FDIC and LSI Appraisal, LLC Settle

The start of 2014 has been very interesting for Appraiser Active. The assignments are challenging and interesting, The opportunity to work with some awesome appraisers from around the country has been a real treat. Unfortunately, the nature of the assignments, and time demanded by them has kept me from this page.

My blogging time is still very limited, and protective orders keep me from posting quite a bit, but many readers will be interested in the pdf at this link.

Here is a preview. Draw your own conclusions.

Harold Huggins Realty, et al v. FNC, Inc. - Going to Trial - UPDATED

Scroll for UPDATE

Although Appraiser Active has not posted about this, we have been following the case for a while. A quick synopsis is provided on the Valuation Review blog.

In Harold H. Huggins Realt, Inc., P.E. Turner & Company, LTD., Residential Appraisal and Consulting, Inc. and Alfonoso V. Torres doing business as Front Door Appraisals vs. FNC, Inc., a trio of appraisers filed a federal class action lawsuit against the technology firm seeking damages for negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation, breach of implied contract and other charges.

A copy of the complaint against FNC, Inc. and their AppraisalPort service was posted over on WorkingRE way back when.

As with any complex litigation, particularly a class action suit, the clock and calendar have gone around several times while parties make and argue motions, and the defendant seeks to have the action dismissed. The latest action was the plaintiff's appeal of the district court’s order granting the defendant's (FNC, Inc.)  motion to dismiss the case under Federal rule of Civil Procedure 12 (b)(6). (NOTE: I will not even pretend to know what that means.)

An audio of the oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans, Louisina) is available at this LINK. It takes a while to listen to the entire proceeding, but it's WORTH IT!

Yesterday, the Court of Appeals rendered their decision in favor of the plaintiffs. The Appeals Court reversed the decision to dismiss and remanded the case back for further proceedings.

Here is the Court of Appeals' decision:
FNC Case - Opinion 24Feb2011

UPDATE - March 30, 2011

The Letter of the Law page on Realtor.org has been updated with a synopsis of the case and an informative explanation of the decision.

A federal appellate court has considered whether to reinstate a possible class action lawsuit against a vendor that had allegedly promised its appraiser clients that information submitted through its system would be confidential but the vendor actually collected the information and offered it for resale.

Four real estate appraisal firms (collectively, “Appraisers”) brought a lawsuit against FNC, Inc. (“Company”). The lawsuit sought class action status for other similarly-situated appraisers and alleged that the Company had violated the Lanham Act (“Act”) by informing the Appraisers that their appraisals submitted through the Company’s AppraisalPort would be confidential when the Company was actually repackaging the data for resale.

Here is a link to the full article.

Court - Suit Against First American May Proceed

A state appeals court ruled that New York can proceed with its lawsuit accusing First American Corp. of inflating home values under pressure from Washington Mutual Inc.

According to a recently posted story, in a unanimous decision, presiding justice Luis Gonzalez wrote for a four-justice panel of the New York State Appellate Division:

 “The attorney general claims that defendants engaged in fraudulent, deceptive and illegal business practices by allegedly permitting eAppraiseIT residential real estate appraisers to be influenced by nonparty Washington Mutual,” presiding justice Luis Gonzalez wrote in today's unanimous decision. “We conclude that neither federal statutes, nor the regulations and guidelines implemented by the OTS, preclude the Attorney General of the State of New York from pursuing litigation.”

Additional stories HERE , HERE,  HERE and HERE.

EAppraiseIT gave in to demands for higher appraisals to secure more of Washington Mutual's business, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said when he sued in 2007.  States including New York began investigations of the mortgage industry in 2007 as foreclosures rose nationwide.

This should be interesting.

HERE is the decision.

HERE is the Cuomo press release about the investigation.

In light of the language in H.R. 4173 that exempts bank owned/controlled AMCs from state regulation, isn't it interesting that First American (now Core Logic) is the partner with at least two big bank AMCs? First American is the alleged culprit in a huge fraud and now stands to benefit by escaping state attempts to regulate AMC activity.

Head's Up!!

This just posted over on the Appraiser Law Blog. Authors are attorneys with LIA Administrators & Insurance Services.

The Single Biggest Liability Threat to Appraisers: the FDIC


By Peter Christensen
 
The single biggest liability threat to both residential and commercial appraisers is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC held a conference last week in Chicago for law firms interested in representing the FDIC. What came out of that conference made me very anxious for appraisers, but it's much more than just a threat to individual appraisers. What the FDIC is doing hampers the ability of the appraisal profession to deliver accurate valuations going forward. The reason is: if you're an appraiser doing work for a lender (which may or may not be one of the 700+ troubled banks on the FDIC's watch list), you know your risk of being sued by the FDIC for overvaluation in hindsight is eliminated by "coming in low" on the appraisal. That means more loans don't get made. 

The FDIC has taken over more than 200 banks since the beginning of the mortgage crisis. When the FDIC takes over a failed bank, it usually sells off the banking assets to an existing lender but retains all of the potential legal claims against the failed lender's directors, officers, mortgage brokers, accountants, lawyers, appraisers, AMCs, etc. The FDIC is now in the business of suing these parties, blaming them for its failed banks' bad lending practices.

Read the whole thing...

Sorry for the light posting lately. I've been swamped with appraisal and consulting assignments, and have been working on getting HB 303 and S 2210 (Regulation of Appraisal Management Companies) passed in the Florida Legislature. Both are on the 2nd Reading Calendar as of today.
 
Expect more information soon.

Another Class Action Suit Filed - AMC Related

Well, well, well. Isn't this appropriate? On the same day a bill is introduced in the Florida House of Representatives to regulate Appraisal Management Companies, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP, files a class action suit against KB Home, Countrywide and LandSafe alleging a widespread and complicated inflation scheme. One of the major players in the alleged scheme is LandSafe, an unregulated Appraisal Management Company, owned by Countrywide.

From the Press Release:

ORLANDO, FL - A Central Florida homeowner forced into foreclosure filed a class-action lawsuit last week against KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Countrywide Financial and LandSafe Appraisal Services, claiming the three conspired to rig housing prices in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina, costing home purchasers millions of dollars, and fueling the collapse of the region's housing market.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla. on Friday, October 30, claims the three companies employed a well-planned scheme to control the typically independent appraisal process, jacking up home values, which, in turn, were used to determine the value of other homes sold by KB, affecting thousands of homeowners.
--
According to the 94-page complaint, Countrywide funneled all its KB customers' home appraisals to a single person at LandSafe, an appraisal subsidiary of Countrywide, who in turn would deliver an appraisal value at whatever KB and Countrywide ordered.

The complaint is 94 pages. For the appraisers reading this, the allegations made against the parties are nothing new. We have been watching this going on all around us, sounding the alarm and clamoring for someone, some entity, some regulator, to reign these bastages in.

Read it all RIGHT HERE

Appraiser Active mentioned another HBSS suit HERE. That one makes allegations against Wells Fargo and its appraisal subsidiary Rels Valuation. Isn't it interesting how the banks and their AMCs can game the system and dig deep into consumer's pockets and wallets?

UPDATE - Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel offers some additional details and statements from KB Homes.

Local suit accuses builder of inflating home appraisals

"It was common practice for builders and subdivision developers to have pet appraisers," Gregoire said. "That was true not only for subdivisions but also for builders within a subdivision or development — and, in particular, for condo converters."

My Hometown Paper Discovers the HAVOC of the HVCC

For the past last four days, I've been attending the Florida Association of REALTORS Annual Convention and Trade Show. From the moment I walked into the building, the topic foremost on the minds of the friends and colleagues encountered was the Home Valuation Code of Conduct - HAVOC.

In the past week the story has been picked up by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Today, on the front page of the Business Section of the August 23, 2009 St. Petersburg Times, James Thorner writes about the HAVOC resulting from the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).

New Home Valuation Code of Conduct cures some ills, creates new ones

First, Jim offers up an example of a an experience similar to hundreds of others reported in papers and blogs across the country:

Builder Charlie Hannah thought he was being generous when he agreed to sell a new 5,000-square-foot home for $1.15 million in the Tree Tops neighborhood near Tampa's Westchase. But the appraiser returned an appraised value of $1 million on the lakeside house in June. Two months later, the sale remains in limbo and Hannah remains indignant.

Four other homes Hannah built in the same neighborhood recently sold for much more per square foot than the $1.15 million home. But the appraiser found a comparable home sale miles away in Odessa to justify what Hannah considers to be a low-ball valuation.

Although I live and work in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida, my appraisal practice is limited to Pinellas County. The example cited is from across the bay in Hillsborough County. It's not possible for me to comment with any credibility about the allegations made by Charlie Hannah.

However, Thorner goes on to describe a couple of situations of which I have firsthand knowledge:

Since the new rules took effect, the law of unintended consequences has upended real estate deals. St. Petersburg Realtor Nancy Riley blames sloppy appraisals. She had a buyer for a sixth floor Feather Sound condo overlooking the water and golf course. Both parties agreed to the $200,000 purchase price.

But the lender, using an appraisal management company, got an out-of-county appraiser. The disappointed buyer and seller learned the condo appraised at only $157,000. As two of his comps, the appraiser used a unit in a former assisted living facility and a single story condo without a view.

Riley tried to challenge the appraiser's findings — which included wrong photos attached to the wrong properties — but got a cold shoulder from the bank. She's still trying to salvage the deal."I sent them two pages of things wrong with the appraisal. They refused to listen," Riley said. "I got one or two snippy responses."

Along with this one:

Mortgage refinancing — the centerpiece of the government's antiforeclosure efforts - has also suffered. Gregoire noted a case involving a house in upscale Tierra Verde. The home owner sought a reverse mortgage to pull cash from the home. Taking into account the recent depreciation, the home owner estimated the 2,000-square-foot home at $400,000. The initial quick-hit appraisal, using a $10 computer-generated valuation that isn't as good at distinguishing some of the nuances of real estate valuations like the differences between nearby neighborhoods, delivered a market price of $252,000.

When a real appraiser went to work on the house after driving up from Fort Myers, he, too, concluded the house was worth $252,000. Gregoire assumes the appraiser shoe-horned in comparable sales to make his numbers match the computer-generated price.

"That happens with appraisers who lack geographic confidence,'' Gregoire said. "I've been doing appraisals 30 years, but I don't go outside of Pinellas County. The most important thing is to know neighborhoods and submarkets.''

NOTE: The term I used in the interview was "GEOGRAPHIC COMPETENCE", but you all should get the drift.

Copies of the appraisal reports described in the two examples above are part of ever increasing pile of evidence sitting on the floor within two feet of my desk. The Feather Sound "appraisal" is a jewel. To some readers, it might look fine; the Comparable Sales are all relatively recent, two are less than 1/4 mile from the subject and the third is only 3/4 of a mile away. Unfortunately, for the seller and the buyer, only one of the Comparable Sales is an example of an acceptable substitute property and could could come close to being considered competitive with the subject.

The "appraiser" includes quite a bit of boilerplate claiming an oversupply of listings and declining prices in the development. Although a case could be made there is an imbalance between supply and demand for all housing in the Feather Sound area, the case is less supportable when condominiums only are considered in the analysis. As of the effective date of the appraisal, according to the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service, there were 89 active listings in Feather Sound. Eighteen of these (20%) are either under contract or pending sale. In the twelve months prior to the effective date of the appraisal, there have been 56 sales in Feather Sound reported by the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service. Both the average time and median time on the market for sold listings is close to three months; 96 days and 92 days respectively. Absorption rates have increased from about four units a month over the last half of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 to about 7 units a month in the second quarter of 2009.

If the analysis is limited to condominium parcels only, as of the effective date of the appraisal, the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service reports 56 active listings in Feather Sound. Fourteen of these (25%) are either under contract or pending sale. In the twelve months prior to the effective date of the appraisal there have been 30 sales of Feather Sound condominium units reported by the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service. Both the average time and median time on the market for sold condominium units is close to three months; 100 days and 80 days respectively. Absorption rates have increased from about 2 units per month over the last half of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 to nearly 4 units (3.7) units per month in the second quarter of 2009.

Although the appraisal report indicated prices are in decline, analysis of the sales data did not support such a conclusion, at least for the two quarters prior to the effective date of the appraisal. If all residential Feather Sound sales reported by the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service are considered, the median sales price over the last three months is about $155,000. This compares with a median price of $120,000 for the first quarter of 2009 and about $167,750 for the last half of 2008.

Although the market analysis was contrived and two of the pictures of Comparable Sales were of units that did not match the address or the description of the sales in the Sales Comparison Analysis, the bank loved the appraisal report!

The Tierra Verde Appraisal was just as "good" as the Feather Sound Appraisal Report. It was completed by an appraiser after being assigned by RELS, the AMC often associated with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. , the same institution accused of rigging the appraisal process in a scheme to boost profits at the expense of homeowners and independent appraisers.

RELS has the audacity to use this on their website:

"Quality appraisals — and rapid turn times"

Right!

Shareholder Sues First American Corp

From Courthouse News Service:

First American Corp. provided 260,000 false and inflated appraisals to Washington Mutual in the past 2 years, inflating its own share price through false and misleading statements, according to a shareholder derivative class action. The class claims First American did this through its subsidiary, eAppriaseIT.

Read "Shareholders Say Appraiser Lied for WaMu"

Copy of suit HERE

SHOCKING!!: AMC - Appraiser Agreements and Indemnity

Please take a look at the Appraiser Legal Defense and Insurance Blog. They have posted an informative piece about AMC/Appraiser Agreements and the ever-more popular Indemnity Provisions. Their post spotlights an agreement used by TSI Appraisal Services.

They say:

We are receiving many calls from our insured appraisers about AMC agreements. Many of our calls in the last fews days have concerned the TSI Appraisal Services Appraiser Agreement. This agreement is worth looking at because, though more extreme than others in its one-sided wording, it illustrates the typical legal problems for appraisers found in AMC agreements.With regard to the TSI agreement, appraisers are particularly concerned about the indemnity section. Indemnity provisions are a recurring issue with AMC agreements. The bottom line is they are usually an AMC's attempt to shift potential liability by contract from the AMC to the appraiser. Because of the current mortgage crisis, this attempted shifting of liability is occurring more than ever.

...and go on

The first paragraph of section 7 requires, in part, that the appraiser "indemnify, defend, save and hold harmless [TSI] from and against any and all liability, claims, damages, penalties, losses, fines, judgments . . . [and] any other costs, fees and expenses . . . in any way related to . . . [among other things] any appraisal report submitted to [TSI] by Appraiser pursuant to this Agreement." Simply construed, this means the appraiser is promising to pay TSI for any cost or loss of any kind (including criminal or civil fines ordered against TSI) for anything related to an appraisal submitted by that appraiser. This is an unusually broad indemnity provision because TSI could conceivably take the position that the appraiser is required to indemnify TSI for losses caused by TSI itself in handling an appraisal or resulting from TSI's own negligence. For example, if TSI conveyed erroneous instructions to the appraiser which resulted in a problem with the appraisal and the lender client demanded that TSI make up a resulting loss, TSI could conceivably demand that the appraiser pay TSI for TSI's own mistake.

...and how about this gem related to Mortgage Repurchases?

Another significant issue is raised in the second paragraph of section 7. In this part, the appraiser "agrees that if a mortgage lender is required to repurchase a mortgage loan for any reason in any way related to [among other things] . . . any appraisal report submitted by Appraiser pursuant to this Agreement, Appraiser shall pay [TSI] an amount equal to the repurchase price paid by such mortgage lender to repurchase such mortgage loan." The appraiser is further required to "pay the reasonable attorney’s fees of [TSI] incurred in enforcing Appraiser’s obligations hereunder, including, with [sic] limitation, the obligation of Appraiser to pay [TSI] an amount equal to the repurchase price of a mortgage loan as set forth above."

Read the whole thing, PLEASE.

Lenders Not Yet Ready for HVCC

UPDATE#1 - Fannie HVCC FAQs Below

UPDATE #2 - Freddie HVCC FAQs Added Below

........no kidding, and few if any are ready for the May 1, 2009 deadline.

From HousingWire.com:

Survey: Lenders Not Yet Ready for HVCC

It’s not garnering as much press as it perhaps should, but new appraisal guidelines set forth in the Home Valuation Code of Conduct are set to go into effect on May 1 — and a recent study suggests that while U.S. mortgage lenders are confident their systems will be ready, few say they have actually completed system upgrades designed to ensure compliance.

That’s the finding from a recent survey distributed to more than 1,000 key industry personnel by mortgage technology company FNC, Inc. — the company’s client base includes major mortgage banks as well as regional and community banking outfits.

As the result of legal action almost a year ago, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an agreement with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (formerly OFHEO) to establish a Home Valuation Protection Program. The program demands significant changes to the real estate appraisal process for residential mortgage transactions and includes the Code of Conduct.

FULL STORY



Since the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) has withdrawn their lawsuit against against Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director James B. Lockhart over the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), there are rumors of some groups seeking a delay in the implementation scheduled for May 1, 2009.



For a number of reasons, I agree with a delay in the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. There are just too many unsettled procedural matters with the HVCC

• One of the pillars necessary for implementation of the HVCC is the Independent Valuation Protection Institute. Without the IVPI there is no enforcement mechanism, hotline, or means of verifying compliance. Delaying implementation would allow creation of the IVPI or establishing an alternative framework
• Many state legislatures are in the process of enacting laws to regulate Appraisal Management Companies. In other states, the regulatory agencies are in the process of promulgating rules and procedures to deal with Appraisal Management Companies. Delaying implementation would allow these states to finalize their actions
• To this day, the fact that the HVCC resulted from improper influence on appraiser independence by a Federally regulated lender and a rogue Appraisal Management Company cannot be reconciled with the apparent endorsement of unregulated Appraisal Management Companies as the “protector” of appraiser independence by the HVCC. Delay would allow a reconciliation of this glaring conflict. (See Story on New York AG Complaint and link to suit HERE)
• Fannie Mae has adopted policies that protect the brokerage fees from downward negotiation in certain transactions (short sales). Delay of implementation would permit efforts to protect appraiser’s fees from downward negotiation by Appraisal Management Companies. At the very least, it would allow time to arrange for full and transparent disclosure of valuation related fees in closing documents (AMC fee, Appraisal Fee, etc)

There’s more, but it should be clear that a delay would benefit real estate brokers, appraisers, mortgage brokers and consumers.

UPDATE #1 - Fannie believes they're ready. Fannie HVCC FAQs

My favorite:

Independent Valuation Protection Institute (IVPI)

Q55. What is the status of the IVPI?

The structure of the IVPI has not yet been determined and the IVPI has not yet been established. Therefore, the provisions in the Code regarding the IVPI are not yet effective.

Appraiser Active Question #1

Given the financial condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when is the IVPI expected to be funded?

Appraiser Active Question #2

When is the IVPI expected to be created?

Update #2 - Freddie believes they're ready. Freddie HVCC FAQs

NAMB Withdraws from Suit Against FHFA

NAMB's Strategic Withdrawal of Legal Action Against FHFA

McLean, Virginia, April 2, 2009 – In February 2009, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) filed suit against the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) to block implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which will inhibit competition among mortgage originators and increase the cost of mortgages to consumers. NAMB’s suit asserted that the HVCC constituted a "de facto" rulemaking that did not comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which sets out the procedures a federal agency must follow when issuing a regulation.

Today, NAMB has withdrawn its lawsuit against the FHFA. NAMB invoked this strategic maneuver to assess means by which we can refute the FHFA’s claim that no court may review their decisions while the GSE's are in conservatorship. NAMB believes the FHFA's claim that there are no legal limits on the arbitrary and unilateral use of their conservatorship power is unprecedented and will prove detrimental to consumers.

"This issue goes beyond the bounds of this particular case," said NAMB President, Marc Savitt, CRMS, "All companies, investors, and trade groups should understand there may not be a court, any court, able to hear their case while FHFA is utilizing their conservatorship powers."

NAMB strongly opposes FHFA’s position that it does not need to comply with the APA and other laws. NAMB has withdrawn its lawsuit against FHFA, without prejudice, as it assesses various means to challenge FHFA’s extraordinary claim. Those options include filing suit again with revised and expanded arguments directed at FHFA’s new claim.

Press Release HERE

In other communication with NAMB members, the applicable Federal Legislation was described as HR 3221

Click the link, read it and weep.

HVCC - NAMB Lawsuit Update

Appraisers, real estate brokers and mortgage brokers have been anxious to hear the status of the lawsuit filed by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) against Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director James B. Lockhart over the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). In an email to members and supporters, NAMB President, Marc Savitt, says:

As you know, on February 23, 2009, NAMB filed a lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over the controversial HVCC included in agreements between New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs), and their regulator, the FHFA.


This week, the litigation took a major step forward as NAMB filed its initial brief outlining why the HVCC is unlawful and should be disallowed. The 45 page document was supported by numerous affidavits, exhibits, and other materials which demonstrated the grave problems created by the HVCC. NAMB is asking the U.S. district Court for the District of Columbia to take any one of several actions that would invalidate the HVCC. As expected, the court declined to rule immediately that the HVCC should be withdrawn without first permitting FHFA to present its arguments, and thus the court has denied NAMB’s request for an immediate Temporary Restraining Order. However, in doing so, the court expressly reserved judgment on the merits of NAMB’s position, which the court has yet to address.


What does this mean?


The District Court may block implementation of the HVCC through an immediate Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), a Temporary Injunction, or a Permanent Injunction. A TRO is rarely granted—it requires a showing that a party faces immediate and irreparable harm if a TRO is not granted and, when granted, typically is in effect only for a matter of days. Because the District Court did not find that there would be immediate and irreparable harm done to appraisers or mortgage brokers within the next few days if a TRO was not granted, the court ruled that a TRO was not appropriate.


That decision does NOT mean that the District Court denied NAMB’s claim. To the contrary, the litigation is now proceeding to the next stage, when NAMB will have an opportunity to present its case to the court, which will then make a ruling.


NAMB has requested an expedited hearing process given the close proximity of the HVCC effective date. NAMB continues to seek both a temporary injunction and permanent injunction blocking implementation of the HVCC, and is seeking resolution of the matter in the coming weeks.

Savitt continues: "Despite the initial good news, there is much more to be done! NAMB is so grateful for your support thus far, but we still need your help! Please continue to circulate the donation letters to appraisers.

As information becomes available, we'll make sure to pass it on. Don't be shy about making a contribution to the NAMB effort by using the link above.

h/t to Dana Bain at Premiere Mortgage Services Inc.

More information at FHA Appraisers.com in their NEWSLETTER

Pounding the Rock

About a month ago, in a post "About the HVCC and AMCs" we linked to a BusinessWeek article about Appraisal Managment Companies and how the Home Valuation Code of Conduct came to be and that one of the major impacts will be the funnelling of thousands of appraisal assignments through these unregulated enterprises.

It took some time, but some others are getting the memo and expressing concern.

Are Subprime Lenders Up to New Tricks?
Posted By: Diana Olick

Several weeks ago I reported a story about how former subprime lenders were starting new careers in loan modification companies. These are companies that promise, for a fee, to get you through all the red tape with your lender and get you the best modification money can buy. Some of the companies are legitimate, but many more are not. Many are scamming already-scammed borrowers, taking the money and providing no real services.

Then today I read an article in BusinessWeek that literally gets my stomach acid going.

FULL STORY

h/t to Dana Bain at Premiere Mortgage Services Inc.

It's reassuring to see that Ms. Olick has discovered that several banks actually operate their own AMCs. My favorite line?

"Sounds to me like this new "code of conduct" managed to take all the bad kids off the principal's bench and assign them to hall monitor duty. "

It's about time some folks outside of the real estate brokerage, real estate appraisal and mortgage brokerage professions start to notice the heavy handed implications of the HVCC. Keep pounding the rock. Alert your local media of the negative consequences and increased costs to borrowers and consumers if the HVCC is implemented as written.

If you believe strongly, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is accepting contributions for their legal battle.

NAMB President Marc Savitt said in the announcement that the HVCC will drive up costs for consumers and push small businesses out of the market, and that it’s critical for mortgage and real estate professionals to maintain an appropriate level of contact with appraisers to ensure appraisal quality and independence.

We want it thrown out. Our suit will be in court probably within 10 days or so. We’re going to ask for an injunction to have this thing put on hold until it can be heard by the court. Especially with everything going on – we’re trying to restart the housing industry – this is going to delay the process and add cost to consumers.

and

Let me give you one example. Appraisers can’t work for half price. They’re hurting now. So if you’re making $400 on an appraisal now, and the appraisal management company is going to pay you $200, you’re going to raise your prices. So who ends up paying for that? The consumer.You’re going to have a lot of lost time because you’ll have to have longer lock-in periods. Lock-ins are going to cost more money because they’ll be for longer periods of time.