NY, FirstAM & WaMu article

[Renee Healion]

Denis it is was everyone but I'm glad you read it.

 

[wickedness1]

It appears that Countrwide isn't even as smart as Wamu.. I copied this from another forum that I wrote:

We are at this very moment fighting with Landsafe to get copies of our appraisals that they have converted through Lighthouse...amazingly none of our certified letters or phone calls are being returned...HMMMM

Landsafe's "Appraisal review Department" knocked my husband for things that were on our original PDF's when the report was sent via email, yet the reviewers didn't see the addenda's, pic comments, etc when they were reviewing his reports. We think there's MAJOR issues with these conversions, but can't prove it yet because they WILL NOT RESPOND to our requests....Not to mention he rarely comes into Landsafe's "estimated value", ...HMMMM

I just pulled back out the "Landsafe Appraisal Audit" that was sent to us..and I have 1 question...

Why does the FedEx packaging clearly state the return address as:

COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL???

I thought Landsafe was a "separate entitiy" from Countrywide?????

Not trying to go off topic, but does Countrywide think that their protected by establishing Landsafe to?? Maybe the next suit will involve WaMu & Countrywide??

 

[Colleague]

Here's something that caught my eye...

"Between April 2006 and October 2007, eAppraiseIT provided approximately 262,000 appraisals for WaMu".

If, for example purposes, they charged each borrower $500 per appraisal and paid the appraisers $250, they grossed Approximately $65,500,000 in only a year and a half!

Regardless of the actual amount grossed, there is a heck of allot of money being made off of appraisers by AMCs!

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

15,000 views of this thread...5 star rating.

there is a heck of allot of money being made off of appraisers

Excellent point..

fighting with Landsafe to get copies of our appraisals that they have converted through Lighthouse

we gotta stop working with these folks period..got to.

 

[Laura Goldware]

Lender Implode - "Mortgage Mess Hitting WAMU Hard"

www.lenderimplode.com

"What's going on here? Either the borrowers postponing their interest payments are doing so as a matter of choice or they can't afford to pay them.

Common sense suggests it's the latter — and that there's serious doubt WaMu will collect the $1.5 billion of postponed interest that its option-ARM customers have added to their original principal balances.

Here it comes... "we told you so".

It gets worse for these jokers:" Quoted from website.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003992307_wamu04.html?syndication=rss

WaMu always seemed to have a good reputation, in my opinion. If this is happening to them, what is in store for the other large banks/lenders?

Where do you think our economy will be a year from now?

 

[Carnivore]

A-

You may be correct (and I have not read the entire document), but since you have, I'll ask you: Does it specifically say that reoprts were altered, or does it imply that was the case?

Denis, If the ABM is a WAMU underwriter then the value is not changed, the LTV is changed.

Just reading what you posted, it could be interpreted that a submitted appraisal is reviewed and the ABM comes back with a higher value.

Just who is an ABM? Is that an employee of WAMU? Is that the appaisers supervisor? Is this the intent of individual state law on who can appraise and who can not?

This doesn't change the original appraisal, it just creates another opinion of value that, in this case, is higher and that the decide to lend with.

See above! Whats the big stink about the appraisers coming in low if they can make a decision in spite of the appraisal?

The distinction between the two is significant.
If I understand your conclusion, you interpret the statement to mean that the ABM changed the original appraisal and submitted it as if it were unaltered. Is that the case?

Thanks

I am not sure I know or understand. Who is this masked man they call "The ABM"?

I want to believe they are altering reports! Its is possible they are acting as appraisers and operating outside the law! This may be the reason they unlock reports!

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Ya think maybe, just maybe... a few (or quite a few) X and current employees might be ready and willing to tell all?

 

[Colleague]

Yes. And I bet there is some funny stuff going on over at LSI too!

 

[hastalavista]

I am not sure I know or understand. Who is this masked man they call "The ABM"?

Read Item #26. ABMs were former Wamu staff hired by EappraiseIT to act as a Liaison-type position; it evolved into a value arbiter at the end.

I want to believe they are altering reports! Its is possible they are acting as appraisers and operating outside the law! This may be the reason they unlock reports!

(my bold)

You and a lot of others want to believe this. My point is that it isn't clear in the complaint that this is an issue.

What I piece together is this:
EappraiseIT was forced to use Wamu's PALs as primary appraisers. If there was a ROV, then it would go to the ABMs who worked for EappraiseIT but were former Wamu employees. I read nothing that says that the ABMs changed and resubmitted a report (altered). What I read in the complaint is that the ABMs reviewed and concluded a different value; many times within the 5%/$50k guidance spoken about earlier in the report.

Now, if my understanding is the correct one, what does that mean?
To me, it means that EappraiseIT artificially inflated the values (via the ABMs) to satisfy their client; and the reason why they did this was because Wamu pressured them to do so.
If this is correct (which I'm sure isn't the whole story), then that actually bodes better for the outside-appraiser contractor because it wasn't her or him who "rolled-over", it was EappraiseIT internally who rolled-over.

It doesn't sound like they needed to unlock the reports; they had the ability to review and conclude their own value which Wamu would accept.
In order for Wamu to accept it, however, it would have to be an "appraisal"; so we still have significant regulatory issues here but what we do not have is unlocking and altering reports (I stress- yet!).

Now, here's the possibility I see: Is it possible that some reports were altered so that the ABMs could then increase their own values by 5%?
In other words, lets say the target value to make the deal work is $1,050,000. However, the original appraisal came in at $975k. So, the ABM cannot get to $1,050 using the 5% rule. Did someone increase the $975k appraisal to $1,000k so that the ABM could then increase it to $1,050k? (Yikes, I'm beginning to sound like a conspiracy nut myself! :Eyecrazy: ).
Actually, I can see something like this happening. If it were done, I bet it was done on an individual basis and not a company basis, but like I say, I'm speculating out in left field right now.

Bottom line is this: Based on the complaint, there's nothing that says reports were altered. We simply do not know at this point.

 

[Carnivore]

Why would they unlock them? I know from sources that they still do unlock them.

Of Course there not unlocking them now for WAMU,just there other clients.