Congressmen comment on proposed 18-month moratorium of HVCC
Rep. Travis Childers and Rep. Gary Miller introduced a bill to Congress on Friday, June 26, that proposed an 18-month moratorium on the HVCC. The bill, HR 3044, has been applauded by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The bill will now be reviewed in the House Financial Services Committee, in which both Childers and Miller serve.

Childress states the HVCC, in its current inception, is too broad in how it regulates real estate markets in the nation as a whole. “This legislation is really for the industry to take a step back to see what needs to be done on a national level,” a representative of Childress wrote in a statement. “What’s done in New York is not necessarily what needs to be done in Mississippi. The real estate markets are totally different.”

Miller also commented in a written statement about the alleged adverse affects of the HVCC. “I am concerned that [the HVCC] has the potential to increase costs to consumers, significantly hinder a consumer’s ability to obtain legitimate and reliable appraisals, and adversely impact small business professionals who work in the very neighborhoods where these consumers are looking to purchase homes,” he stated.

For more information about HR 3044, click the below link to HousingWire.com. http://www.housingwire.com/2009/06/29/bill-urges-hvcc-moratorium/

Information in this summary was also gathered from the July 6th issue of Valuation Review. http://www.valuationreview.com

2010-2011 edition of USPAP adopted by ASB
The Appraisal Foundation has announced that the 2010-2011 edition of USPAP has been adopted by the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) at its public meeting in New Orleans. The new edition of USPAP will be publicly available on October 1, 2009.

Two significant changes have been made to the newest version of USPAP, as outlined by the Appraisal Foundation. These changes are:

• A requirement was added to the Conduct section of the ETHICS RULE, stating that, prior to accepting an assignment (and if discovered at any time during the assignment), an appraiser must disclose to the client and in the report certification any services regarding the subject property performed by the appraiser within the prior three years, as an appraiser or in any other capacity.
• The appraiser’s obligation to allow a client access to his or her workfile when providing a Restricted Use Appraisal Report was removed.

More information about the new edition of USPAP can be found on the Appraisal Foundation’s press release, which can be accessed via the link below: http://b.ss35.on9mail.com//rwcode/content.asp?SID=0&Section=442874&SiteID=933

Louisiana Governor Jindal signs bill into law to regulate AMCs
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed bill HB 381 into law on July 10, 2009, which will allow the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisal Board (LREAB) to regulate AMCs in the state. This law also grants the LREAB to investigate complaints against AMCs made by the public. HB 381 was introduced to Louisiana state legislature by Rep. Frank A. Hoffman to amend and reenact part of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, but passages were added to the bill in specific regards to AMC regulation.

Louisiana is the eighth state to introduce legislation for AMC regulation, following Arkansas, California, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Utah.

If you would like to learn more about this development, more information is available on the Louisiana REALTORS official website: http://www.larealtors.org/legislative/sessionrecap.asp

Information from the July 6 edition of Valuation Review also contributed to this summary.

Freddie Mac stresses importance for appraisers to have local-area knowledge
DSNews.com reports Freddie Mac issued a bulletin to its servicers on Friday, July 10, which outlined its guidelines for lenders and appraisers to follow under the implementation of the HVCC.

In the bulletin, Freddie Mac stated appraisers "must be familiar with the local market in which the property is located." The bulletin also reiterated that appraisers are not required to use distressed properties -- including REOs, foreclosures, or short sales – unless the properties are representative of that market.

The bulletin was met with enthusiasm from the Appraisal Institute – the nation’s largest real estate appraisal association. “In this turbulent real estate market, it’s more important than ever that mortgage lenders rely on qualified appraisers with the education and experience necessary to perform the complex appraisals needed today,” said Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, president of the Appraisal Institute. “We applaud Freddie Mac for addressing this important requirement that will have a positive effect on millions of home buyers and sellers.”

More information about this story can be found on DSNews.com: http://www.dsnews.com/index.php/home/news_story/3226

1004MC Integration is coming to ClickFORMS
Bradford Technologies, Inc. is excited to share exclusively with ClickTALK readers that a new service for ClickFORMS is in the works that will save appraisers time, money and effort. This new service will extract information from MLS data and integrate with the 1004MC form in ClickFORMS, improving the quality and reducing the time spent on every appraisal report.

More information about this service, which will be available only to ClickFORMS customers, will be announced in the coming days at http://bradfordsoftware.com.