A WaMu Newsflash---that old conflict of interest

[Elliott]

I just got my Volume I, No. 22 WaMu Newsflash
(why they send them I haven't a clue since I
haven't work for them for 6 years since they said they'd
only assign 2055s for $225.

Here's the new twist, and I quote,

"Value Below Sales Price: If your initial opinion of value
is below the negoitiated purchase price for the transaction, notify the DSM promptly. If your original assignment does not include an interior inspection, you will be asked to upgrade the assignment to include an interior inspection. Do not submit transactions with values below the sales price until you have discussed it with the CSM... It is imperative that the WaMu Appraisal Dept be notified of a low sale prior to our lending office and customer receiving the completed assignment."

I guess it begs the question, what if you upgraded to an interior, and
still came in low? Is this another form of subtle pressure from the
Giant?

elliott

 

[David C. Johnson]

Elliot,

I am not to sure where to start with the quote you posted, so I won't.

But I will say this: It sure don't sound none too good.

dcj

 

[Richard Carlsen]

You missed the key word: Initial

If your initial opinion of value...blah,blah, etc.

Don't you get it? They are giving you a chance to correct yourself, to mend your ways, to appraise in the P.C. way. You call the appraisal department and tell them how sorry you are that you did not agree with the sales price. They listen, affirm your sense of value and then give you a chance to make it all up. They let you go back to the house!!!!!! Oh what joy because now you have one more chance to redeem yourself.

And redeem yourself you will because with this group showing you the true path, you see the errors of your ways and shazammmmm; a good value comes forth.

Oh the joy of working for loving, caring loan companies. Can life get any better than this?

 

[Tater Salad]

Giving them the benefit of the doubt here...

There are some areas that I cover where the value ranges are all about what's inside. They look similar on the outside, but who has the sheet vinyl and stock kitchen cabinets, and who has the hardwoods and 42" customs w/granite tops.

I've told people before: exterior only will result in an assumption that if the exterior is average, that the interior is average. If they have all the goodies, let me inside.

Could that be what they are getting at? I'll never be at the high end of the range on a drive-by. But sometimes, I will if the upgrades are there on the inside.

Then again, its WAMU and I'm probably giving them too much credit...

 

[Leon Stewart]

Elliot:

This is just a continuation of the policy where Lenders will create the ground work to replace the Appraisal Report prepared by a Licensed/Certified Appraiser with the AVM.

The Lender in this process is forcing the Appraiser to inflate the value of the property which means that they can lose their License, and when a Lender will send out a Memo like this, the Lender has no fear of violating any banking or any rules or laws. But this is a rare ocasion where a Lender will put it in writing to instruct the appraiser to appraise for a specific value.

All State Boards should be notified of this memo so that they can decide how to evaluate this documented Lender enduced appraiser pressure to meet a specific value, and the State Boards should suspend all hearings on Appraisers involving Value manipulations pending a full investigation.

leostew

 

[Oregon Doug]

The Lender in this process is forcing the Appraiser to inflate the value of the property

I had to fish that fax out of the trash - I don't do work for 'em, don't do 2055's and don't normally read that junk but your comment piqued my interest. I read & reread that paragraph bunches of times and I still don't see your point. I understand the inuendo clearly but I don't see how it is an explicit request to inflate the value.

Now, it's true that I'm jus an ole' Oregon country boy, so I may be a little slow on the uptake. Can you explain your comment to me in clear and concise terms that even I can understand?

Thanx, Oregon Doug

 

[Elliott]

I know there are some die hard USPAPers,
and I guess they might have an issue with
coming up with an "initial" value.

I might be able to tell somebody from the
start that a mobile home no way is going to
hit $200,000. But on those 'close' calls,
until I've expended full energy, I don't know
where the value is going to finally come in
at. But it seems everybody else expects appraisers
to have that final value figured out before
they're 10% into the assignment.

So after you call WAMU to get the go ahead to
do an interior, how much more can you charge
for that upgrade from a 2055 exterior to a
2055 interior/exterior? An extra $25 bucks to
go out, do the inspection, and re-work the report?

elliott

 

[rtubbs]

I don't do work for WAMU either. In addition to the turn-off of the initial value requirment, I would also have a big hang-up with the due date directive. If you miss the specified hour that the report was due then it's late. Come on, give us a break.

 

[Randy Beigh]

I different from most of the others. I work for WAMU, but didn't read the memo.

Suspect this bird has a different stripe. WAMU does upgrade drivebys either at the request of the appraiser or at their request and they seem(in this WAMU office) to do that without hassle.

They have the ability to change the appraised value if they have enough information. It's hard to do that with a 2055 driveby, as they need more information. I suspect that additional information is what they are after, not forcing the appraiser to come up with a higher value.

My office has done 1,000's of appraisals for this company since 1990 and they have never pressured me for a higher value. Why should they? They can change the value if they want the deal bad enough.

In fact, just this week, they upgraded a 2055 interior to a 1004, because they were after additional information. The owners wanted $250,000, but it wasn't there and after they got the report decided to not change the value. The homeowner called me, somewhat upset.

 

[Carol]

They have the ability to change the appraised value if they have enough information.

They can change the value if they want the deal bad enough.

Could you please clarify this. Are you saying they alter the value opinion on an appraisal? Or, are you saying they underwrite a loan on a higher value than appears on an appraisal. I hope you are not saying they routinely alter appraisals if they have enough information in their opinion and want the deal bad enough. Would this not leave the appraiser holding the bag if the deal went south. How would the appraiser know if and when they instituted this policy. I must be misreading the above comments.