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The Big Short vs. Inside Job - movies about the mortgage meltdown
The two movies are very different. Inside Job (2010) is mostly a "talking head" documentary about the lack of banking regulations, starting from the Great Depression. Available at Amazon Video download or Netflix DVD. The Big Short (2015) is about the end of the mortgage mess and is very entertaining. The two are complementary.
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Where VA loans are soaring - Are you doing VA appraisals?
Excerpt:
With features including no required down payment or minimum credit score, the Department of Veterans Affairs mortgage guarantee program is a popular home finance choice for servicemembers and lenders alike. That trend continues in 2015, when 14 markets had more than $1 billion in VA mortgage lending during the first half of the year, compared to just five during the same time in 2014. From the Capitol region to Southern California - and many places in between - here's a look at the top 10 markets for VA mortgage lending. The data, from RealtyTrac, is based on metropolitan statistical areas ranked by total VA originations during the first half of 2015, along with the year-over-year increase for that market.
My comment: Still not doing VA appraisals? They are the only client I know that has stated fees and no big hassles, scope creep, etc. I have an article on how to get on the VA panel, the plusses and minuses, etc. I spent a lot of time interviewing VA employees and fee appraisers. "VA is looking for fee appraisers! C/R fees and no AMCs!!" Read this article before applying for the panel or to find out why you can't seem to get on the panel. It is in the June 2014 issue of Appraisal Today, available free to all paid subscribers.
From this week's MBA loan volume report:
The FHA share of total applications is 13.7. The VA share of total applications is 10.8 percent . I have no idea why so many appraisers don't want to work for VA but do FHA appraisals with the considerable inspection requirements!!
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Log skyscrapers of Whitehorse Canada
Excerpt:
During the postwar boom, Whitehorse was rapidly becoming the capital of the Yukon Territory. Everything about the city struggled to keep pace. As a result, buildings of slightly more epic proportions were created, the likes of which no frontier town had seen before, or likely will again.
When a massive influx of military personnel and laborers arrived to work on three major construction projects - the Alaska Highway, the North West Staging Route airports, and the Canol Pipeline - during the post-war boom, housing was at a premium in the once sleepy town of Whitehorse.
That's when a septuagenerian named Martin Berrigan had a magnificently outsized idea. In blending the frontier aesthetic and resourcefulness of log cabins with the urban practicalities of stacking human beings like sardines, Berrigan took a small step in solving Whitehorse's housing crisis (while providing himself with supplemental retirement income) by constructing a pair of "log skyscrapers," the city's first privately-built, multiple-dwelling rental accommodation.
My comment: I love atlas obscura - all types of oddities!! Type in your city and see what comes up. There are 5 oddities in my small city!!
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The Valuation Conundrum
Authors: William Fall, Jordan Petkovski, Jordan Wilde and Vladimir Bien-Aime
Excerpts:
While appraisers were once a revered source of information in the housing industry, a changing industry alongside Big Data and an influx of new technology, have drastically changed the appraiser's world. No longer the keeper of covert information, some even say the appraiser today is at an informational disadvantage compared with his counterparts. At the same time, appraisers face increasing pressure to complete valuations with increased detail and accuracy all the while doing so in the shortest time possible.
While accuracy is essential, appraisers are also pressured to work quickly. It is extremely common for lenders to use the promise of fast closings as a competitive differentiator, especially in a surging purchase market like we have today. However, the appraisal is often the factor can make or break a lender's claims. This creates a double-edged sword for appraisers. On the one hand, the scope of the appraiser's work is increasing. On the other hand, there is pressure to close quickly.
This double-edge sword is sharpest when issues surface during the appraisal process. For example, an appraiser may find several health and safety items in need of repair, per HUD's guidelines, or concessions may become an influence to the final value estimate. Such issues become even more complicated if there are additional costs to the buyer. All the while, there is a lot of pressure on appraisers to get the work done quickly, and obviously to get it done right, even though "getting it right" in such circumstances is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.
Read the full, long article at:
My comment: Hot topics such as fees, revision requests, fast turn times, appraiser shortage, etc. are addressed. Three of the authors work for AMCs. One is a long time appraisal vendor - GlobalDMS. Each author has a separate article. Some interesting comments by the authors. Add your own comment.
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