As if we don't have enough to be aggravated about, with Rondo unable to shoot fouls, Lester probably not coming back, the Bruins unable to score and the Patriots having to win out in order to not have to go back and play the Broncos in Denver, our profession, once again comes under the spotlight in an unflattering and unfair way. Don't know how many of you saw the article in the Wall Street Journal but once again a major news outlet has decided we are not doing our job properly. Check out this link (http://online.wsj.com/articles/dodgy-home-appraisals-are-making-a-comeback-1417480386) if you'd like your blood to boil. The "reporter" and I use the term lightly, alleges that some appraisers are once again capitulating to the request of lenders to over value dwellings so the loan can be made. Of course, there always has been and always will be pressure placed on us to hit the number. As I've said before, any time you are the only truly independent, unbiased, neutral, professional that is part of transaction where everyone else has a vested interest in the deal going through, you are bound to get leaned on should your opinion of value not coincide with the sale price or the owner's opinion of what their house is worth. Just so you know, The Appraisal Foundation is preparing a response to the WSJ and also, TAF received an e-mail with one of the gentlemen referenced in the article who indicated that they took basically two sentences out of a 15 minute conversation and ignored all of the other information that he said indicated appraisers were doing a very fine job, on the whole. I guess that information didn't fit what the reported was trying to report and, it was ignored. It is articles and allegations like these that require all of us to dig down even harder and continue to try and improve our product and the overall quality of the work we do.
This leads me to a second item that might have slipped under the radar. Again it is on the residential front and next time I'll try and concentrate on the commercial side of the ledger as I am all about fairness. However, there is a move afoot to present a petition to FNMA/FHLMC for them to provide appraisers with much of the information they are collecting as a result of the creation of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). Fannie/Freddie has decided to provide the compiled data to, in the words of the creator of the petition, Richard deVerdier, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS is the assistant vice president of Appraisal Review at MB Financial Bank located in Rosemont Illinois, "Fannie Mae's Collateral Underwriter (CU) will be available in the first half of 2015. The CU performs automated risk assessment of appraisals submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal based on information that you provided through the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). The CU provides a risk score, flags, and messages to the lender. The GSE's have mandated that all appraisals be submitted in the UAD format; however, currently there are no plans to provide appraisers access to this data. This data needs to be provided to appraisers at the beginning of the appraisal process; ensuring transparency, and improving the process by reducing risk to lenders and the general public." - See more at: http://appraisalbuzz.com/buzz/features/appraisal-petition-on-collateral-underwriter-from-fannie-mae#sthash.E0iyTI0p.dpuf, I remember very clearly that Robert Murphy, director - property valuation and eligibility at Fannie Mae indicated they would be willing to share it with appraisers when he spoke at the Expo a few years ago so let's hope.
Happy Holidays All!
Steven Elliott, SRA, MRA, is principal at Elliott Gottschalk & Associates, Ashland, Mass.