Appraisal Scoop

Local: Brady Homes Chosen For Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Bloomington, IL - Brady Homes will build one deserving Central Illinois family a new home as part of the Emmy award-winning reality TV show, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Brady Homes was chosen as the contractor for this “Extreme” build due to its reputation for giving back to the community. They have built four homes for St. Jude and also homes for residents of Marcfirst, an organization for the developmentally disabled.

Brady Homes will be responsible for overseeing the project’s construction and event management while upholding the highest standards of quality craftsmanship, design, and energy efficiency. Not only will this home be built in seven days but all products and labor will be donated by partnering trades and suppliers.

“The Brady family has always believed in giving back to our communities and is excited about helping a family who is in need of a new home,” said Ed Brady, co-owner with Bob and Bill Brady of Brady Homes. “When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition called us, there was no doubt we were willing to take on the challenge of organizing the building of a new home in one week for a deserving family.”

Five families within a 50 mile radius of the Brady Homes’ office in Bloomington, IL, are being considered for the build, all of whom have been deemed “Heroes at Home.” On Tuesday, August 18th, one lucky family will be surprised by Ty Pennington, team leader of the show, and the design team when they hear a knock at their front door. 

“Brady Homes’ history for passion and commitment to their communities was clear to us,” said Conrad Ricketts, executive producer of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We are seeking ‘Heroes in the Community,’ and both the family that will be chosen and Brady Homes are wonderful representatives of our theme this season.”

Please visit www.bradyhomes.com for updated information regarding media updates, volunteers, and contributions.

For interviews with Ed or Bob Brady about this project please contact Amber Geiser at 309-261-5839

ABA Teleconference Announced - Appraisals of Real Property in Distressed Markets

Telebriefing "Appraising in a Distressed Market". Sponsored by The Appraisal Foundation and American Bankers Association. The Appraisal Foundation and the American Bankers Association have partnered for a national telephone briefing on property appraisals in distressed markets.

The two-hour telebriefing will be held on March 26, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. The briefing will present relevant information and provide guidance and valuable insights to appraisers, bankers and other users of appraisal services.

Points to be covered during the course of the telephone briefing will include:

• Appraising in markets where most or all of the comparables are distressed sales;
• Tips for lenders to ensure accurate appraisal orders, and to define adequate scope of work for engaging appraisal services in distressed markets;
• Understanding the "decision tree" used by regulators to determine whether a loan should be adjusted downward;
• Types and definitions of value used in appraisal assignments;
• Effective communication between banks and appraisers on the methodology being used in appraisal assignments.

For more information or to register, Please visit: http://www.aba.com/teleweb/tb032609  

Runt Rants - I'm Back

Well, well, well. I’ve awakened from a year long nap to find a changed world. Rip Van Runt. That’s me!

When I dozed off

• We seemed a lock to elect the first woman president of the USA 
• The HVCC was going to revolutionize the appraisal industry 
• The Snake Oil Salesman were still selling bottled pig slop as perfume 
• The debate was ongoing to let troubled financial institutions fail 
• WAMU was a healthy bank 
• The DOW was down to 10,000 and there was concern in the air

When I returned 

• We have a male President 
• We have our third female Secretary of State 
• We have Senator Biden as Vice President in charge of something called Stimulus 
• The Snake Oil Salesmen have gone underground  
• The US auto industry has become a ward of the state 
• The financial industry has become a ward of the state 
• WAMU disappeared, Wachovia disappeared 
• HVCC has been so watered down that the change will be hardly noticed 
• The DOW is nearing 6,000 
• The US and the world are in a recession 

Yep, the last year has been eventful, and I missed it all. I know how Mr. Van Winkle must have felt.

Appraisal Scoop has become a must read in the Real Estate Blogosphere, regularly in the top 15 of 500 sites, often in the top 10. That’s impressive, but not a surprise. Appraisal Scoop was created by the best appraiser/marketer I know. He had a history of creating environments for others to thrive in before. He’s done it again in Appraisal Scoop. For my Heartless Editor to allow me to participate again is truly a stroke of luck!

Our business, Acorn Appraisal Associates in Houston Texas has endured a rough year; two rough years in fact. No doubt yours has also. Profits have declined. Net Income was still positive, but not nearly the required, the targeted, return. Revenues have basically been flat.

September brought Hurricane Ike, the first to directly hit Houston in decades.  Our building's power was knocked out and was one of the last to be brought on line; three weeks it took!  We’ve been able to maintain our staff and minimize the income loss to them personally, but little profit for the company remained.

That happens in business. We’ve adapted. We’ve changed. We’ll change some more. I’ll try to address those changes, those experiences in the time to come.

That’s what the Heartless Editor charged me to do when he invited me here several years ago. I’ll try to confine myself to what I know, which is my business. Not yours, but mine. For each of us business owners are experts in our own business, and no one else’s.

I’m here to share my business experiences, the successes, the not so successes.  One appraisal business owner's view of the market, the changes, and how I view their affects on my business. Take from them anything that might help you in yours.

I’m glad to be back.

AUTHOR: Ken Verrett: The author is the owner of Acorn Appraisal Associates, a 24 year old firm offering a wide range of quality appraisal services to the Financial and Business Communities.

Appraisal Foundation Request For Comments - White Paper on Appraiser Regulatory Reform

On Feb. 12th, 2009, David Bunton, President of The Appraisal Foundation issued the attached memorandum: Download Foundation White Paper Request to its Board of Trustees, the ASC, AQB, Advisory Councils and Appraisal Foundation Sponsors.  The recommendations include: regulating AMCs, restrictions on AVMs and BPOs, State enforcement, and "Best Practices" for appraisers performing federally related transactions.

REQUEST FOR COMMENTS: The Appraisal Foundation is in the process of identifying issues and recommendations that should be included in a regulatory white paper that it intends to develop in the near future and distribute to key government officials. As an individual affiliated with the Foundation, we are seeking your opinion on what improvements could be made to the existing appraiser regulatory system. This memorandum contains a series of possible recommendations. You are encouraged to comment on these recommendations and are invited to offer others as well.

 

POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS

Below is a list of possible recommendations. While not all-inclusive, it was developed for the purpose of facilitating comment and discussion.

1) Broader enforcement powers for the ASC:

• Provide the ASC with more regulatory options by giving it the authority to fine, suspend, etc. 
• Explore the idea of giving the ASC grant making authority to the states, with a corresponding increase in the registry fee.

2) Require greater due diligence from federal financial institutions:

• Lower the de minimus amount from the existing level of $250,000 to $50,000. Many of the problem subprime loans were below the current de minimus level and were therefore outside of the appraisal requirements.
• Require the use of state certified appraisers for all transactions involving federal or state funds of $50,000 or more or for all complex transactions. Complex transactions should be clearly defined.
• Place restrictions on the use of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) and Broker Price Opinions (BPOs).
• Define and establish minimum standards for evaluations (BPOs, AVMs, etc).
• Require the federal regulatory agencies to report to Congress (through the ASC or individually) the result of their appraisal audits and their recommendations for improvement.
• Require every federal banking agency to establish a “Chief Appraiser” position that has independent reporting authority.

3) Improve enforcement among the states:

• Allow state appraiser regulatory agencies to make better use of their licensure fees by prohibiting states from “sweeping” appraiser fees into the general fund.
• All fines collected by the state appraiser regulators should be earmarked for use by the enforcement division.
• Provide funding to states, possibly through the ASC, by requiring lenders to pay a small amount (i.e. $0.50) for each lending transaction involving federal or state funds.
• Require state board members and investigators to meet some level of minimum qualification criteria.
• Require states to immediately report adjudications to the ASC.

Click here to continue reading . . .

Live Webcast Interview of George Dodd, SRA TODAY!

Marco Ruiz has been working with Scott Draughon of http://MyTechnologyLawyer.com  on developing a series of appraisal related programs for the Internet.  Past programs have had such notables as Dave Biggers (Chairman of a la mode, inc), Patrick Egger, Richard Ferris, Brian Davis and others.

The radio interview/talk show is presented every Thursday at 4:00pm EST on My Technology Lawyer.com (http://www.mytechnologylawyer.com/radio) or http://www.ruizappraising.com/radio

George Dodd, SRA will be their guest today!   Many of you know George for his work in drafting the IVPI proposal and as the original petitioner before the Virginia REAB on the matter of web portals such as AppraisalPort.

To learn more about the show visit www.RuizAppraising.com/Radio .

 Download the recorded interview!  You can download or stream Thursday's show with George Dodd, SRA from the list of recorded shows - click here.

Are YOU interested in being on the show?  Get hold of Marco and pitch your ideas and area of expertise.

Are you a POTENTIAL sponsor?  This is a UNIQUE venue for appraisal companies and service providers to reach a target market.  Click here for more information.

Apex & Appraisers Give Back to Families in Need

APPRAISERS!  Here's our chance to give back this Christmas season!  Apex is asking us to join them in helping the less fortunate.  Below is a letter from Jeff Henderson of Apex . . .

Dear Appraisers,

Although in a growing number of areas in the U.S. the housing marketing is starting to turn around, I understand that with everything that has happened in our industry and the economy as a whole over the last year most of you know at least one family who has been hard hit by the current conditions. Often, the children of these families are the most severely affected. Many don’t understand what is going on, and those who do are made to grow up entirely too fast.

For this reason, this year we as a company want to do something to help. To that end, Apex and our employees are setting aside funds to help these families provide a better Christmas for their children and hopefully extend their childhoods just a little longer.

To our customers, we can’t do this without your help. We need you to send us information on families that need our assistance. Please include the family’s name and contact information, along with a brief background on their current situation.

Please return these submissions directly to me at jhenderson@apexwin.com on or before November 21st. We will review all of the submissions, select the families that we will be assisting this year by Dec. 1st, and contact them immediately to ensure the gifts are there in time for Christmas.

To our business partners, we invite you to participate and welcome any help you may offer in providing a better holiday season to even more of our respective customers. To assist us in helping these families in need, please contact me at jhenderson@apexwin.com or click the "Donate Now" pig!

Any assistance that you offer will be greatly appreciated.

On behalf of myself and everyone here at Apex, thank you for your loyalty and support over the last 21 years. We wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Respectfully, Jeff Henderson Apex Software

Audio Conference Today: Prepare for New Appraisal Rules

Prepare for New Appraisal RulesThursday, June 19, 2008 at 3PM EDT

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reportedly have received close to 40,000 comments on the controversial new appraisal standards hammered out with NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and are now in the process of deciding what, if any, changes need to be made in the pending rules. Hear from a panel of experts about the tougher appraisal standards and coming changes at a must-attend audio conference from Inside Mortgage Finance.

The pending Fannie/Freddie standards require most lenders to outsource their appraisals and prohibit the GSEs from purchasing mortgages that fail to comply with a new Home Valuation Code of Conduct. The code establishes standards for the selection of appraisers, methods, appraisal compensation, and the independence of appraisers. It would effectively eliminate broker-ordered appraisals and dictate what entities can prepare appraisals.

Appraisal practices are already undergoing scrutiny—not only by regulators, but by risk-averse lenders. The industry is effectively creating “new rules” this year. Come and hear about the controversies and what to expect from ongoing changes, as industry experts discuss the issues and answer your questions.

Click below to continue reading . . .

Runt Rants - Dog Tags Revisited

A few months ago I did a Runt Rant on the subject of Dog Tags. A friend of mine lost a son to the Iraq War. He honored me with a gift of his son's commemorative dog tag. I vowed to wear it every national holiday that honored our veterans.

This last month, April, was the anniversary month of his son's sacrifice for all of us. I determined on the actual anniversary date that I would wear the Dog Tag as a remembrance and honor. And so I did. That evening as I removed the Dog Tags from my neck, I wondered why I was removing them. What else would hang around my neck the next day? Nothing? If so, why?

It was then that I experienced a rare creative thought....I'm not very creative. I could wear the Dog Tags around my neck permanently, wherever I go, whatever I do. A reminder: to me, possibly to others who I come in contact with.

It is now a fixture. The Geezer wears dog tags. Occasionally someone will notice them and comment. It sparks conversations, leaves a thought behind that might not have been there before. A reminder that we have what we have, we enjoy what we enjoy, because others have sacrificed to ensure that we can.

This week is Memorial Day week. Many of us connect that with our big auto race.  That it is. But it's also to remind us of our service men and women, past and present. The gift they give us. The one we often take for granted. Freedom.

This week I'm wearing my dog tags outside my shirt. Sparking more conversations, more thoughts that might not have been there before.

Thanks guys and gals for protecting what I have, what we all enjoy!

AUTHOR: Ken Verrett is the owner of Acorn Appraisal Associates, a 22 year old firm offering a wide range of quality appraisal services to the Financial and Business Communities in the greater Houston SMSA

Shameless Self-Promotion: Grand Opening! ScoopGear.com!

Some of you have already noticed the ScoopGear.com display ad on this blog and were curious enough to click on it.  For those of you that haven't . . .this post is for YOU!

Over the years, I've noticed that a lot of appraisers come up with some pretty neat ideas but they never seem to gain any traction because there was no place to advertise them economically or they weren't able to demonstrate or explain their value.   That's all about to change!

AppraisalScoop has been phenomenally successful thanks to all of you!  Along with that success comes an opportunity to create a sister-site, that's geared towards marketing a variety of niche-market appraisal tools, that would otherwise not of had exposure to a large targeted market.

ScoopGear.com has been open for a few days now but today is its official GRAND OPENING! 

One of the key features of ScoopGear.com is its blog interface.   This is NOT just another storefront site.  For the first time ever, ScoopGear.com's blog style allows merchants and appraisers to interact real-time on a variety of levels.  Sure, you can buy stuff from the individual merchants, but that's not the great part of this site. 

Each merchant essentially becomes a blog author!  Just like on AppraisalScoop.com, each author can post articles, videos, and photos about their product or service.  In turn, appraisers can comment and interact with the merchant. 

Many will recognize Anthony Young's fantastic Nuts & Bolts of Spreadsheets and Graphs DVD as one of our premier merchant offerings.  "Soup to Nuts" might be a better description for Anthony's DVD.  Beginner or seasoned Excel grapher, there's plenty in this video training DVD for everyone.

Anthony Young is already working on a series of training videos to illustrate some of the things that you'll learn with his product.  Your questions and comments to Anthony will also be featured there.

The LaserReel is also being featured on ScoopGear.com!

LaserReel is a heavy-duty retractable "Quick Draw" reel designed to replace the bulky holster that comes with laser measuring devices.  The LaserReel works with any laser measuring device, camera, or light that has a standard 1/4-20" mounting thread, up to 1 lb.

I had tried another brand and really, really liked the concept but the design was not durable enough for the way appraisers would use it.   I went looking for an alternative.  The LaserReel's superior 0.04" (O.D.) steel wire with a protective vinyl plastic outer layer has a 34" long reach which is ample for when you want to use the telescopic viewer on Disto measuring devices.

In the coming weeks I hope to finalize some talks with additional merchants and see if together we can build a community sharing tips, tricks, gadgets, and software.   I hope you'll visit and support the merchants.  Watch for upcoming videos!!!

Video: a la mode Chairman Dave Biggers on HVCC, AVMs, and AMCs

I was invited to speak at the 2008 a la mode conference in Atlanta, GA this past weekend on paperless office topics.  They started the concept of inviting practicing appraisers, to share their ideas on "Real World" topics with other appraisers, at their conventions last year.

One of the best parts of going to a la mode conventions is getting a chance to listen to the Chairman and founder of a la mode, inc., David Biggers, address the attendees on his visions for where software is going, where the appraisal industry is going, and what they doing to help the residential appraiser.  This year was no different.

The short video below was made at the 2008 a la mode Atlanta Conference.  Dave Biggers spoke twice to attendees about his company's position on the proposed Home Valuation Code of Conduct and the role of Automated Valuation Model (AVM) companies.

The lead-in to the story is that Dave was having an email conversation with a business friend in the AMC business.  A la mode's position is that borrowers should be given ALL of the valuation reports that were ordered, including appraisals, BPO's and AVMs.

[Click here to read Dave's article, "HVCC: The Cure Is Worse Than The Disease", from the first edition of Appraisal Press.]

In response to that suggestion, the AMC head said that can't do that because "it's too hard" to explain an AVM to a borrower.   

Dave Biggers says: "I don't remember there being a regulatory - Gee that's really hard - excuse?"   They're basically saying to their borrowers; "You're so stupid you couldn't possibly grasp what we're gonna show you!" 

Click below for the clip . . .

One of the most interesting concepts that Dave discussed was actually NOT the HVCC . . .but that they were working on a plan to develop an Appraiser's AMC where a la mode would market our services directly to lenders.   

As Dave explained, this would be targeted at that niche market of lenders and brokers that are large enough to need the automated online ordering services of an AMC but too small to require the services of one of the major AMCs.

The plan will be unveiled and explained in the next issue of Appraisal Press, but it definitely drew applause from the room full of appraisers in Atlanta!   

A la mode would handle the marketing, technology, delivery, and servicing of the lender . . .and charge a small fee ($10-$15) to the appraiser.   Notice that this is not a fee just for delivery.   

Their plan actually drives "full fee" work to appraisers . . .and we would only pay for the service when an assignment is received.

a la mode is uniquely positioned in the industry with their XSites, Mercury Network, SureDocs, and many other innovations to tackle this task.  I know that they have the technology infrastructure in-place to to bring this to life quickly and in compliance with where the HVCC and IVPI are headed.  We'll be watching for the next http://www.AppraisalPress.com issue for details!

Author: Brian J. Davis, RAA - Brian Davis & Associates - Brian has over 24 years of appraisal experience in Central, IL and hosts the Appraisal Scoop blog and the WinTOTAL Users Group an email forum for appraisers.