Archive for June, 2009
Since When Are Appraisal Conflicts Okay?
On RealTalk, a listserve with some 30,000+ agents and brokers, several relate that they have had bad experiences under the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) concept, something which only began May 1st. Why is anyone amazed? Combine a new and different program with a huge number of interactions and there are certain to [...]
30Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Can 11,000 Appraisers Be Wrong?
Gee, golly, mention the idea of pressuring appraisers to come up with the “right” valuation numbers and you’re hardly alone. There seem to be a large number of appraisers who have encountered efforts to distort their valuations. Say 11,000 of them. That’s how many signed on at AppraisersPetition.com. And what, exactly, is their beef? As [...]
29Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
How To Pick On Appraisers
Many in the real estate community are upset with the newly implemented Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and want it suspended or revoked so we can go back to the good-old-says when it was okay to threaten and pressure appraisers. The HVCC was an agreement worked out between New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, [...]
26Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 9 comments | Continued
The Mortgage Offer Is In The Mail
The nation’s lenders are churning out 38 million mortgage solicitations a month, ads sent to your home through the postal system according to Mintel Comperemedia. While 38 million is a big number, the volume of direct mail solicitations has actually been going down for the past two years. In the first quarter of 2009, says [...]
25Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
The Untold Story Behind Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
The government is out with new foreclosure prevention numbers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the headline is that “FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC LOAN MODIFICATIONS UP BY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER, MONTHLY PAYMENTS REDUCED FOR HOMEOWNERS.” We then learn that “Fannie Mae and [...]
24Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
The “Consumer” Protection Panel That Isn’t
It was with some fanfare that the Federal Reserve announced that it would create a Consumer Advisory Council to provide advice regarding issues from a public perspective. Now you might think, aha, a Consumer Advisory Council…wouldn’t that be a panel which consists largely or entirely of, er, well, consumers? You might think so, but the [...]
22Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Can You Trust Your Lender?
There is something new in the marketplace, what is being called the Fair Market Collaborative. As someone who has been looking for fairness in the mortgage marketplace since the 1970s you can bet that I welcome any effort to create a level playing field for borrowers. But will the new collaborative really change marketplace realities? [...]
21Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Making The First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Better — Or Worse?
There is now a new effort on Capitol Hill to increase the first-time buyer credit from $8,000 to $15,000. Under S1230, first-time buyers would be able to get a credit equal to as much as 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $15,000. Not only that, but the time the home would have to [...]
19Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Obama Regulatory Reform: Right Idea — Not Far Enough
The President’s new effort at regulatory reform ought to be applauded, at least for the reason that we once-again have a president who believes that regulation is a legitimate government activity. That said, the President’s 89-page regulatory reform proposal falls short because it does address two issues: Getting regulators to regulate and creating a fiduciary [...]
18Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Delinquencies Up For The Ninth Quarter In A Row
For the ninth quarter in a row, TransUnion.com is reporting that mortgage delinquencies continue to rise. Using data taken from 27 million anonymous, randomly sampled, individual credit reports, the company says 5.22 percent of all mortgage borrowers in the first quarter were at least 60 days late. A year ago the figure was 3.22 percent. [...]
17Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 2 comments | Continued
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