New URAR Demo

[Non Sequitur]

Well, there you have it folks. We went from “this is a great opportunity, there’s mountains of money out there for appraisers who embrace modernization” to “y’all are crazy, we aren’t trying to put you out of business”, to “appraisers are the current day equivalent of one hour photo shops.”

But it ain’t personal!

 

[DWiley]

Well, there you have it folks. We went from “this is a great opportunity, there’s mountains of money out there for appraisers who embrace modernization” to “y’all are crazy, we aren’t trying to put you out of business”, to “appraisers are the current day equivalent of one hour photo shops.”

But it ain’t personal!

I felt confident that someone would twist the words into something that was not said.

 

[J Grant]

And, when you switched to digital photography, did you not know that would affect those employed at the photo shop? But you did it anyway, because digital photography met your need in a more efficient way. It was a business decision - nothing personal. Of course, it sure seemed personal to the photo shop people who lost their job (or had to change jobs).

I felt bad for those employed at photo shops. However, they were not professional license people who apprenticed for 2 plus years and had to get licensed and pass tests , to qualify to work in a photo shop. . They could move on to other service jobs paying about the same.

And I was not a power user of photography, where my decision to change products could put a good swathe of people out of work - and again, Appraisal is a professional service, not a clerical job and not a consumer product, and a policy decision at the GSE's to allow third party non appraiers such as PDC collectors had little to do with a tech product.
My objection is not about it being personal by any means, but on the fact that it adversely affects thousands in a small niche licened professional field yet did not result in a higher expertise,in an assimgment - the opposite - non appraisers third parties "collect data" on site instead of appraisers inspecting their own subject of their appraisal, and a loan officer/lender, of all people, decided the property value in a refiannce in a WAIVER /value acceptance( as long as the value falls in the GSE AVM range),

 

[Mike Ault]

Back when we were assured that appraisers completing these hybrids would be required to be "geographically competent" I had some hope, now I see that they're going to change the meaning of that term so that a multistate licensed "valuation professional" sitting in a cubicle somewhere can complete them anywhere in the country, all hope was lost. Letting lending institutions value their own collateral is a terrible idea, and the fact that the industry is headed in this direction is an epic failure of the regulators. A "valuator" sitting in a cubicle somewhere has no "independence", they have "a boss" who expects to see the results that they want. Between that scheme and easily tweaked AVM assisted lending decisions, the fox will definitely be in charge of the hen house going forward. "Internal auditors" at these organizations will make sure all the books look good as well, and no one will know how much risk is out there being offset by worthless derivatives again. An amazing amount of effort being expended towards bypassing appraisal "friction" in the lending process, which means we were doing what we were supposed to be doing.

 

[J Grant]

Back when we were assured that appraisers completing these hybrids would be required to be "geographically competent" I had some hope, now I see that they're going to change the meaning of that term so that a multistate licensed "valuation professional" sitting in a cubicle somewhere can complete them anywhere in the country, all hope was lost. Letting lending institutions value their own collateral is a terrible idea, and the fact that the industry is headed in this direction is an epic failure of the regulators. A "valuator" sitting in a cubicle somewhere has no "independence", they have "a boss" who expects to see the results that they want. Between that scheme and easily tweaked AVM assisted lending decisions, the fox will definitely be in charge of the hen house going forward. "Internal auditors" at these organizations will make sure all the books look good as well and no one will know how much risk is out there being offset by worthless derivatives again. An amazing amount of effort being expended towards bypassing appraisal "friction" in the lending process, which means we were doing what we were supposed to be doing.

Wish they could admit that instead of blaming it on technology.

 

[Non Sequitur]

I felt confident that someone would twist the words into something that was not said.

I know it feels personal, but it’s not.

 

[DWiley]

...now I see that they're going to change the meaning of that term .

I do not follow this. Who is changing what?

For the GSEs, the competency requirements for a hybrid appraisal is no different than for a traditional appraisal; the appraiser must have prior experience with a similar property in the same area.

 

[Mike Ault]

I do not follow this. Who is changing what?

For the GSEs, the competency requirements for a hybrid appraisal is no different than for a traditional appraisal; the appraiser must have prior experience with a similar property in the same area.

Do they have to have experience "physically inspecting" in the same area, or "remote appraising" in the same area? I asked Justin earlier in this thread if Fannie Mae expected appraisers completing these hybrids to be geographically competent and never received a reply, which I took as a bad sign. And then I read the new thinking on geographic competency below, and I assume the worst.

AI Overview


Under the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 standard, "geographically competent" has evolved from requiring physical site visits to emphasizing "geographical data competency". Appraisers are expected to use technology and data analytics to understand local market conditions, even from a distance, rather than relying on windshield inspections.
The shift in geographical competence with UAD 3.6
UAD 3.6, the latest update to the appraisal reporting standard from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, shifts the focus from physical presence to data-driven analysis. Key changes include:

• Removal of the "drive-by" requirement. Appraisers are no longer required to physically inspect comparable sales from the street. This removes the reliance on a windshield view for verifying comparables.
• Emphasis on data competency. The new standard requires appraisers to "research, verify, and analyze adequate and reliable data" for each comparable property.
• Access to expanded data. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data, and other online data and analytical tools is now central to establishing geographic competence.
• Focus on property characteristics. Appraisers must select comparable sales based on relevant property characteristics, such as size, age, and style, a process that is increasingly data-driven.

Why this change is significant
The new approach to geographical competence is a significant shift for the real estate appraisal industry:

• For appraisers: Appraisers who work across broad territories can now use technology to demonstrate their expertise in a specific market area, rather than being limited by their physical location.
• For the industry: The reliance on robust data instead of physical inspection is intended to improve data consistency, accuracy, and efficiency across the board.
• For AI-powered tools: The use of Geographical Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI)—the integration of AI with geospatial science—is growing in the appraisal and real estate industries. GeoAI can accelerate the analysis of market trends and property data, which is especially relevant for UAD 3.6.

 

[TerryRohrer]

I felt bad for those employed at photo shops. However, they were not professional license people who apprenticed for 2 plus years and had to get licensed and pass tests , to qualify to work...

Two-faced, narcissistic, and likely untruthful. You didn't give a tinker's damn about the pipeliners put out of work because of your politics. Those folks had to get training, experience, and certifications, in addition to investing significant capital for tools and equipment to qualify for the task. But, as you say, you, and they, and photoshop workers can simply move on to something else. Why should anyone care about your plight when you clearly don't care about theirs?

 

[DWiley]

Changes in technology reducing the number of people required working in the appraisal business is not a new thing. Just compare what appraisers do now vs what they did when I first started, in 1982.

In 1982, the property sketch was drawn by hand, using a straight edge and a pencil. After the sketch was done, the GLA calculations had to be done manually and manually transferred into the report.
The photos were taken using a 35mm camera. After an inspection the photos had to be taken to a photo processing lab, and when they were ready you had to pick them up and then paste or tape them into a paper report. You had to make multiple copies of that report and tape/paste the pics into each one. When the report was ready, you would mail it or call a courier.

And that is just a few things I can think of off the top of my head. All those things took time, and time is finite, So, the work took more people back then than the same amount of work would take today. When I say it is likely that fewer people will be needed in the future, that is just saying I think the trend seen over the past 40+ years will continue.