Three days of hearings on my same complaints again. I have questions?

[JSmith43]

Smokey, do judges generally vary quite a bit in how much creativity is allowed a prosecutor?

What did they teach you in law school about such matters? Since the AG is a political position, does that substantially make him immune from ethics charges in all but the most extreme cases?

Since we observed that Nifong got disbarred under state bar association ethics charges in NC?, I know such things are possible, but don't have much feel for how probable it might be that it could happen to the WI AG. More likely, a sanction?

$500 fine and an ethics course?

 

[Fred]

I recently was in a battle with Freddie Mac because of some appraisals completed during the busier part of the Real Estate Boom in Florida, Though I had over twenty comparable sales from within my project and over twenty from competing projects, to support my value, the review appraiser contention was that I should have known the Real Estate bubble was going to burst and valued the properties at a 20% discount.

I'd love to see the reviewer's graphs and data that SHOWED you could tell the bubble was going to burst and when, and also the data supporting the 20% discount based on the projected bubble burst. What a crock!

So what if I had charts and graphs. Everyone was asking what it was worth that day. No one wanted to know what it would be worth in three years.

 

[Smokey Bear]

So what if I had charts and graphs. Everyone was asking what it was worth that day. No one wanted to know what it would be worth in three years.

Umm yeah! That's why I wanted to see the PROOF that the data as of that date showed what was going to happen later. Something tells me the guy was using hindsight, not data.

 

[Smokey Bear]

Smokey, do judges generally vary quite a bit in how much creativity is allowed a prosecutor?

What did they teach you in law school about such matters? Since the AG is a political position, does that substantially make him immune from ethics charges in all but the most extreme cases?

Since we observed that Nifong got disbarred under state bar association ethics charges in NC?, I know such things are possible, but don't have much feel for how probable it might be that it could happen to the WI AG. More likely, a sanction?

$500 fine and an ethics course?

The contempt I referred to is putting an incompetant "expert witness" on the stand when they were using the wrong version of USPAP.

My law school taught mostly appellate law and research - but I know the court can find either attorney in contempt for BS shenanigans like putting false evidence on the stand.

 

[JSmith43]

Appraisers are to consider the purpose for which their report results are to be used & I believe ASB should rethink the way USPAP is used across the country where one could easily make and sell an "enforcers gone wild" video.

This WI stuff is a great illustration why the ASB should remove the line numbers (or have them assigned randomly in each download and print), since it apparently doesn't matter which version is used as a reference.

A serious suggestion is that the title be rethought. Due to such mis-uses, It is my contention that USPAP should be presented as Uniform Guidelines for Professional Appraisal Practices. Fannie & Freddie have guidelines. The guidelines are often missed, with reasonable explanation. There is a good reason. Everything cannot be predicted in advance, including the presence of No trespassing posting and large dogs and long driveways in rural property settings. Fannie does not insist appraisers trespass or get mauled by large dogs and will accept the MLS photo.

Considering how USPAP has been used, I believe it should have been crafted by administrative lawyers. That would fix our wagons:icon_mrgreen:

It could have been worse. The Appraisal of Real Estate, 1XX edition could have been deemed to be USPAP, numbered lines and all.

 

[Ray Miller]

The ALJ did ordered the AG to file briefs on each of four points that his experts said were a matter of law.

As for contempt I know the ALJ was a bit upset by the expert appraiser not knowing what standard of USPAP my appraisal should have been reviewed under, after sitting there for three and one half hours while the AG ask him questions.

What I really have a problem with is the Appraisal Board fails to bring complaints against the experts they use for USPAP violations of standards one and two. We have shown clearly the violations on redirect by them, by my attorney on direct of myself and redirect by the AG. Yet these experts continue on with out a peep from the board.

It appears to me that there are two standards. If you work for the DLR and/or the Wisconsin State Appraisal Board is one standard. If you do not there is another standard you fall under.

Its sort of like my wife’s cats, we have the Bugs cat that lives in the house and can get a way with murder, like jumping on the hoof of her car in the garage if he likes and is her pet lives under a very nice standard of rules. We have Mr. Sonny and Miss Bridget who are the barn cats that if they jump on the hood of my wife car are place under another standard of rules and yell at run out of the garage. She considers not her real pet, but working cats there for a reason other then being a pet.

I must assume that all the experts and the need to change experts are all pets of the state appraisal board and DLR.

 

[Chuck Harlowe]

Its against the Law if you do not use the Cost Approach? Its sounds like the reviewer is probaly an underwriter. It should be against the law to develop the Cost Approach on a house over 10 years+/- years old. Depreciation cannot be accurately measured and the numbers are misleading.

 

[Ray Miller]

If I remember correctly the experts were all ask by the AG if USPAP was vague and hard to understand. They all said no. Yet they all fail to give definitive answers on many questions about what the different standard mean when my attorney ask them specific questions on redirect. Many times each expert would give a different interpolation of what the standard would mean.

 

[stefan olafson]

Ray,

What an interesting tale, and so very similar to mine! North Dakota took my license to work and my ability to earn a living in 2003 based on USPAP violations. From mid summer 2003 until December of 2007 I fought the good fight in an attempt to get a license to appraise back. In December I finally realized, after over $40,000 in legal expenses and countless lost income, to throw in the towel and move on.

The biggest problem I see is a lack of a true definition, in North Dakota as well as other states, as to what exactly is a USPAP compliant report. Each 'expert' the state hires has a different take on USPAP, what is compliant within one reviewers knowledge base is a violation from another.

As an example in North Dakota, last summer a complaint made its way to the board, the appraiser in question, the signer of the appraisal, didn't view the property, her boyfriend did! On the old 1004 there were over 25 errors on page 1, the description of the property, the square footage was way off, some of the information on the comparable sales was entirely wrong and to top it off the location map indicated the property was located 65 miles NE of where it actually was. The board reviewed this appraisal and others of the offending appraiser, the result of the reviews was the board and its investigators found troubling problems with the work product, but in the end NO ACTION WAS TAKEN!

 

[Caligirl]

People are going to have to start using previous cases and hearings and point to them as precedents if they want any fairness in the discipline process.

Print out those newsletters, print out those disciplinary action records....