My New Blog

Last week I touched on the Fannie/Freddie Mac requirements for all appraisal reports delivered after September 1^st 2011. This blog is going to go into some detail that the Appraiser is going to be required to report on. The data for the comparables is typically gleaned from the Multiple Listing Sheets of the sales. The Appraiser derives the comparable data from the information that the listing Realtor enters, so if the MLS for the comparable is incomplete or vague then the Appraiser either must find the data from another source or not use the comparable all together. Now in a perfect world there are more than enough comparables to choose from, usually right next door to the subject or directly across the street. But in our world this is not the case and imagine you as the Realtor can’t understand why the Appraiser who came out to your pending could not make value when there is a perfectly good comparable on the next block. The answer is either it did not show up in the search or there was not enough information about the sale to use. Now imagine that the situation could get worse and it will. The appraiser will be required to report on the sq. ft. of the basement of the comparables as well as report on what percentage of the basement is finished and Fannie and Freddie have stated that the Appraiser should go so far as to contacting the new owners to ask them these questions if the MLS does not provide the necessary information. I know the various Multiple Listings have not been informed of this change but a nudge from the Realtors may make them aware of the need for this data, remember we need you to inform us about your sales to adjust the subject to the comparable correctly and provide a reliable opinion of market value. I have posted the abbreviations for the new appraisal report on my website, look for the tab for UAD Definitions, thanks and have a great day.

Joe Bannon

My last blog talked about the requirements for lenders to conform to the HVCC guidelines and even if you are not directly involved with mortgage lending you have probable seen the results, appraisers who are unfamiliar with the area performing appraisals and causing good deals to go bad. Well today I am also going to be telling you about another change in the appraisal reporting, the UAD. The UAD or Uniform Appraisal Dataset is due 09/01/2011. Fannie May and Freddie Mac are requiring this change, lenders have an additional requirement to comply with UMDP, Uniform Mortgage Data Program at a later time. I am not going to share this with you without giving you some hope. Some software vendors, I use Alamode, have developed software and programs specifically to assist lenders and mortgage brokers with ordering appraisals under a “double blind” system thus giving them the ability to comply with the HVCC but also ensuring that a local appraiser is chosen and receives “reasonable and customary” fees for their service. Alamode provides this thru a package called “Mercury Network”. Additionally the have the software packages that will allow you to receive and then transmit reports sent to you that are XML versions (UAD). But don’t despair the GSE’s are accommodating if you want, for a fee, they will charge you if you send the report in the old PDF format to convert it to XML, and every time you request a change or a correction from the appraiser you will be charged. My next blog is going to be discussing the new required abbreviations that are going to be in the UAD form. Until than, thanks and have a great day.

Joe Bannon