Posts about News

We're thrilled that we've been named a Top 25 Mortgage Technology Vendor by SourceMedia's Mortgage Technology magazine. The list was published in the June issue.

What do the words Gramm-Leach-Bliley mean to you? If you’re like many appraisers, you’re vaguely aware that GLB (as we’ll call it) is a law that deals with financial privacy.  You may have heard something about it being applicable to appraisers, but no one’s ever really pressed the issue, so like the vast majority of […]

What do the words Gramm-Leach-Bliley mean to you?

Fitch Ratings, which provides investors with opinions as to the creditworthiness of the companies and other entities they invest in, let the air out of AVM advocates in 2004 when it began to discount “non-full appraisal values” by 10-15 percent across the board in selected “weak” markets.  This month the company is revising its discount […]

Effective July 1, USPAP will no longer include a Departure Rule, nor anything called "Complete" and "Limited" appraisals. In their place will be a comprehensive new Scope of Work Rule, a set of minimum standards for all appraisal, appraisal review and appraisal consulting assignments. Are you ready?

Fitch Ratings, which provides investors with opinions as to the creditworthiness of the companies and other entities they invest in, let the air out of AVM advocates in 2004 when it began to discount "non-full appraisal values" by 10-15 percent across the board in selected "weak" markets. This month the company is revising its discount […]

Recently, counsel for the Appraisal Institute produced and distributed an article, “Copyrighting Appraisal Reports: Can You?  Should You?”, which called into question the ability and wisdom of appraisers copyrighting their reports.  Since we’ve been in the lead convincing appraisers to protect their rights, we felt we needed to respond. The primary author of our response […]

Recently, counsel for the Appraisal Institute produced and distributed an article, "Copyrighting Appraisal Reports: Can You? Should You?", which called into question the ability and wisdom of appraisers copyrighting their reports. Since we've been in the lead convincing appraisers to protect their rights, we felt we needed to respond.

Lamenting the effect of “the allure of easy money” on former tile salesmen and investment analysts, USA Today this week reported on the contraction of real estate jobs as the housing market normalizes. “As the housing market slows, there will likely be a lot of stories of people who are bailing out of their real […]

Sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry. So you do both. You laugh when you hear that AVMs are more accurate than appraisers when you read, in the Sunday (March 19) New York Times: