Appraisal Today
Newz .Ex-appraiser sentenced .Statistics humor .Flooding
- August 18, 2016
 
Liability
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Statistics humor
 
Three statisticians go hunting. They see a deer and the first one
shoots, hitting three feet left of the deer. The second one shoots, hitting three feet right of the deer. The third one leaps up in joy, yelling, "we got him!"
 
Thanks to Scott Jura for this great joke! Posted on a yahoo appraiser discussion group.
 
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Ex-appraiser sentenced to 6 years for mortgage fraud
 
Excerpt: A Pittsburgh federal jury convicted Jason Moreno, 33, on five counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy in September 2013.
 
A former appraiser, Moreno overstated housing values and glossed over problems such as a den of black snakes in one house's basement so that others in the scheme could obtain loans for more than the properties were worth.
 
U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer resentenced Moreno on Monday to six years in prison and three years of probation.
 
 
Court documents from 1/16. Lots of very interesting details:
 
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Cube House - These slanted cubic abodes are a creative if odd solution to a zoning pickle.
 
Excerpt: Straddled above roads and intertwined amongst themselves, Rotterdam's string of cube houses, each tilted at an abnormal angle of 55 degrees, have stunned every commuter to ever exit the adjacent Blaak Train Station.
 
In the 1970s, the city planners of Rotterdam in the Netherlands had a problem. Small pieces of land on both the northwest and southeast sides of Blaak Street were zoned as residential, but they had to be somehow connected. Thinking on its feet, the city consulted architect Piet Blom to devise a way to build a housing complex overtop a busy road.
 
 
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Two ways to help Baton Rouge appraiser Bill Cobb and his family, whose home was damaged in the flooding
 
From Ryan Lundquist: I am a friend of Bill Cobb and with his permission I am setting up this page to help raise money for Bill & Lisa during this tragedy. Several days ago the Cobb's home was submerged under 3' of water and they are living in a shelter right now. As water subsides they will begin piecing back their lives, so I was hoping we could help them out.
Ryan set up a way to donate at https://www.gofundme.com/2k666vkc
Go there for more information and to see a few photos, including one of Bill at the shelter with his dogs.
 
From Dave Towne: You can make a donation through PayPal to this email: batonrougeappraiser@gmail.com
 
From Ann O'Rourke: I have also known Bill for many years, mostly through online communication. He is a long time subscriber to the paid Appraisal Today. I have switched him to a complimentary subscription.

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Coester Allegedly Engaged in Fraud Sued by Former Senior VP
 
Excerpt: Coester VMS, a Maryland based appraisal management company, and it's CEO, Brian Coester, are facing a lawsuit by Robert Scheer, former Coester VMS Senior Vice President. Robert Scheer filed a lawsuit claiming tortious interference and is seeking a declaratory judgment that the 2012 Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality agreement provided by Coester is fraudulent and a forgery.
 
"CVMS and Mr. Coester have a history and pattern of engaging in fraudulent conduct which has led to their reputation for dishonesty in the appraisal management company industry...."
 
Be sure to read the comments, both pro and con

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My AMC  Rating Grid can really help decide who to dump!!

 New in the August 2016 paid Appraisal Today newsletter
Excerpts: 
Fees
- 50 Always low
- 30 Will increase after haggling or comes back a week later with higher fee
+ 10 Sometimes keeps up with other clients and increases fees
+ 30 Pays the same C/R fees except for some increases when busy
+ 50 Always pays well. Quick to increase fees

How are orders placed?
- 50 Broadcast all orders to many appraisers
- 40 Shops for lowest fee
+ 15 Looks for experienced appraiser for unusual properties
+ 30 Contacts you first
+ 40 Contacts you first and accepts fee

"Corrections" - typical time per appraisal (research, writeup, communication)
- 40 Over 2 hours
-30 1-2 hours
-15 30 minutes
-10 15 minutes
+20 5 minutes
+40 Very rarely have any requests

Times of communication with appraiser
- 30 National holidays (Christmas, etc.)
- 20 Weekends
- 15 Evenings and early A.M.(in your time zone)
+ 15 M-F, 9am to 5 pm only (in your time zone)

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A Visual Guide to How Terribly the World's Best Human Athletes Fare Versus Most Average Animals
My comment: Just for Fun!! Take a break and check it out.
Usain Bolt might be the fastest man alive, but an average warthog could probably take him.
Excerpt: But the world's most extraordinary human runner would not beat, say, an ordinary warthog. A warthog can run around 30 miles per hour on an average day-no training, no audience, no special wind conditions. Housecats also regularly reach this speed, as do grizzly bears, rabbits, and white-tailed deer. The roadrunner can run 25 mph even though it can also fly. A certain class of butterflies, called skippers, can get up to 37.

My comment: Fascinating!! Check out the Great Graphics at:
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Where to See the Ruined Remains of Olympic Infrastructure
The relics of past Games, overrun by nature.
five abandoned Olympic places in the Atlas you can see today-some with a dark post-Olympic history, all fascinating.
 
Here are two:
Hitler's Olympic Village
BERLIN, GERMANY
 
Athens Olympic Sports Complex
MAROUSI, GREECE
 
For lots more info, photos and details, go to:

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Rio's Plan to Transform Its Arenas After the Olympics

Using what Mayor Eduardo Paes calls "nomadic architecture," the city plans to dismantle one of its arenas and turn it into schools.
Excerpt: After August 21, the medals will have all been won. The excitement will die down and the crowds will disperse as the 2016 Olympics draws to a close. And if history is any indication, Rio's Olympic venues, once filled with the finest of athletes and most passionate of fans, could lie dormant.

That's been the case for most host cities. Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium racks up$11 million in maintenance fees each year, despite sitting virtually empty. The venues for the 2004 games in Athens have become aging reminders of money that could have been better spent. But Rio, determined to leave behind a more successful and sustainable legacy, plans to make some of its venues transformable through what the city's mayor, Eduardo Paes, calls "nomadic architecture."

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Louisiana flooding exposes uninsured to costly recovery
 
Excerpt:
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said thousands of Louisiana residents affected by widespread flooding in March are recovering without flood insurance. Insured homeowners filed 5,000 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program totaling $200 million in payments.
 
The recent flooding is more concentrated, but affects more heavily populated areas. He said the impact on the uninsured homeowners could be even more severe.
 
"These events are showing repeatedly how uninsured we are," Donelon said.
 
 
 
My comment: I live in a small coastal city, on San Francisco Bay. FEMA has been changing flood zones in all coastal areas because of global warming and higher water levels. Last year I attended a meeting with home owners and FEMA. Almost all the attendees complained about having to pay flood insurance if they had a mortgage. Very few wanted to buy it. Many wanted to figure out if there was some way not to have to buy it, or have their premiums increased if they already have it.  

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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, go to https://www.mba.org 
 
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my printed newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue go to www.appraisaltoday.com/products   or send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com . Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 8AM to noon, Pacific time.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 17, 2016)
 - 
Mortgage applications decreased 4.0 percent from one week earlier, 

according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 12, 2016. 
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier to the lowest level since February 2016, but remained 10 percent higher than the same week last year. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 62.6 percent of total applications from 62.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.6 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 9.6 percent from 10.0 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 13.2 percent from 13.0 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.6 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 3.64 percent from 3.65 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from  0.34 (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 3.60 percent from 3.64 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.31 (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 3.49 percent from 3.52 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.33 (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 2.90 percent from 2.93 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 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 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.85 percent from 2.81 percent, with points decreasing to 0.17 from 0.32 (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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Ann O'Rourke, MAI, SRA, MBA
Appraiser and Publisher Appraisal Today
2033 Clement Ave. Suite 105
Alameda, CA 94501 Phone 510-865-8041
Fax 510-523-1138
Email   ann@appraisaltoday.com