addendum is required. This form adds a minimum of one-three extra hours of work to each appraisal. – Bill Cobb

Read more about the form in 1004MC Getting up to Speed with Fannie’s New Form.

How to Succeed by Setting yourself Apart
Your article about marketing your business is the most useful article I have ever read concerning my business. Thank you. – Rhonda Jakes

Editor’s Note: This story, first published in WRE’s Online Edition, can be found here.

Altered Appraisal Reports
Thanks for the great article. I had no idea that could be done.  FYI:  Since I began using the latest URAR report, I put a comment on the addenda page which reads; “21. The lender/client may not disclose or distribute to any data collection or reporting services without consent from the appraiser.” I have yet to have anyone question it. – Jon Serena

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Thank you for printing this article today.  It confirms what all of us have been saying for a long time. – Elizabeth Southwort

Appraiser Board Turns Tables
The article Appraiser Board Turns Tables on Broker should be placed in all MLS monthly magazines throughout the country or their national magazine, and hopefully real estate agents will quit putting the statement in their contracts that says: “Property must appraise for sale price or higher.” – Bill Mieswinkel

Appraiser Sues Countrywide
I haven’t seen the work of the individual who is suing Countrywide but as a review appraiser when I see references to hitting the number, I think of the many times that I have reviewed appraisals where the purchase price falls within the range of indicated values identified in the Sales Comparison Approach and the appraiser decides that he/she knows better than the buyer and seller and goes to the high end of the indicated range.  An example from recent history: three sales used in the approach– range of values indicated by SCA – $246,000, $252,000, and $293,000. Purchase Price is $262,000 and the appraiser turns in an appraisal stating the value is $293,000. I have a tendency to be a little suspicious about these types of valuations: no cost approach, no reconciliation of the SCA other than to state, “the strongest sale, most comparable to the subject is Comp 3.” But in the open market with an agent handling the sale, typical marketing time, and both buyer and seller acting in their own best interests, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a market value that varies far from the purchase price of $262,000. In this case, I was accused by the appraiser of pushing him to “hit a number” but I don’t want a preconceived number, I want logic to dictate the value that the market is indicating. Without any of us knowing the details of the Countrywide lawsuit, we have to be careful about passing judgment. – Kim D. Heisler, ARA

FHA Appraising
The Bill (HR3221) changing FHA appraiser requirements from Licensed to Certified makes absolutely no sense. FHA type properties, single family residences and two-four residential units, do not require a Certified appraiser. Licensed Residential is all that is required for these types of properties.  Note that it was not FHA that called for the changes. – Steven A. Souza

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I am already on the FHA roster as a licensed appraiser so I guess I don’t see what the difference is. If you are already doing FHA work, how will being certified change anything?  After 31 years of appraising I must now to through the extra expense and time to get certified. – Anonymous

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FHA doesn’t have enough Certified appraisers so their new fix is to give Licensed appraisers until October 2009 to get Certified. The problem is that there won’t be any more Certified appraisers by then either because the AQB (Appraisal Qualifications Board), in all it’s wisdom, decided to raise the qualifications to the point where it is not economically feasible to comply with their requirements. What you are witnessing is the slow death of the independent appraiser business. Nobody in their right mind is going to go to school to satisfy the AQB’s  requirements for a payoff of $20 per hour. It is not a suitable level for “professional” wages ($200 for a full appraisal).  – W.R.Buchanan

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This FHA-related question was sent to our Appraiser Talkback Blog.

What does it mean that appraisers must be “certified” by the state in which the property to be appraised is located, “or designated by a nationally recognized professional appraisal organization”? Does that mean that if you have a professional designation, you don’t need to be certified by the state? – Linda Oltmanns

Editor’s Note: The Mortgagee Letter 08-39, states that appraisers must be state certified to qualify for placement on the FHA Appraiser Roster.  Appraisers with professional designations who are not state certified are not eligible. The mortgagee letter can be found at WorkingRE.com, Revised Eligibility Requirements for FHA Roster Appraisers – Mortgagee Letter.

FHA Roster Seamless Renewing
You write: “The only time a renewal is not automatically conveyed on FHA’s Roster is when there is not an exact match with the National Registry.” I have seven appraisers, and their FHA numbers are all different.  Some have dashes, some have dots, and some have extra letters in their prefix.  How do I make sure these two numbers match?  – Colleen Hebert

Editor’s Note: Find the answer, straight from FHA, in FHA Seamless Renewal.

Going Green with WRE Magazine
I’ve received your magazine for a number of years. I just read it online and I agree with your option to delete the paper edition. I can read it fine online. Good idea.
– Larry Saxton, SRA, CRP