Appraiser Bias Education

[Mejappz]

TAF is your enemy and needs to be abolished. This is all about making more money for them and their cronies. Continuing “education “ is another joke to make stupid people wealthy. You can fight back or grab the ankles and assume the position. In Florida at least it looks the state boards (another sham ) will be a thing of the past.

 

[jay trotta]

My guess is that every cubicle farm in every bank and every AMC is probably getting an all-hands staff meeting on the topic every month.

Perhaps, but it has always been there, at least since I started way back in the 80's. Uncle Joe made it an issue, I didn't see where Uncle Sam and/or Uncle Donnie did. They're just playing follow the leader for now
Basically, it's a form of entrapment. IMO-when you stage a property it takes on different "view/appeal" factor, (IE: MLS empty vs stagged) the appeal factors,
stagging offers greater appeal vs empty, a different picture in one's mind, MLS offers both.

In reality, we are supposed to imagine/view the house "as if vacant" (bricks & mortar only) when on assignment, furniture etc., should not be entertained at all. Therefore, when the Lending/AMC ambitions expanded the requests for "all room interior" (again they assisted in creating Bias, just like when they created "redlining") photo's, they exceeded and forced a thought process that was never part of our work/USPAP - Ethics requirement.
FNMA always required photos of any damage/repair/replacement work in process and/or after repair etc., the only requirement. The expansion of this process to intrude/invade on one's privacy was never a good practice to begin with, so IMO, it should fall on the ones who began the practice of home invasion in the first place.

 

[George Hatch]

None of that alters the point that the comps are the comps.

The most common version of the complaint is that appraisers won't leave the neighborhood. Not that they're understating the subject's condition and using inferior condition comparables in the same neighborhood.

The de facto Redlining allegation they keep complaining about is explicitly a location attribute. Not a quality/condition attribute. Their allegation is that all locations with similar proximity to services and employment and such should be valued equally, and that the reason they don't get appraised equally is because appraisers won't choose on some purely discretionary basis to bypass more proximate for less proximate.

Take the Marin City situation as an example. That (unincorporated) neighborhood has a distinct sales history where the pricing has always been ~30% lower that the incorporated Sausolito (city) neighborhoods to the s/e and the Mill Valley neighborhoods to the n/w. And it has those distinct "pole homes that look like a mobile home on stilts. The higher appraisal more/less ignored that location factor and used the outside sales without making the location adjustment. Years later, the subject neighborhood there *still* hasn't returned a sale that would support the higher value conclusion in the 2nd appraisal. And Sausolito neighborhoods are still 30% higher in their pricing than the Marin City sales since then have been demonstrating.

The situation in Baltimore is another example. The pricing in that historical district has been higher toward the center and lower at the northern end. At least one of the comps in the 2nd appraisal had a prior sale from the same time period the complainants acquired their home, and that prior sale also demonstrates the location differential. There's also a big hit in the pricing for fronting/siding that primary traffic artery. As demonstrated by the sales. The first appraisal dealt with that location factor and the 2nd appraisal ignored it. Heck, there was an active listing next door to that property at that time which also demonstrated the effect of the location on the price when it closed several months later. THAT sale supported the value conclusion in the first appraisal, and was nowhere near supportive of the value in the 2nd appraisal.

The Marcia Fudge example is the same thing. Her property is right near the border with the neighboring city wherein the pricing is higher. She's mad that the appraisers don't cross that political boundary in order to value her property higher, but instead stick to the properties in her same zip.

These activists want appraisers to ignore location, location, location. Changing the interior decor isn't going to get them that outcome unless they warn the lender in advance that they're going to sue if they don't get their value - at which point the 2nd or 3rd appraiser who comes along is tipped off in advance and knows to just tell the lie for the borrower as the path of least resistance.

 

[ucbruin]

Between 1987-1997 I was a staff appraiser for SPNB/BofA....
Both lenders held in-house training for fair lending for their appraisers....
SPNB training late '80s and BofA early '90s....

SPNB training included bias awareness for race, single women, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, etc....
Same as today....

 

[sputnam]

The fact is... many appraisers exhibit bias in the way they work. Do you use any rules of thumb? That's called heuristic bias. Do you look at the purchase contract before you develop your opinion of value? Might lead to confirmation bias? On and on.. there are a lot of forms of bias. The claim of systematic racism among appraisers doesn't seem to be well supported however, it's one of those things where just making the claim gives it credence.

 

[Bobby Bucks]

I have not been called racist by anyone. So I am lost on your reply to my post. I am simply repeating the mantra about our entire industry/profession by those like Maxine Waters, Biden, Marcia Fudge, etc etc.

It’s probably best to ignore ucbruin, he’s a woke troll who trolls far more than he posts.

 

[ucbruin]

It’s probably best to ignore ucbruin, he’s a woke troll who trolls far more than he posts.

How does one troll more than one posts....
That's some math....

As woke as some believe me to be....
I maybe the only one here that admits to having bias....
The rest of you are free of bias....

I just find it fascinating that folks are so put off having to take a 7 hour course every 2 years to continue earning an income....

 

[Bobby Bucks]

How does one troll more than one posts....
That's some math....

As woke as some believe me to be....
I maybe the only one here that admits to having bias....
The rest of you are free of bias....

I just find it fascinating that folks are so put off having to take a 7 hour course every 2 years to continue earning an income....

Technically you are correct, allow me to rephrase. Your posts are far better when not trolling.

 

[Non Sequitur]

As I pointed out elsewhere, CE is being rendered useless with time. Soon it will be all procedure and no education... then what?

Then more classes! Ring the cash register!

 

[Albert2]

I recently completed the mandatory 2-hour appraisal law course for Pennsylvania certification renewal. I was surprised to see that, beginning with the next cycle, appraisers will be required to complete SEVEN HOURS of bias training. This is 25% of the entire CE hours requirement!!! Since USPAP and law are 7 + 2, this will mean only 12 hours is left to enhance appraiser knowledge and skills. Sure, we're not prohibited from taking more classes, but I'd guess that a large percentage of appraisers get their CE reimbursed by their employer and aren't going to take more CE than the minimum required. I'm furious. Seven hours is insane, particularly when I think the entire idea of appraiser bias has been blown up out of proportion. Since bias is an element of USPAP's Ethics Rule, why???? Is there any way appraisers voices can be heard on this?

I will tell you that I took this course and it went way back to the Civil War. I sure learned a lot that was applicable to today’s appraisals. Honestly I think they are running out of ways to educate us. Any appraiser with common sense is going to be cautious in today’s world. A seven hour mandatory course is nonsensical.