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In a market where many companies are scaling back just to get by, we’ve actually been pretty busy in our Agent division here at a la mode. In the last few months, we’ve released an IDX product, announced several new products for the iPhone and became a preferred technology provider for the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®. Click to view..

With the current economic times bringing an increase in security breaches, you can’t wait any longer to get everything locked down. Here’s the first defense layers to get you started: Click to view..

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My Technology Lawyer Radio – December 18: Patrick Egger returns to talk with Co-Hosts Scott Draughon, Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz about Fannie Mae’s 08-30 Announcement and the release of the 1004MC. Click to view..

My Technology Lawyer Radio – December 11: Woody Fincham (FM & Associates) talks with Co-Hosts Scott Draughon, Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz about the HVCC. Click to view..

My Technology Lawyer Radio – November 13: R Patrick Egger joins co-hosts Scott Draughon, Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz. Click to view..

We're giving away $69,000 in cold, hard cash to help drive traffic to the Mercury Network. Click to view..

On Thursday, September 25, on response to questions posed during a congressional hearing regarding oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, James Lockhart, former director of OFHEO and now director of the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) which replaced it, told the House Financial Service Committee that implementing the HVCC agreement has "taken us longer than we expected". Lockhart told the committee that the January 1 implementation deadline may be delayed one to three months and that potential changes to the agreement are still being worked out. There was no word as to what those changes may be. Click to view..

A group of appraisers who filed a class action lawsuit against Oxford, MS-based FNC, Inc., the owner of AppraisalPort and the caretaker of the AI Ready XML data standard, won a key battle yesterday. FNC had asked the court to force the Plaintiffs to enter arbitration, and the court refused. Judge Titus ruled that the case will continue on to trial as a class action on behalf of all appraisers using AppraisalPort. Titus said, "FNC’s actions are like a man standing with one foot on a dock and one foot on an untethered boat drifting away and unable to choose whether to stay on land or shove off to the sea. When this case was filed, FNC’s time to choose ran out and it ended up in the water. As FNC’s predicament is wholly of its own making, the Court will not now throw it a life preserver.” To read… Click to view..

A little over seven years ago, Tammi Emerson joined our sales department. Many of you probably know her from talking with her on the phone and seeing her at Conventions. When she first started here, she was still in high school – one of the only two high school students working here. She’d do anything asked of her with a smile, whether it was running to the office supply store, calling appraisers whose memberships were five years expired, or wiping down tables in the company cafe. Click to view..

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Dole asked Fed Chief Ben Bernanke about the Fed's role in modifying the HVCC. Click to view..

As you've probably heard, Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) proposed an amendment to the Senate Housing bill sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Shelby (R-AL). Click to view..

As we said in our May article “31,000 respond to the HVCC,” tens of thousands of appraisers made their voices heard in opposition to the HVCC. You should be congratulated for such a phenomenal response. But the fight is far from over, and there’s still much to be done. Click to view..

As a result of your efforts and our Washington team, we are making progress explaining to Congress the negative impact the current version of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) will have on consumers and independent appraisers. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) has heard our message loud and clear: The HVCC needs to be fixed to create a level playing field. The magnitude of the issue means that we have to press on and make sure we get a fair hearing and amend the HVCC. Click to view..

No matter where you live or what committees your members of Congress may be on, it’s essential that you contact your Representative and both Senators immediately and make your opinion heard on the HVCC and legislation affecting you. Click to view..

I’ve been fascinated with politics since I was in the second grade. I remember our teacher even conducted a mini-election. Who wouldn’t be fascinated with the political events of those days? It was 1968. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated and the last chance to implement many of his brother’s policies died along with him. Click to view..

In the last issue, we discussed the size of the overall appraisal fee business in the lead article (“How Big is the Appraisal Pie?”). Logically, the next step is to consider what amount of damage is done to that market by the HVCC. Click to view..

For perhaps the first time since the S & L crisis of the 1980’s, appraisers are faced with an alphabet soup of proposed regulations which will dramatically and permanently alter the valuation industry landscape. But unlike the S & L crisis, appraisers and others are forming political, legal, and business assault teams and preparing for a long, painful fight over the HVCC, as well as other real estate reform bills. Click to view..

Letters submitted for HVCC Commentary by various organizations and corporations. Click to view..

Our April issue touched off a firestorm of debate regarding the “chain of custody” of an appraisal, USPAP signature mandates, and more. Here, we’re going to look at solutions. Click to view..