Hello everyone, just wanted you to know that the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) is a reality and you need to take control now in your SALES CONTRACTS.

If you have never heard of HVCC...You are in for a rude awakening!

In a nutshell, this new HVCC law starts now in May, so Mortgage Brokers, Realtors, Buyers and Sellers will have NO control over the appraisal process. Brokers can no longer order appraisals directly from appraisers. Realtors, Buyers and Sellers can no longer order an appraisal and then bring it to their lender or bank for a loan!

Banks are the only ones who can order the report directly from the appraiser or a third party will do the ordering hired by the Banks. These third parties are what we call Appraisal Management Companies (AMC's). The banks are hiring these companies to puts a layer in between the banks and the appraiser for more independence and less lender pressure on the appraisers to "make the value".

**Any of the above individuals CAN order an appraisal directly from the appraiser if their reason for the report is not for a LOAN, IE; to determine a listing or sales price, to obtain current value, a divorce, estate, tax rebuttal appraisal, PMI removal, etc. That is NOT prohibited and is actually encouraged in this ever changing market ***

But here is where REALTORS, buyer and sellers DO have control. Just the other day I was talking to an appraiser at Lake Lanier property in GA, she told me a condition that they add in the sales contract under the special stips page was the following statement ( change the language to suit your area then pass it on to other realtors):

"Buyer shall have all the rights and provisions manifested by the Appraisal Contingency provided that the appraiser the buyers lender selects has COMPETENCY to perform an accurate Lake Royale Property appraisal and has completed at least 10 appraisals on Lake Royale waterfront properties within the past 3 years. Said qualifications of any and all appraisers hired shall be provided to the Listing Agents in writing upon request."

This is an awesome idea! I would suggest SELLERS rights are also protected in the contract, by stating that if the buyer signs an appraisal contingency in the contract, they should also REQUIRE an experienced appraiser in the property be it Lake, Golf Course, even a particular neighborhood. I would also suggest that in the case of a special property like Lakefront that the experience be even greater at least 10% of their work is completion of this type of appraisal over the past 1 year, not 3 years as things have changed over the last year as you well know. Many lenders are requiring that the property appraised by the appraiser is no more than 30 miles from the appraiser's office. I would suggest that you narrow that down and state that the appraiser must live in the SAME COUNTY as the property being appraised.

I can't tell you how many times a lender sends someone from Raleigh to Lake Royale to appraise a property, and unless they have considerable experience on this lake, which most do not as their primary work is somewhere else, then you have a disaster waiting to happen when it comes to the appraisal!

So you DO have control and you need to start adding this type of language to every sales contract and making sure the banks comply because it is in the binding sales contract. Trust me when I tell you that Banks and especially the Appraisal Management Companies do not care about competency of the appraiser. They select the one that can do it the quickest and the cheapest and if that happens your DEALS will fall apart on a regular basis.

Please pass this along to every Realtor you know, repost it, blog about it NOW. If you do then you can take control back on this HVCC law when it comes to appraisals on your sales deals.

If you have any questions about this new law, let me know, it is time to take control of your profession back and make sure competent appraisers are used!.

New Appraisal Rules Come With Costs

By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, May 16, 2009

How about this scenario the next time you refinance or apply for a new mortgage: The real estate appraisal that used to cost you $325 now costs $450, even though the appraiser doing the work is getting only $175 or $200.

Plus, your appraisal-related charges may now be subject to add-on fees that you have never heard of -- $50 to $100 extra in "no show" penalties if you get stuck in traffic and miss your appointment with the appraiser. Or an extra $50 to $150 if the property is worth more than $500,000.

On top of all this, your mortgage loan officer requires you to pay for the appraisal upfront with a credit or debit card, rather than including the fee with the usual lender origination costs at settlement. In some cases, your card may be charged more than the anticipated cost of the appraisal -- leaving debit-card holders in a potential overdraft situation.

Worse yet, the person conducting your appraisal may be new to the field -- willing to work for a cut rate -- and may not be as familiar with local value trends and pricing adjustments as an appraiser with more experience. If your mortgage application is denied by one lender, you could be forced to pay for a second full appraisal because the new lender may not accept the first one.

That scenario is now reality, according to critics of the new appraisal rules imposed nationwide on May 1 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Advocates of the rules vigorously deny that the new system is flawed and say any increase in appraisal costs should be manageable for most consumers.

The rules, which go by the name Home Valuation Code of Conduct, are intended to improve the accuracy of appraisals by eliminating pressure on appraisers from loan officers. The code pushes most large lenders to use third-party "appraisal management companies" that contract with networks of independent appraisers around the country who have no direct contact with retail loan officers or mortgage brokers.


Mortgage brokers -- who formerly chose appraisers and kept a competitive eye on appraisal fees -- claim that Fannie's and Freddie's rules are adding 20 percent to 30 percent to consumers' appraisal costs. Jeffrey T. Hawk, vice president of Maryland Mutual Mortgage in Forest Hill, Md., north of Baltimore, said a standard appraisal that previously went for $325 jumped to $400 or more May 1 when he began using management company appraisers.

Some applicants also are balking at handing over credit card information upfront when they're not completely sure what the charge will be. "I lost three clients the first week" because of the credit card requirement, Hawk said.

Buddy McCombs, senior vice president of EverBank, a Jacksonville, Fla., lender that buys loans originated by Hawk's firm and now contracts with management companies for appraisals, conceded "there's probably a little increased cost" with the new system, "but I don't think it's devastating."

"What's terrible is what's happening to [long-established] appraisers who won't work for the low fees," said James Facchini of American Pacific Appraisal in Sacramento. "On May 1, I lost almost my entire customer base" -- mortgage brokers who now can't pick up a phone and order an appraisal from him.

Instead Facchini and other appraisers either have to sign up with management companies or find other employment. What "really bothers me is that the consumer has no idea what's going on," Facchini said. After he signed up with one management company, he said, two borrowers commented to him after he finished his appraisal, "Wow, you really charge a lot."

They were each being hit with $550 appraisal fees, while he was getting just $250 through the management company. As he sees it, that leaves $300 of "slush" somewhere in the process -- some going to the management company, but the rest probably "flowing to the lender for doing absolutely nothing."

Rich Kuegler, a vice president at MDA Lending Solutions, a national appraisal management company, said payments to firms such as his are compensation for creating, managing and reviewing a network of thousands of appraisers -- MDA has 9,000 under contract across the country -- and for the "processing and administrative" costs that have been taken off the backs of brokers and lenders.

As to appraisers' complaints about fees, Kuegler said, "we offer the ability to have a steady stream of work, training and support." In other words, appraisers can expect to make up in volume what they're sacrificing per assignment.

Kenneth R. Harney's e-mail address is KenHarney@earthlink.net.