ClickFORMS 6.6 released
ClickFORMS 6.6.0 was released earlier this week. The major new addition was the Fannie Mae Form 1004MC. Although this form is not required until April, we wanted to get it into your hands as quickly as possible. This form converts to both AppraisalPort and Lighthouse.

Other fixes in this release include:

• You no longer need a sketch page to launch your sketch program
• 64- bit Windows "Low Memory Error" corrected
• NewsDesk no longer generates Date Format error

This is a quick update. Be sure to use the Auto-updater function under the Help menu to get this update.

New 1004MC Market Conditions Summary Form
The Market Conditions Addendum form will be required on all 1004 appraisals completed on or after 4/1/2009. Some lenders are already requiring it and we have already received some calls on how to fill it out. Here are a few definitions:

Absorption Rate: The absorption rate is determined by dividing the total number of sales for a given market by the time period being analyzed.

Example: If there were 60 sales during the 6-month time period being analyzed, the absorption rate would be 10 sales per month (60 divided by 6). If there are 240 active listings there would be a 24 month supply of homes on the market (240 divided by 10).
This calculation may support an appraiser’s conclusion that there is an oversupply of homes on the market. Anomalies in the data such as seasonal markets, new construction, or other factors must be addressed in the form.

Housing Supply: This is the total number of listings in a market area divided by the absorption rate.

If you have any other questions regarding form fill out on the 1004MC form, visit https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/formsdocs/forms/pdf/sellingtrans/appraisalfaqs.pdf

Final Version of the HVCC Released
On December 23rd, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, their regulator and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released the final, revised version of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Modifications include the use of in-house appraisers, the transfer of appraisals between wholesale lenders, who may order an appraisal and more. To view the full release, click here.

The HVCC becomes mandatory as of May 1st, 2009, but many lenders are starting to implement it now.

How is HVCC affecting you? Go to our forum and let us know.

Countrywide/LandSafe Lawsuit Filed
Filed under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO), the suit claims that Countrywide forces homeowners to use its wholly owned subsidiary LandSafe, for appraisals. The company then turns around and subcontracts the work to independent appraisers while charging homeowners as much as 200 percent of the actual cost of the appraisal.

The suit also contends that if independent appraisers do not accept Countrywide's fee structure or appraisal guidelines, they stand the risk of being blacklisted for further work by the industry giant. Click here to view the press release.

ClickFORMS Tech Tip: How to convert a 1004 form to a 2055 form

1. Open the report in ClickFORMS by selecting the FILE Menu and clicking on the OPEN option.
2. If the report is signed please remove the Digital Signature. To do this, go to the TOOLS menu and select the SIGNATURES option. In the SELECT ACTION box select the REMOVE APPRAISERS SIGNATURE option then click the REMOVE button.
3. Open the New Fannie Mae Forms folder in the Forms Library then Drag and Drop OR Double-click on the FNMA 2055 form to add it to your report. You will also need to add the 2055 Cert page, as well as the 2055 Xcomps page if you are using more that three comps in your report. At this point you can also add any other ancillary forms you might need using the same process.
4. The 1004 data will automatically populate the common fields of the 2055 Form that has been added to your Report.
5. You can delete the 1004 from(s) your report at this point.
6. Reapply your digital signature to the 2055 Cert page, then save the report with a different file name to indicate the report contains new forms.
7. You have now converted your Report to a 2055!