HVCC

The Working RE HVCC Appraiser Talkback Survey has been posted and so far you’ve provided some pretty interesting results. Working RE plans to collect survey data all year and hopes you have much to share, post HVCC, about the state of the profession from your perspective. Theywill collect and share the data openly with you and with regulators and other interested parties. It’s a chance for appraisers to come together as a group, speak with one voice and be heard.

As we've written several times before, the HVCC provided ample incentive for mortgage brokers and appraisers to become allies united behind a common cause. Since we single-handedly bore the cost of raising awareness among appraisers and mortgage brokers about the HVCC last year, we were happy to find afterward that the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) recognized the difficulty in what we did, and wanted to cooperate and consult on HVCC issues. Eventually, NAMB decided to take the battle to the courts, but withdrew the lawsuit after the government claimed its actions as conservators of Fannie and Freddie are not subject to judicial review (even though, obviously, the HVCC was started prior to the government bailout). As a last-ditch effort, NAMB asked us if we would distribute their "Follow Up Call to Action" to our appraiser list nationwide, which we're happy to do for them. We encourage you to…

With each issue of The AppraisalPress, we find ourselves discussing how dramatically things have changed in the short span since the last issue. While we originally thought we'd be dealing with a rapid comment-and-revision cycle on the proposed HVCC a year ago, we never envisioned it dragging out this long (the "final" HVCC takes effect May 1st), nor did we think there would be so much chaos and tumult along the way. It's an understatement to say that things have been out of control. It's certainly made our jobs harder, but even more importantly, it's made yours almost completely unpredictable.

New form for appraisers using Mercury takes important step toward HVCC compliance.

Radio Show: Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz appear again on the My Technology Lawyer Radio show to discuss changes to the HVCC, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the upcoming US Presidential Election.

Radio Show: Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz appeared October 8 on "My Technology Lawyer" radio show to continue the discussion on the HVCC and the $700b government bailout.

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.

Radio Show: Dave Biggers has appeared again on "My Technology Lawyer" radio show to discuss the HVCC and the $700b government bailout.

Radio Show: Dave Biggers and Marco Ruiz (RuizAppraising.com) recently appeared on the "My Technology Lawyer" radio show to talk about the HVCC.

The real estate market, and the appraisal industry specifically, has been in unprecedented upheaval during this correction, especially in these last few months. Every time you think you’ve seen it all, another bombshell comes along to rattle what you thought was your strong understanding...

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Letters submitted for HVCC Commentary by various organizations and corporations.