Comp Checks and FHA, where to send

[Bama Bayou]

The Senate anti-foreclosure bill (the lender bailout bill that is expected to pass and get signed by W) has a provision that ALL FHA insured loans be performed by a certified appraiser and that they have provable FHA education. This was done at the request of Senator Richard Shelby, R of AL.

Maybe we should send the comp check info to him.

 

[Bama Bayou]

They don't get the case assigned until they have been guaranteed a value. Some even say this. Other's just hang up on us.

That happens to me at least once a week. I have been keeping the addresses and the lender info. I usually tell them to email the address and the MB contact info but apparently they have figured out that a paper trail is not a good idea (for them). They want it verbal over the phone.

I understand that Brad can't rely on anything but the facts. I also know that this comp checking for FHA insured loans is an invitation to the same fiasco as sub-prime.

Anybody have a solution?

 

[Kevin Mc]

Anybody have a solution?

On a short term basis, I have been posting every address on the MFWL with my "comp check", that is I post a value ranger for everyone I get so eventually if the properties reported come in screaming over those approximate figures hopefully someone will take notice.

 

[timd354]

It seems to me that the FHA could set up a database where any appraiser who receives a comp check for a FHA appraisal could go and enter the property address, the requested value, the FHA case number (if known) and the name of the broker who requested the comp check. This data base could later then be cross referenced to loans which have been submitted to the FHA. Whenever a match occurs, the FHA could have a field review done on the appraisal to see if the appraisal was properly done or if it was inflated....severe punishments could then be dealt out to the guilty parties and patterns of improper conduct by brokers could be exposed. This really should not be all that difficult to do and could be easily paid for by a very small surcharge on FHA loans.......it is really time for the FHA to take proactive steps to prevent future losses....hopefully, someone at the FHA will take up this idea and make it happen.



and the "new subprime" train just keeps rolling down the tracks.....

 

[RSW]

On a short term basis, I have been posting every address on the MFWL with my "comp check", that is I post a value ranger for everyone I get so eventually if the properties reported come in screaming over those approximate figures hopefully someone will take notice.

Are you saying you are comp checking and then posting the comp check on the MFWL? I hope you are keeping your workfile on the property in compliance with USPAP!

 

[Bama Bayou]

One thing FHA could do right now is require a statement in the appraisal report that no comp check was performed prior to accepting the assignment.

They could send out a notice than any appraiser performing a comp check on an FHA would be dismissed from the panel.

They could also state that FHA investigators posing as MBs will be randomly calling appraisers and asking for comp checks.

 

[Bama Bayou]

When did I approve this, as Bobbi works for me?

Let me address/clarify a couple of things.

1) Please note the correct spelling of "Santa Ana".

2) While I don't necessarily disapprove of using Bobbie as a point of contact (POC) for this issue, one can also send such documentation to anyone on my staff - as it ultimately ends up on my desk. Posting her contact information does not concern me, as long as people do not bog her down with questions that could/should be answered by the DE Underwriter, or, could be obtained by attending an FHA training course.

3) It is very important to include the appropriate FHA case number with the complaint.

4) Do not, under any circumstance, send us a recorded conversation (as alluded to in a subsequent post). There are both state and federal laws that prohibit that sort of conduct. The Department neither encourages nor condones any disregard of state or federal law.

Mr. Fookes - I'm happy to read you have developed a good working relationship with Bobbi and hope it continues. I rely on her often. I appreciate your diligence/passion for assisting the SAHOC in minimizing risk to the FHA mortgage insurance programs.

Regards,

Bradley A. Pack
Chief (Appraiser), Technical Support Branch
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Santa Ana Homeownership Center

My bold

Brad, your post is very much appreciated. However, there is no federal law which prohibits the recording of a phone conversation as long as one party knows it is being recorded. State laws vary.

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/

"Federal law allows recording of phone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. A majority of the states and territories have adopted wiretapping statutes based on the federal law, although most also have extended the law to cover in-person conversations. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party without informing the other parties that they are doing so. These laws are referred to as "one-party consent" statutes, and as long as you are a party to the conversation, it is legal for you to record it. (Nevada also has a one-party consent statute, but the state Supreme Court has interpreted it as an all-party rule.)

Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Be aware that you will sometimes hear these referred to inaccurately as "two-party consent" laws. If there are more than two people involved in the conversation, all must consent to the taping.

Regardless of the state, it is almost always illegal to record a conversation to which you are not a party, do not have consent to tape, and could not naturally overhear."

While I have no intention of sending any tape recordings to you or anyone else, it would not be illegal in my state and most others. Since it would be illegal in CA I can appreciate your concern.

 

[Couch Potato]

Anyone who is intersted in the real story, not the propaganda, take a look at the report which recently aired on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92152401

Here is an interesting little chart from the story:

Hmmm....I wonder what the chart including the figures from 2006-2008 would look like.

The chart says everything that anyone needs to know in case they were wondering what kind of a job the FHA is doing to protect the interests of the American taxpayer.....but then again, what do I know?

You seem to have missed the point of the story by NPR.

The chart does tell most of what you need to know. It shows that initially allowing non-profits to provided down payments only slightly increased the risk of default, but as abusive programs came into being the default rate soared. Hence the effort by FHA to shut them down that is the subject of the NPR story. Unfortunately that effort is being blocked by congress. (The data in the chart is before the relaxing of appraiser standards, so it would indeed be interesting to see the later data. )

 

[Brad Pack]

Appraisers are the Appraisal Industry's Worst Enemy.

Guys named Brad have a hard time here.

Many over the years have. And, I am going the way of my friend, Brad Ellis - out of here. I've been coming to this forum (different versions) since 1998 or 1999? The unproffesional tone in this forum and personal attacks have grown to unacceptable levels and will not be tolerated.

Good luck, to all you FHA "experts".

 

[Kevin Mc]

The unprofessional tone in this forum and personal attacks have grown to unacceptable levels and will not be tolerated.

Good luck, to all you FHA "experts".

I think it is very unprofessional for anyone to attack you Brad, although I must have missed the "attacks". What I have seen here is a genuine concern for what many us out in the field are seeing on a daily basis. As I previously have stated on this forum, the same cretins who put Argent,New Century,Ameriquest and a couple of other hundred lenders out of business are now pushing FHA loans. I don't care to spend an hour on the phone with the Resolution Center and I don't care to get a canned response to every potential fraudulent FHA deal I report. I just want a place to post all the details where someone will actually take notice. I think most of us feel the same. No one said we were "experts", but what we are are the guys in the trenches dealing with these scumbags day in and day out. We are looking for some type of resolution and concern, not rhetoric.