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Zombie Apocalypse? Where to Hide
Excerpt:
Just a word of friendly advice-if you ever find yourself in the midst of a zombie outbreak, steer clear of Scranton, Pa.
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a statistical model for simulating the spread of a fictional zombie epidemic. Detailed in a study submitted to the scientific-paper repository arXiv, the model identifies northeastern Pennsylvania as the U.S. location most at risk of being overrun by the undead.
Other bad places include: Bakersfield CA; Austin TX and Scranton PA.
My comment: Yes, I am a Big Fan of the Walking Dead tv show ; See how close you are to one of them and what criteria was used. Stats Rule!!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/zombie-apocalypse-where-to-hide-1426779987?mod=residential_real_estate
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FHA NEW HANDBOOK - A Closer Look: Addressing Appraiser and Property Requirements, and Appraisal Report and Data Delivery
As announced on March 18, 2015, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published its appraiser and property requirements in the Origination through Post-Closing/Endorsement for Title II Forward Mortgages (Origination through Endorsement) section of its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (SF Handbook; HUD Handbook 4000.1). FHA also published its supplemental Single Family Housing Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide. With these publications, FHA now has a complete set of policies and requirements, in a consolidated form, that are most commonly used by both appraisers and underwriters.
FHA will host an industry briefing conference call to provide an overview of this content for appraisers and underwriters on April 16, 2015. Call details are provided later in this email.
Appraiser and Property Requirements
The Appraiser and Property Requirements for Title II Forward and Reverse Mortgages (Appraiser and Property Requirements) section is now located in Section II.B of the SF Handbook. Appraisers will use these policies when performing appraisals, including determining property eligibility, for mortgages with FHA case numbers assigned on or after June 15, 2015.
In addition to revisions to language in order to achieve the goal of clear, direct, and consistent language and terminology, the newly published Appraiser and Property Requirements section contains the following key policy revisions that were proposed as part of the draft section posted for feedback in July 2014:
- Properties with a Legal Non-Conforming Use: requiring the appraiser to comment if improvements can be rebuilt by right.
- Accessory Dwelling Units: emphasizing Highest and Best Use to determine property type of classification.
- Attic and Crawl Space Inspection Requirements: clarifying that FHA requires an inspection.
- General Acceptance Criteria, Property Eligibility, and Non-Residential Use of Property: ensuring that mixed-use properties comply with zoning.
- Cost and Income Approach for Value: all appropriate approaches must be utilized when applicable.
- Sales History of Comps: Requiring three years or more, instead of one year, and requiring due diligence by the appraiser for analyzing prior sales of comparable properties.
- Energy Efficient Building Components, Solar Systems, etc.: requiring that contributory value of building components that enhance efficiency or energy savings must be analyzed and reported. FHA requires that the appraiser utilize all appropriate methods of valuation and does not restrict this to only a matched pairs analysis.
Single Family Housing Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide
In conjunction with the publication of the Appraiser and Property Requirements section, FHA also published its Single Family Housing Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide on March 18, 2015. Although not part of the SF Handbook, the guide works in conjunction with the appraiser-related policies contained in the SF Handbook's Origination through Endorsement section.
Available from FHA's SF Handbook References web page, the guide includes all of the appraisal report and data format requirements and instructions for appraisers to complete, and for mortgagees to deliver, appraisal reports and data to FHA for an FHA-insurable mortgage.
Read more about these and other newly published SF Handbook sections in FHA's March 18, 2015 online article.
Overview Conference Call for Appraisers and Underwriters
FHA will host the following industry briefing conference call to provide an overview of the published version of the Appraiser and Property Requirements section and the Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide:
- Date: April 16, 2015
- Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Eastern)
- Title: SF Handbook Appraiser & Property Requirements
- Dial-in Number: (866) 254-5938
- Participant Access Code: 355444 (Please note that this access code has changed from the code published in FHA's online article on March 18, 2015.)
Attendees should thoroughly review the content referenced above, and have access to this information during the call.
Quick Links
MY COMMENT: Appraisers are concerned about increased FHA requirements in the new Handbook. Doug Smith, Montana appraiser and author, is working on an article for the paid Appraisal Today newsletter about this important topic. Thanks Doug!!
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FHA Announces Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) Portal Implementation
Web-based Platform for Mortgagee Submissions of FHA Appraisal Data and Reports
Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2015-08, Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) Portal for FHA-Insured Single Family Mortgages. This Mortgagee Letter announces FHA's implementation of its EAD portal, and provides information about the portal and its mandatory use with FHA case numbers assigned on and after June 27, 2016. The EAD portal will make it easier to do business with FHA by offering process and technology efficiencies that streamline appraisal data transmission, promote quality up-front appraisal data, and reduce post-endorsement appraisal data corrections.
The EAD portal will allow transmissions to FHA of only those appraisals that comply with FHA'sSingle Family Housing Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide. When submitting an appraisal, the portal provides a confirmation of a successful submission, or information regarding required corrections that may need to be made before resubmitting and transmitting to FHA.
Once an appraisal report is successfully transmitted to FHA via the EAD portal, data sharing between the portal and FHA Connection (FHAC) will allow for the population of certain data fields on the FHAC Appraisal Logging screen. As referenced in the Mortgagee Letter, mortgagees should note:
- Appraisals submitted through the EAD portal remain subject to a review for compliance with FHA appraisal requirements.
- Mortgagees remain responsible for proper underwriting of the appraisal and for ensuring the property meets FHA's minimum property requirements and standards for serving as security for the FHA-insured mortgage.
- The appraiser remains accountable for appraisal quality, credibility, and compliance with FHA appraisal requirements.
When an individual appraisal is submitted-whether through the EAD portal or through the existing process until the mandatory effective date-the appraisal submitted becomes the appraisal of record.
FHA will incorporate the EAD portal into the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (SF Handbook; HUD Handbook 4000.1) in the future. The SF Handbook page changes are available on FHA's SF Handbook web page.
Mortgagee Migration
FHA will provide additional details about the mortgagee registration and migration process in the future. To begin preparing for migration, mortgagees should review the content on FHA's new EAD Portal Resources web pages. These resources web pages contain specific details on the portal's functionality, user guides, fact sheets, and other information that mortgagees should access to understand and begin planning for implementation.
Industry Briefing Conference Call
Join senior FHA policy experts for the following conference call briefing session that will cover the contents of Mortgagee Letter 2015-08 and FHA's future plans for mortgagee migration to the EAD portal:
- Date: April 7, 2015
- Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Eastern)
- Title: Electronic Appraisal Delivery Portal Overview
- Dial-in Number: (866) 254-5938
- Participant Access Code: 355942
Quick Links
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Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 8, 2015) - Mortgage applications increased 0.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 3, 2015.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent from one week earlier, reaching its highest level since July 2013. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 12 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
"Purchase mortgage application volume last week increased to its highest level since July 2013, spurred on by still low mortgage rates and strengthening housing markets," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's Chief Economist. "Purchase volume has increased for three straight weeks now on a seasonally adjusted basis."
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 57 percent of total applications, its lowest level since October 2014, from 60 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.5 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.2 percent last week from 12.8 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.7 percent last week from 10.5 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.86 percent from 3.89 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.81 percent, its lowest level since May 2013, from 3.90 percent, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.69 percent from 3.73 percent, with points increasing to 0.18 from 0.13 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.15 percent from 3.21 percent, with points unchanged from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.76 percent, its lowest level since May 2013, from 2.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
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