12 amazing content marketing ideas — no blogging allowed

FeaturedJuly 22, 2015July 22, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

These tips will get you out of your blogging rut

Style icon and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood once said that your life would be more interesting if you wore impressive clothes.

You can apply that principle to content marketing — your brand will be more attractive if you can create impressive content.

Don’t get me wrong; real estate blogging is great and can help you brand your business, but there are other ways to create valuable, shareable content.

To ensure that your content stands out from all of the standard formatted, dry blog posts on the Web, why not use a different approach? Frame your content in a new way.

There are many different ways that you can differentiate the message of your brand and engage with your local prospects. We have compiled 12 of the most creative media formats below.

1. Frame the content in the form of a quiz.

Why not create some shareable content in the form of a viral quiz? It’s a great way to segment your audience and create a viral buzz focused on you and your website.

Check out sites such as Qzzr.com and TryInteract.com for ideas on quizzes you can deploy in your market. It doesn’t have to be real estate-related all the time. You can create quizzes about your local area or city and target local homeowners in your city with a Facebook ad.

2. Hold a Q&A on Twitter.

Tweeting isn’t all about one-offs. You can release a block of questions and answers on Twitter and interact with people in your city. Later, you can repurpose that content into a curated blog post.

3. Ask a “yes or no question” in a text.

If you want a customer to give you a straight answer, then ask them a straight question. It is easy to get a simple response via a text message by using SMS applications. This type of content drives not only readership but also engagement.

4. Instead of thinking website, think document.

Go bigger by offering downloadable content. A discrete document, such as an e-book, white paper or PDF frequently is perceived to have a higher value. This tactic is great to create as a lead magnet for a landing page.

GO BIGGER BY OFEERING DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT – AN E-BOOK, WHITE PAPER OT PDF

. Use infographics and charts.

Infographics and charts are a great way to map out the data of your local real estate market. You can use sites such as infogr.am and Piktochart to create highly engaging images. Be sure to add your logo to the image — infographics can be great content that people love to share.

6. Review a recent case study.

Do you have a product that you need to present? Focus in on imagining how it was used by one ideal buyer or seller client to solve their problem. When you can be specific, it frequently has general appeal and helps with encouraging people to purchase work with you.

7. Set it up like a comic strip.

Everybody loves comics. If you can say what you need to in the form of snappy one-liners, you can always present them with sequential panels, stick figures and bright colors. Bitstrips can help you get started.

8. Use a shared space to place content.

Scrapbook sites such as Pinterest are excellent for pulling together related content and having it all in one place. Take lots of pictures as you tour and list homes, and build a significant following. You can also start a conversation in Reddit.

SCARBOOK SITES LIKE PINTERST ARE EXCELLENT FOR PULLING RELATED CONTET IN ONE PLACE.

9. Consider video marketing

Video is taking off and will continue to grow. You can easily shoot video content when you are out in the real estate field. You can also record on-screen presentation on tools such as ScreenFlow and Camtasia.

10. Interview an expert and do a podcast

Craft your content in the form of questions that your audience might ask, along with answers provided by an expert. Maybe you are the expert, or you can collaborate with a lender, home inspector or another agent on your team. You can even turn this interview-style content into a real estate podcast.

11. Write a glossary or FAQ

It isn’t just great for SEO. Reference pages such as glossaries are a type of evergreen content that will get the attention of real estate buyers and sellers now and years from now.

REFERNACE PAGES WILL GET THE ATTENTION OF REAL ESTATE BUYRS AND SELLERS NOW AND FOR YEARS.

Think of frequently asked questions, and start building a database of answers. What are the average days on the market? How long is the escrow period? What are the average closing costs?

12. Keep an eye out for more unusual content opportunities

Captions, ALT text, rollover text — these forms of microcontent can all be customized and add interest to your content. It will not only optimize your website — it will also make you appear very knowledgeable about your material.

Those are 12 real estate content ideas. You can find even more by just thinking about what attracts you eye when you’re reading content. Is it color, captions, sidebars, audio or video? They all provide you with clues for the next content marketing project you do that isn’t just a simple blog post.

The Difference A Year Can Make

FeaturedApril 3, 2015April 6, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Some Important Points To Consider:

The latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey reports the 30-year fixed rate at 3.7%.
Freddie Mac’s projection for Q2 2016 is that the rate will be 4.7% (a full percentage point higher)
The Home Price Expectation Survey predicts that home prices will appreciate by 4.4% during this same time

The impact waiting a year to purchase your dream home can make on your monthly payment is significant. Contact a local real estate professional today to discuss your options before the experts’ predictions become reality!

Selling Your House? Price it Right Up Front

FeaturedApril 2, 2015April 6, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

In today’s market, where demand is outpacing supply in many regions of the country, pricing a house is one of the biggest challenges real estate professionals face. Sellers often want to price their home higher than recommended, and many agents go along with the idea to keep their clients happy. However, the best agents realize that telling the homeowner the truth is more important than getting the seller to like them.

There is no “later.”

Sellers sometimes think, “If the home doesn’t sell for this price, I can always lower it later.” However, research proves that homes that experience a listing price reduction sit on the market longer, ultimately selling for less than similar homes.

John Knight, recipient of the University Distinguished Faculty Award from the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific, actually did research on the cost (in both time and money) to a seller who priced high at the beginning and then lowered the their price. In his article, Listing Price, Time on Market and Ultimate Selling Pricepublished in Real Estate Economics revealed:

“Homes that underwent a price revision sold for less, and the greater the revision, the lower the selling price. Also, the longer the home remains on the market, the lower its ultimate selling price.”

Additionally, the “I’ll lower the price later” approach can paint a negative image in buyers’ minds. Each time a price reduction occurs, buyers can naturally think, “Something must be wrong with that house.” Then when a buyer does make an offer, they low-ball the price because they see the seller as “highly motivated.” Pricing it right from the start eliminates these challenges.

Don’t build “negotiation room” into the price.

Many sellers say that they want to price their home high in order to have “negotiation room.” But, what this actually does is lower the number of potential buyers that see the house. And we know that limiting demand like this will negatively impact the sales price of the house.

Not sure about this? Think of it this way: when a buyer is looking for a home online (as they are doing more and more often), they put in their desired price range. If your seller is looking to sell their house for $400,000, but lists it at $425,000 to build in “negotiation room,” any potential buyers that search in the $350k-$400k range won’t even know your listing is available, let alone come see it!

A better strategy would be to price it properly from the beginning and bring in multiple offers. This forces these buyers to compete against each other for the “right” to purchase your house.

Look at it this way: if you only receive one offer, you are set up in an adversarial position against the prospective buyer. If, however, you have multiple offers, you have two or more buyers fighting to please you. Which will result in a better selling situation?

The Price is Right

Great pricing comes down to truly understanding the real estate dynamics in your neighborhood. Look for an agent that will take the time to simply and effectively explain what is happening in the housing market and how it applies to your home. You need an agent that will tell you what you need to know rather than what you want to hear. This will put you in the best possible position.

15 Words That Could Add Value to Your Listing

FeaturedMarch 20, 2015March 21, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

When it comes to writing an effective listing description,

don’t hold back. If you’ve got it, flaunt it!

If one of the following words accurately describes your home, you might want to consider adding it to your listing.

1. Luxurious

As mentioned above, lower-priced listings with the word “luxurious” sold for 8.2 percent more on average than expected. “Luxurious” signals that a home’s finishes and amenities are high-end. This is a huge selling point, particularly in this price range.

2. Captivating

Top-tier listings described as “captivating” sold for 6.5 percent more on average than expected. Unlike the word “nice,” “captivating” provides a richer, more enticing description for buyers. Plus, it’s less open to interpretation. Anything can be seen as “nice,” but “captivating” sets a high bar.

3. Impeccable

On average, listings in the bottom tier with the word “impeccable” sold for 5.9 percent more than expected. Like “captivating,” “impeccable” is a rich adjective. It also implies something about the quality of a home: The features are desirable and the home is move-in ready.

4. Stainless

“Stainless” is typically used to describe kitchens with “stainless steel appliances.” It’s in your favor to talk up these features in your listing — especially if your home is in the bottom price tier. In our analysis, lower-priced homes with the word “stainless” sold for 5 percent more on average than expected.

5. Basketball

On average, lower-priced homes with the word “basketball” sold for 4.5 percent more than expected. This may seem like an odd word to include in this list, but when you consider the context it makes sense. Among lower-priced homes, a basketball court — or even better, an indoor basketball court — is a huge selling point. While it may not stand out as much among higher-priced homes, it’s definitely worth mentioning in this price range.

6. Landscaped

It’s just as valuable to describe your yard as your house. In all price tiers, listings with the word “landscaped” sold for more than expected on average. The biggest premium was seen among lower-priced listings, which on average sold for 4.2 percent more than expected.

7. Granite

In the same vein as “stainless,” “granite” is typically used to describe countertops or another high-end home feature. Listings with the word “granite” sold, on average, for 1 to 4 percent more than expected across all price tiers.

8. Pergola

Not only should you include high-end home features in your listing description, you should also mention features not found in every home. They’ll help your listing stand out, especially if buyers are searching for homes online by keyword. The data shows mid-priced listings with the word “pergola” sold for 4 percent more on average than expected.

9. Remodel

Was your home recently remodeled? It may be worth mentioning. On average, bottom-tier listings with the word “remodel” sold for 2.9 percent more, middle-tier homes for 1.8 percent more and top-tier homes for 1.7 percent more than expected.

10. Beautiful

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a beautiful feature like a view may be worth noting. Lower-priced listings with the word “beautiful” sold for 2.3 percent more on average than expected.

11. Gentle

“Gentle” may seem like a weird adjective to have in a listing description. It’s typically used to describe “gentle rolling hills” or something about a home’s location. Top-tier listings with the word “gentle” sold for 2.3 percent more, on average, than expected.

12. Spotless

You may think all homes are spotless when a buyer moves in, so it’s not worth mentioning in a listing. But when it comes to lower-priced homes, cleanliness isn’t always a given. In this price range, listings described as “spotless” sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

13. Tile

Much like “stainless” and “granite,” “tile” is a great word when it comes to describing the features of your home. A newly tiled backsplash or updated bathroom tile not only indicates a home’s aesthetic value but also sends a message to buyers that the home’s been well cared for by the current owners. Bottom-tier homes with the word “tile” in the listing sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

14. Upgraded

On average, lower-priced listings with the word “upgraded” sold for 1.8 percent more than expected. Most buyers will agree that upgrades are a selling point. They indicate a home not only looks nice but also functions well. Spelling out which features have been updated is a good approach, so buyers have the right expectations when they see your home.

15. Updated

“Updated” sends a similar message to “upgraded.” But in addition to speaking to the quality of a home, it signals that something old has been replaced with something new. This is a great fact to communicate to potential buyers, as evidenced by the data. Mid-priced homes with “updated” in the listing sold for 0.8 percent more on average than expected.

Original Post is Here:

FSBO’s Must Be Ready to Negotiate

FeaturedMarch 11, 2015March 16, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Now that the market has showed signs of recovery, some sellers may be tempted to try and sell their home on their own (FSBO) without using the services of a real estate professional.

Real estate agents are trained and experienced in negotiation. In most cases, the seller is not. The seller must realize their ability to negotiate will determine whether they can get the best deal for themselves and their family.

Here is a list of some of the people with whom the seller must be prepared to negotiate if they decide to FSBO:

The buyer who wants the best deal possible
The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
The buyer’s attorney (in some parts of the country)
The home inspection companies which work for the buyer and will almost always find some problems with the house.
The termite company if there are challenges
The buyer’s lender if the structure of the mortgage requires the sellers’ participation
The appraiser if there is a question of value
The title company if there are challenges with certificates of occupancy (CO) or other permits
The town or municipality if you need to get the COs permits mentioned above
The buyer’s buyer in case there are challenges on the house your buyer is selling.
Your bank in the case of a short sale

Bottom Line

The percentage of sellers who have hired a real estate agent to sell their home has increased steadily over the last 20 years. Meet with a professional in your local market to see the difference they can make in easing the process.

Housing Market to “Spring Forward”

FeaturedMarch 4, 2015March 4, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Just like our clocks this weekend in the majority of the country, the housing market will soon “spring forward”! Similar to tension in a spring, the lack of inventory available for sale in the market right now is what is holding back the market.

Many potential sellers believe that waiting until Spring is in their best interest, and traditionally they would have been right.

Buyer demand has seasonality to it, which usually falls off in the winter months, especially in areas of the country impacted by arctic temperatures and conditions.

That hasn’t happened this year.

Demand for housing has remained strong and is currently three times stronger than last year at this time.

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) recently reported that the top 10 dates sellers listed their homes in 2014 all fell in April, May or June.

Those who act quickly and list now could benefit greatly from additional exposure to buyers prior to a flood of more competition coming to market in the next few months.

Bottom Line

If you are planning on selling your home in 2015, meet with a local real estate professional to evaluate the opportunities in your market.

Selling Your Home? The Importance of Using an Agent

FeaturedMarch 3, 2015March 2, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price with the least amount of hassles. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is to actually get the home sold.

In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using a real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s behavior during the home buying process. For the past two years, 92% of all buyers have used the internet in their home search according to the National Association of Realtors’ most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.

However, the report also revealed that for the second year in a row 96% percent of buyers that used the internet when searching for a home purchased their home through either a real estate agent/broker or from a builder or builder’s agent. Only 2% purchased their home directly from a seller whom the buyer didn’t know.

Buyers search for a home online but then depend on an agent to find the actual home they will buy (53%) or negotiate the terms of the sale & price (31%) or understand the process (63%).

Stephen Phillips, the Chief Operating Officer for HSF Affiliates LLC, put it best:

“Home buyers are more informed than ever with their Internet searches and ongoing research; however, there’s a critical need to transform that information into analysis and advice that helps consumers make the best home-buying and selling decisions.”

The plethora of information now available has resulted in an increase in the percentage of buyers that reach out to real estate professionals to “connect the dots”. This is obvious as the percentage of overall buyers who used an agent to buy their home has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role a real estate professional can play in the process.

If you need your house sold…CALL ME!
203-858-6727 cell

Confused about Collateral Underwriter?

FeaturedMarch 2, 2015March 2, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

What is really happening with CU? How does it affect you?

My Appraisal Today FREE email newsletter can help.
I report the facts, plus my opinions on what it means for you.

CU Facts:
– Not all loans go to Fannie Mae – Freddie, VA, FHA, jumbo, etc. do not.
– Lenders are not required to use CU.
– Fannie guidelines, including CU, are the minimum. Lenders can add their own.
– Gradual implementation of CU’s web based interface, which has the list of the “20 comps” suggested by CU. This information is not available to AMCs or appraisers.
– Some appraisers get few or no appraisal warning message and some get on a lot of them, depending on their clients.
– A new Fannie Letter (dated 2-2-15) specifically tells lenders to manually review the appraisal warnings before sending any to appraisers.
– CU sends out warning messages for adjustments on only 6 factors: GLA, lot size, view, condition, quality, and location. For example: GLA adjustment for (comp x) is smaller than peer and model adjustment.
– CU warning messages for “data consistency”: the 6 factors above. Plus, CU also looks at consistency, not adjustments, for 6 additional characteristics: quality rating, condition rating, total below grade areas, finished basement areas, above grade bedroom count, and above grade bathroom count. For example: “The condition rating for (comp x) is materially different than what has been reported by other appraisers.”
– Per Fannie, there is no direct relationship between AQM and CU. However, Fannie uses data analytics like those seen in CU to find patterns of behavior. AQM decisions are not based on automated results. Humans are required.

Original Article Here

History of Greenwich Point

FeaturedMarch 1, 2015March 1, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

From Monakewego to Greenwich Point

The Siwanoy Indians used it as a fishing camp and called it Monakewego – shining sands. Purchased by Daniel Patrick and Robert and Elizabeth Feake in 1640 (along with the rest of what is now Old Greenwich), it became known as Elizabeth’s Neck. A member of the Ferris family bought the land in 1730, where it remained for more than 150 years.

Tod’s Point

But in 1884, this beautiful spot so close to New York City caught the eye of wealthy banker

J. Kennedy Tod. Buying parcels through various agents, Tod acquired the Ferris property over
the next three years and began the process that eventually turned the “shining sands” into “Tod’s Point.”

Tod’s vision for the waterfront estate he called Innis Arden was bold. Joining two small islands with fill, he built a tide-control gate and created a lake from a tidal marsh. Next came a road around the lake and a causeway to provide access to the mainland. A stone mansion, boat house, guest cottage and other buildings were erected; a barn housed cows and sheepgrazed on the nine-hole golf course. For some years the Point’s sandy beach and golf course were open to Old Greenwich neighbors and guests staying at the local inns, but Tod eventually believed his hospitality was abused and the Point was closed to all but invited guests.

Acquisition by the Town

Tod died in 1925, his widow in 1939, and Tod’s Point became the property of the Presbyterian Hospital of New York. The RTM adopted a resolution in 1940 that the town acquire the Point – and the beach was leased for town use from 1942 to 1945. It took five years to overcome strong opposition to the purchase from some town residents and to negotiate the price.

Finally, on December 13, 1944 (according to RTM records), “The Trustees of Presbyterian Hospital voted to accept $550,000 for 148.5 acres including Great and Pelican Islands. We have assured the citizens of Greenwich that it is our intention and desire that the use of Tod’s Point should be along dignified lines without undesirable concessions or other features which would be unattractive or objectionable to the general neighborhood or to those making use of the property for bathing and wholesome recreation.”

Town records show that in July, 1943, 17,704 persons came to Greenwich Point; by July of 1944, that figure was 71,830.

In 1946 the still-impressive stone house was converted (by its future occupants) into family apartments for returning WWII vets. But by 1960 the building had deteriorated and needed extensive repairs to bring it up to safety codes. Again amidst controversy, Tod’s grand mansion was razed in 1961.

Many of the original buildings remain: the Queen Anne Building houses lockers and marine biology classes; the Chimes Building is used by the Old Greenwich Yacht Club’s Community Sailing program and provides storage lockers for sailors; the Cowbarn and former stables serve as storage and work areas for the park staff. The gates that once marked the entrance to Tod’s estate can be seen on the grounds at the Innis Arden Club in Old Greenwich.

Original Article

See homes for sale in Greenwich CT

Contact me with any questions!

Invest your Money: The Smart Way

FeaturedFebruary 25, 2015February 25, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

So you have decided to invest your hard earned money into real estate – smart move! Thousands of people are doing it and it is working! Buying a property and renting it out can take work but it can also have many benefits. Before you start investing your money there are a few things that you should know.

What are you looking for?

Every single house is not a good investment. In fact, many properties could actually lose you money. Find out approximate mortgage payment amounts and comparable rents in the same area before you make your final decision on any property.

Is it a Good Deal?

Unfortunately, the perfect property to invest in will not fall into your lap. Find out what type of property you are looking for and start doing your research. Once you know what type of property you are looking for as well as the price, you are now able to start your search!

Can A Realtor Help?

Being in touch with a realtor that knows what you are looking for can also help! The realtor will know exactly what you are looking for and can forward you over any properties in these criteria.

Are they a Good Tenant?

What is the point in renting out the home if the tenants increase your amount of grey hair? Your goal is to make money, so make sure that your tenants are trustworthy. Call their references and make sure that everything is in writing. A little bit of extra work here can save you a lot of time in the future!

Can it Save Me Money in Other Ways?

Did you know that your cash flow should be tax-free? That’s right! Rarely will an investor pay taxes on this! On top of that, owning property is a tax deduction. This can help you when filing taxes once a year against your other income.

Great article on The Cash Flow Statement

Agent Can & Should Avoid

FeaturedFebruary 24, 2015February 25, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

More and more real estate marketing activities are rightly focused on the most important aspect of the agent-client relationship: effective communication. As a result, email continues to be an extremely important tool in every agent’s arsenal. After all, there’s really no other method for efficientlycommunicating with so many leads and clients at such a low cost. As the real estate email marketing landscape continues to expand, it becomes that much more important to focus on differentiating yourself as a top-tier agent. Part of that process is to ensure that you’re not making any ‘rookie’ mistakes that are sure to paint you as a ‘rookie agent’.

At Zurple, we encourage our agents to get the most out of their email strategy. Still, there are a number of mistakes that are both avoidable yet stubbornly persistent across the industry. So, the next time you compose an email to your prospective or current client, be cognizant to avoid the all-too-common mistakes below.

1. Typos -It’s funny how some would suggest purposely sending typos in an email to make it seem less robotic or automated. A better way to avoid coming across like a robot is to make your emails personal with relevant information your recipient would appreciate. Take the 30 seconds to review an important email before it’s sent!

2. Poor grammar – Make sure your sentences are coherent and in the proper tense. Although not everyone notices grammatical errors, glaring issues with your grammar may put off a prospective client – calling into question your professionalism in the process.

3. Wrong property link – When sending out a link, make sure you send the right link. Sending clients, whose price range is $500k – $700k, a link to a $1.5 million home may be enough to have your future emails flagged as spam.

4. Links don’t work – If you send an email with a link, make sure it works. Sometimes email editors will do some funky things with your URL – like add in an extra ‘http://’ so always be wary. Take the 10 seconds to click on your own link – there’s no excuse not to!

5. Wrong property address – This is another easy one, but a big one. Always double-check addresses in emails targeting a specific property.

6. Personalization is incorrect – Email tags can be dangerous, because they can be wrong. Go the extra mile by keeping your data clean to ensure that personalization tags are accurate (and don’t contain typos). After all, “Dear Johhn” doesn’t look so good…

7. Date and/or time mix up – When sending out emails with dates and times, such as an open house announcement, be sure to triple check this information. A mistake here can result in some very frustrated people or even a loss of business. Remember, there’s no guarantee that someone will read your follow-up email correcting your prior mistake.

8.Misleading ‘from name’ – If you’re using an email service like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, take extra care to ensure that the ‘from’ field uses a description that would be recognized by your audience (like, your name!). Otherwise, you can really hurt your open rates because people don’t know that it’s you who is sending the emails. Your personal brand is being used whenever people see the ‘from-name’ so make sure to get it right every time.

9.Sending to the wrong recipients – Sending information to the wrong person or group of people is a great way to ask people to unsubscribe from your list. So, it goes without saying that your recipient list needs to be accurate, every time.

10.Incomplete text – There are going to be instances when you’re writing an email, are interrupted, then finish composing that email at some later time. Except, you sent the email without realizing that you had a sentence that was just hanging or disjointed. As with typo avoidance, take an extra 30 seconds for a re-read, especially after an interruption.

11.Correct pronouns based on context – If you’re sending an email blast – aimed at the individual – make sure your email references the individual as an individual. The same rule applies if you’re writing to a plural audience. Here’s an example:
‘I was thinking you might really like this property’…
instead of ‘I was thinking you all might like this property…’

12.Missing intro – This may depend on your style & relationship with the recipient, but typically a greeting like hello, hey, or hi {first_name} is a nice thing to have at the very beginning of an email. While not a hard-and-fast rule, a missing intro can decrease the personal feel of an email.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE IS HERE:

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Two Graphs that Scream – List Your Home Today!

FeaturedFebruary 19, 2015February 25, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

We all learned in school that when selling anything, you will get the most money if the demand for that item is high and the inventory of that item is low. It is the well-known Theory of Supply & Demand.

If you are thinking of selling your home, here are two graphs that strongly suggest that the time is now. Here is why…

DEMAND

According to research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyer activity last month (January) was three times greater than it was last January. Purchasers who are ready, willing and able to buy are in the market at great numbers.

SUPPLY

The most recent Existing Home Sales Report from NAR revealed that the months’ supply of housing inventory had fallen to 4.4 months which is the lowest it has been in over a year.

Bottom Line

Listing your house for sale when demand is high and supply is low will guarantee the offers made will truly reflect the true value of your property.

ARE YOU LOOKING TO BUY A FORECLOSURE? CLICK ON THE IMAGES ABOVE AND YOU WILL SEW WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN GREENWICH CT. OR FILL UP THE FORM BELOW.

HAPPY HUNTING!

NANA
203-212-3788
eXp REALTY

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t For Sale By Owner

FeaturedFebruary 15, 2015February 25, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

crea, completerea, nana smith, sales real estate

Some homeowners consider trying to sell their home on their own, known in the industry as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). There are several reasons this might not be a good idea for the vast majority of sellers. Here are five reasons:

1. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With

Here is a list of some of the people with whom you must be prepared to negotiate if you decide to For Sale By Owner:

The buyer who wants the best deal possible
The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
The buyer’s attorney (in some parts of the country)
The home inspection companies which work for the buyer and will almost always find some problems with the house.
The appraiser if there is a question of value

2. Exposure to Prospective Purchasers

Recent studies have shown that 88% of buyers search online for a home. That is in comparison to only 21% looking at print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you?

3. Results Come from the Internet

Where do buyers find the home they actually purchased?

43% on the internet
9% from a yard sign
1% from newspaper

The days of selling your house by just putting up a sign and putting it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong internet strategy is crucial.

4. FSBOing has Become More and More Difficult

The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons that the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last 20+ years.

5. You Net More Money when Using an Agent

Many homeowners believe that they will save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is because they also believe they can save the real estate agent’s commission. The seller and buyer can’t both save the commission. Studies have shown that the typical house sold by the homeowner sells for $208,000 while the typical house sold by an agent sells for $235,000. This doesn’t mean that an agent can get $27,000 more for your home as studies have shown that people are more likely to FSBO in markets with lower price points. However, it does show that selling on your own might not make sense.

Bottom Line

Before you decide to take on the challenges of selling your house on your own, sit with a real estate professional in your marketplace and see what they have to offer. Below are some links of what Stamford, CT and surrounding areas have to offer:

Norwalk Condo Market

Fannie Mae’s “Collateral Underwriter” Is Now Open For Business

FeaturedJanuary 27, 2015February 20, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Fannie Mae’s “Collateral Underwriter” Is Now Open For Business

As this newsletter is completed Monday p.m. at the start of the 2015 blizzard, “Collateral Underwriter” (CU) has taken effect. Here is a summary of some of the key points that appraisers need to know about Fannie Mae’s newly implemented “proprietary appraisal risk assessment application” which is intended to “support proactive management of appraisal quality”.

~The Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) has collected data from over 12 million appraisals and 20 million transactions since 2011. Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) users, including lenders and appraisal management companies, who submit appraisals to Fannie Mae will have access to the various CU goodies such as risk scores, flags and messages.

~CU provides a risk score of from 1.0 to 5.0 with the so-called riskier appraisals receiving the higher grade and those deemed safer lower grades. Fannie Mae calculates that 97% of submitted appraisals can be so scored with geocoding limitations precluding 3%.

~CU will look at comparable sales used by appraisers and offer alternative choices. It will also utilize census blocks to analyze market conditions and review specific fields in an appraisal (i.e. condition rating) for consistency from one appraisal to the next.

~CU analyzes appraisals submitted in UAD format on Fannie Mae forms 1004 (Uniform Residential Appraisal Report) and 1073 (Individual Condominium Unit Appraisal Report). Other forms such as the 2055 (Exterior Only Inspection Residential Appraisal Report) and the 1025 (Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report) are excluded.

~At this time, CU applies to Fannie Mae only not to Freddie Mac or FHA. It does not, of course, apply to private appraisal assignments nor to commercial appraisals.

“Explain, explain, explain”. Appraisal 101 teaches appraisers the importance of explaining their findings to the report readers in order to avoid misunderstanding. It would appears as though one of the unintended consequences of CU will be to increase the scope of work as appraisers try to anticipate the various “flags” that might be raised in a particular appraisal and address them proactively. While this may sound like a positive point to non-appraisers, experienced appraisers might find it difficult to justify taking the time to “explain away” non-selected comps, for instance. Will this lead to a rejection of mortgage appraisal work by experienced appraisers, leaving those less experienced appraisers performing a larger share? It is also anticipated that appraisals of more unique properties will by their very nature end up with riskier scores than those “cookie cutter” type appraisals, all else being equal, making these assignments even less attractive to many appraisers (particularly when offered by AMCs that don’t acknowledge-or offer reasonable compensation-with appraisal assignments requiring greater time and/or expertise).

On January 21st, FNC’s Steve Costello writing in the AppraisalPort Daily stated that “The first thing to understand is that there is no need to panic. There are lots of rumors floating around that CU will be the end of appraising as we know it. In reality, if you haven’t already been getting a lot of returns for corrections, you probably won’t notice much difference when this change takes place”.

This has been a common refrain whenever changes designed to improve appraisal quality (and add-often unnecessarily- to the scope of work) are implemented: that good appraisers won’t notice any difference. The only problem with this logic, however, is that good appraisers may be bolting for greener pastures.

Will the last appraiser to leave please turn out the lights?

A link to Fannie Mae’s “Collateral Underwriter (CU) FAQs” is found here: Original

Collateral Underwriter- Too Much Too Soon

FeaturedJanuary 20, 2015January 20, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

GREAT ARTICLE!

Collateral Underwriter- Too Much Too Soon
by David Braun, MAI, SRA

I would like to communicate some concerns and suggestions regarding the roll-out of the Collateral Underwriter (CU) scheduled for January 26, 2015. This is not an attack on Fannie Mae or the CU. In fact, these suggestions support the potential of the CU in improving the loan process and the end result of having quality mortgages.

Let me introduce myself so you can understand my perspective. I have been a working appraiser for 39 years. I have been studying statistics for over eight years, specializing in regression analysis. I have no degrees or formal education in statistics. I call myself and people like me “valuation analysts,” as I have one foot squarely placed in traditional valuation methods and the other in the statistical world. I have no axe to grind with Fannie Mae; I like many of the things it has done and dislike others. As an appraiser, I am highly attuned to its influence on how appraisers perform their work. I performed residential appraisals for the first 20 years of my career, and commercial appraisals the remainder of the time. In addition, I develop seminars and regression software for appraisers.

I have been using regression analysis in conjunction with appraisals and have run literally millions of scenarios of regression analysis in a laboratory setting to understand what it can and can’t do for appraisers. When the 1004MC form was introduced, Fannie submitted an email to appraisers dictating how to count the listings for the month’s housing supply (MHS) calculation. I published an article on the web indicating that the calculation method would often over-state the MHS by as much as 50 percent. I am not sure the folks at Fannie ever saw my article, but they did later retract the stipulated method, replacing it with a better one. The point being that as the old saying goes, two heads are better than one.

CU Upside
There are many potential upsides to the CU. Perhaps the most applauded by appraisers is that the CU is actively trying to identify the handful of unethical appraisers. Ethical appraisers would like to see the CU swat them like flies. I have personally seen appraisals where the comparable’s data were fiction. Unfortunately, many of the appraisers who tend to inflate values are sometimes encouraged by a few underwriters. The CU is going to make this unethical group of underwriters uncomfortable, as there is now a check and balance system in place. You can see I support the use of the CU for a lot of reasons. Let’s move on to some of the negative aspects, and what might be done to prevent them.

CU Downside
I have worked closely with underwriters over the years, and they do not pretend to be appraisers. They work with a simple checklist for review. I have personally been contacted from call centers in India who were the ones filling out the checklists. When the appraiser legitimately varies from secondary market guidelines there is a real problem explaining this to the holder of the checklist because they just don’t understand the guidelines well enough. Now imagine these same underwriters and reviewers looking at the CU program on their monitor. I don’t see how the CU is going to enable them to address the legitimate exceptions to the statistical analyses provided to them by the CU. The result will be an unacceptable addition of time and effort on the appraiser’s part to explain the issues. Some appraisers may simply throw up their hands, and modify their appraisals to meet the suggestions of the CU. This path of least resistance is the last thing that should happen, not to mention it will tend to erode the appraiser’s independence.

There is a myth among appraisers and underwriters that when the CU uses holistic regression analysis methods, the outputs will be infallible. Fannie’s training material clearly states that the CU analysis will produce some “false positives and false negatives.” This means that the outputted indications of the CU will sometimes simply be wrong. Right or wrong, the appraiser can expect to get a call from the underwriter/reviewer asking them to explain why the CU is suggesting something different than he/she reported. In terms of line-item adjustments rates (coefficients), regression analysis is just a tool that provides evidence, not proof. This can be demonstrated by scrubbing the same data with a different method, omitting a couple of sales, or by omitting or adding variables. When these things are done the coefficient in question may change significantly. Also, it is not unusual for a 90 percent confidence interval for a coefficient for the gross living area to range from as much as $40 to $70. This wide range is further evidence that the coefficient is only statistical evidence, not statistical proof.When there is a 90 percent chance that a coefficient will be within a specific range, this means that there is a 10 percent chance that the output is incorrect. From an appraiser’s perspective receiving additional evidence for a line-item adjustment rate after the appraisal and report are completed is counterproductive. Consider a house painter who is told to paint a room a certain shade of brown. However, the mother-in-law would be visiting soon and if she didn’t like the color he would be required to repaint the room a new color for free. The painter would say, if your mother-in-law wants to provide input about the color it must be done prior to my work, or I will have to charge for my additional work. If a client has any information for the appraiser, such as additional evidence of a line-item adjustment rate, they should provide it prior to the appraisal being performed, not afterward. If the appraiser performs adequate due diligence then he/she will have to charge extra to consider the additional information. I understand that Fannie Mae may have no intention for the underwriters/reviewers to require the appraisers to comment or provide additional support, however, if the CU provides it, the appraiser will almost certainly be asked to comment on it.

Jury of Your Peers
Many of the outputs of regression analysis are more reliable than the line-item adjustment rates. For example: identifying variables which have a relationship with value, identifying the random variance associated with a market, and final value estimates. These sorts of conclusions may be useful to underwriters.

The check that the CU will perform by comparing what the appraiser did to his peer group is problematic. This will penalize the very good appraisers who will be asked to explain why their conclusions are different from less experienced, inferiorly trained, or unethical appraisers. Considering a bell curve perspective, it is likely that you could divide appraisers into three groups, below average, average, and above average. This means that the majority of appraisers would be average or below. The implication is that the good appraisers should conform to the actions of the less credible appraisers. A reasonable answer from the good appraiser to the underwriter might be, “Yes, because I am a better appraiser than the overall pool of appraisers, I would expect my conclusions to often be inconsistent with the other appraisers.” Again, I am not saying it is Fannie’s intent that the underwriters will require an explanation from the appraiser, I am saying it will, none the less, be the reality appraisers are forced to deal with.

Here are a few suggestions:
• Do not report the comparison of one appraiser’s line-item adjustment rate to that of their peers to the underwriters. This information may be useful to Fannie, but is of no practical value to the underwriters or appraisers.• Postpone the underwriter’s access to any of the CU analytical outputs concerning line-item adjustment rates until both underwriters and appraisers have time to educate themselves on what the implications of those outputs are, and how they should be handled. Quite frankly, the appraiser could not comment on the CU analytical outputs without knowing the scope of work and due diligence that the CU used. This does not involve facts such as transaction and property data.• Fannie Mae should work with appraisal and mortgage organizations to encourage more related training. It is a simple truth that no system can be successful without the users being properly trained. Consider promoting standard certificates of “Valuation Analyst” and “Underwriting Analyst” that establish competency levels necessary to successfully take advantage of the CU system.

• Data that includes quantifiable rating systems for condition and quality of the improvements tremendously adds to the effectiveness of statistical analysis. This superior data, which was gathered and assembled by appraisers, must be accessible to appraisers. Appraisers have access to regression software, but not the superior data Fannie has collected from their appraisals. If one of the goals is to improve the quality of appraisals then it is not logical to withhold high quality data from the appraiser.

• Fannie and appraisers must accept that compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) is the best avenue to a credible appraisal and report. Fannie Mae would best be served by working with the State Appraisal Commissions and Boards to include additional USPAP compliance checks in the CU such as:

o Was the analysis of the highest and best use performed and reported?
o If applicable, was the land value analysis performed and reported?
o Was an applicable explanation reported for the omission of any of the major approaches to value?

I understand that USPAP compliance is the responsibility of the appraiser and the lender, not Fannie Mae. However, so is the reasonableness of the line-item adjustment rates, and the CU is providing analysis of them. Advanced holistic analyses are not necessary to predict the quality of an appraiser’s work who can’t or won’t meet the minimum requirements of USPAP. Any of the state agencies can list the prevalent USPAP violations that should be addressed.

Conclusion
The appraisal profession lacks a research and development arm which would develop things like the 1004MC form, better databases, and improved analysis techniques. I applaud Fannie Mae for moving forward to improve its business model. However, I believe the current plan to unroll the CU needs to be modified to reduce the potential negative aspects. The planned role out, could end up making Fannie Mae look like Don Quixote, and the underwriters and appraisers resembling Sancho Panza, if underwriters believe that the appraiser’s opinions should be similar to the outputs of the CU. If this happens, underwriters and appraisers will be fighting a lot of windmills. The truth is that the outputs of the CU are not statistical proof, they are only statistical evidence.

To minimize the chance of things going very wrong, the individual aspects of the CU should be phased in over a 12 to 18 month period allowing for more training regarding the implications of the CU’s outputs and how underwriters should best use these tools. Certainly, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and data anomalies are examples of issues the CU should be flagging for underwriters. I am happy to answer any questions that Fannie Mae might have about my comments and suggestions.

About the Author
David Braun, MAI, SRA can be reached at david@AVTtools.com.www.AVTtools.com

This Zero-Emission Home Creates Enough Energy To Power An Electric Car For One Year

FeaturedJanuary 15, 2015January 16, 2015NanaGSmith Leave a comment

This just might just be the most beautiful zero-emission home we have ever laid eyes on. Snøhetta, a design firm in Norway, has created the ZEB Multi-Comfort House in Ringdalskogen, Larvik, Norway. The house not only runs solely on solar energy, but collects enough extra solar energy to power an electric car for one year.

house1

ZEB took 10 months to build and, according to Kristian Edwards, the lead architect of the project, a very intricate process was employed to ensure that the solar energy would be used at the highest efficiency.

house1

The result? A home with striking features like a tilted roof that is slanted at a 19-degree angle to accommodate the photovoltaic panels (the ones that provide electricity) and the solar thermal panels (the ones that provide heat and hot water). Edwards told The Huffington Post that the roof also provides a dramatic flair to the inside of the home. “It is perhaps the most striking element of the upper floor,” he says. “Relatively small bedrooms gain great volume, hugely beneficial to sleep comfort, light transmission and of course, a certain drama.”

house4

In the atrium, Edwards used recovered brickwork from a barn that was being demolished. “The recovered brick serves a thermal mass which passively contributes to balance temperature spikes,” says Edwards.

house3

There are currently no tenants in the home. However, Edwards says that there are plans in the works to have families occupy the space “in order to realistically test the building and system performance.” Feedback from visitors has been “generally extremely positive,” he adds.

house5

Despite it’s forward-thinking approach, Edwards says the goal of ZEB was to create a place that is welcoming and comfortable, with energy-saving features that virtually disappear into the background. “Our goal was to ensure that the house, whilst advanced, is predominantly welcoming,” says Edwards. “The outdoor covered atrium with a fireplace gives a welcome extension of the outdoor season that is fundamental to the Norwegian culture. This shows that the steps toward zero carbon housing need not represent a quantum leap in lifestyle, and therefore, makes it simpler and quicker to make the switch.”

house6

Original Article

DAY 6 & Julia Cameron & Timothy Ferris

FeaturedNovember 23, 2014November 23, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

GOOD THING:

I found out for myself that it’s difficult to write every day
I took book The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron with Mark Bryan out of the shelf where it was sitting for past 2 years.
I eventually opened the book I was suggested to read 2 months back and read – The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.

What these two have in common; they both say it’s OK to do what you want and it’s OK to write want comes in mind; in fact per Julia Cameron this will help to become a better writer.

Julia Cameron starts her book with: “I’m a writer-director and I teach these creative workshops.”
Timothy Ferris (have not read whole book yet, just started.) If you want to live your dreams now, and not in 20 or 30 years, I heard this book can teach it.
I came to realization that I need help.
I am open to ideas, opinions, books which would help me to works less and to earn more, have a lifestyle of millionaire without being one!

BAD THING:

I said 30 days challenge by writing blog every day, but I did not keep my word and skipped two days!

(I did not say 30 consecutive days though)

I feel tired and overwork!

Nana

DAY 4

FeaturedNovember 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Day 4, reflections of yesterday November 19^th

GOOD THING:

Did field work

Saw parts of Connecticut which one would love to see, if it would not be for working on reports.

Beautiful rolling hills, pastures and lamas!

Software did not crash

Thinking about #3. a lot!

BAD THINGS:

Nothing really exceptional had happened today

Still trying to figure out how I can make APPRAISAL business more SYSTEM oriented.

It’s almost like they (THE FNMA) came up with UAD to have all reports to look and sound conforming/systematized; its seems to me that this is what I have to do in my office. However: A) still do not know how to systemize everything, B) after I know, how do I implement, what I know.

Seems like cookie cutter appraising/assembly line to me, like in a factory, but I always thought that appraising was an art.

Nana

Appraisal Tool for Lenders

FeaturedNovember 20, 2014November 13, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

If this tool is that great why they would not let appraisers to use it to?

October 20, 2014

Fannie Mae Announces Appraisal Tool for Lenders

New Tool Provides Increased Clarity, Certainty for Lenders to Help Prevent Repurchases

Keosha Burns

202-752-7840

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced that it will make its proprietary appraisal analysis application available to lenders in early 2015, allowing lenders to compare appraisals against Fannie Mae’s database of appraisal and market data. The company currently uses the tool, Collateral Underwriter^™, to analyze appraisals when a lender delivers a loan to Fannie Mae. Collateral Underwriter will help lenders expand access to mortgage credit by providing increased certainty around repurchase risk.

“Our goal is to provide relief on appraisal representations and warranties in the future, and we will work with FHFA to do so,” said Andrew Bon Salle, Executive Vice President, Single-Family Underwriting, Pricing, and Capital Markets. “We want to be the business partner of choice for lenders by providing the tools and products lenders need. Collateral Underwriter will help lenders build their businesses safely and strongly.”

Fannie Mae began receiving appraisals in electronic format from lenders in 2012, and built Collateral Underwriter to analyze that data. Collateral Underwriter leverages Fannie Mae’s market data and analytical models to perform a comprehensive assessment of the appraisal. The tool provides an overall risk score and detailed messaging to highlight specific aspects of the appraisal that may warrant further attention. Collateral Underwriter will be integrated with Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter^® software to seamlessly incorporate into a lender’s existing underwriting process. Using Collateral Underwriter during the origination of the loan will allow the lender to assess the appraisal and address any issues prior to closing and delivery to Fannie Mae.

Collateral Underwriter is the latest addition to a suite of Fannie Mae industry tools, including Desktop Underwriter and Early Check^™, that help lenders make loans with confidence. These tools help lenders identify eligibility issues earlier in the process, providing more certainty that loans will meet Fannie Mae’s requirements.

Original Source is Here

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DAY 3

FeaturedNovember 19, 2014November 19, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Day 3, reflections of yesterday November 18th

GOOD THING:

It was an easy day
Delivered 3 reports
I got paid
Did a lot of running around
Software did not crash on me Had quite time in my office by myself Clear Capital emailed and asked to indicate which comparables have well/septic system since the subject is served by well/septic. I thought to myself – if this is the only request they have, I must have done something very well.
Ken came later and helped me with proofreading dairy – DAY 2

BAD THING:

Report came back for revision
Comment was missing, something small and stupid which must be there to start with.
Is this because I am bad a reviewer ?
Is this that I rely a lot (more than I should ) on the ones who do the work?
Is this because I am a bad manager?
Not explain well enough?
Is this because I do not have written guidelines?
Is this because I must write out a plan of action for everybody to follow?
Is this because everybody burned out with the work amount we do?

Trying to figure this thing out load…

Nana

DAY 2

FeaturedNovember 18, 2014November 19, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

DAY 2 -REFLECTIONS OF MONDAY NOVEMBER 17TH

GOOD THING:

Well, it was one of those days…raining cats and dogs, dark and cold outside. good thing my office was warm. Everybody showed up for work, even Bonnie drove from Hamden CT. Office was busy and it felt good. It was so busy that at some point I had to leave just to have room.

BAD THING:

Not sure where to start.

Proteck emailed for revision. Comment which I was sure should have been there they were swearing was not there. I did this repot 5 days back and in my mind it was done and over. It took me some time to open it, remember that day office was very busy… so once I opened it I sew they were right ( as much as it’s hard to admit, that AMC may be right once in a while) comment was not there! But I knew I wrote it, since I had draft version of it in my word documents. So what happened while converting file to MISMO file comment got wiped out from report. I though OK, as much as I hate going back to reports for revisions, I thought this is not a big deal… however …… how little did I know!

I added the comment in again, I was going through the report again, once more to double check that everything else was there, all of the sadden to my total horror, I saw photos were gone, 12 pages of photo addendum which were there when I unsigned report, were all gone! …and there was no autosave file again. I called WCA with the slight hope that they might locate file, but they could not find my photo pages. It was raining cats and dogs, I was sitting at the computer putting back photos when Monica returned from lunch break.

As she sat at another station, she announced : “there are no comments on this machine .” As a matter of fact there were no comments on any of the machines. We decided to reboot the server and all machines, but we forgot that Maria, our bookkeeper was also working off of the server in the other room, when we rebooted the machines, Maria was almost crying with the fear of the fact that she might just lost all her work.

Nothing helped. Monica decided to call WCA, I had to leave.

Nanaapp

DAY 1

FeaturedNovember 17, 2014November 17, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

DAY 1-REFLECTIONS ON THE DAY BEFORE TODAY – THE SUNDAY

GOOD THING:

Firs time in past 8 weeks that I did not work a full day on Sunday.

I did some work in the morning and I did some work at night, but in the middle of the day I took off for few hours. We went in New York City and walked the campus of Colombia University, did a walk along the Hudson River in River Bank Park. After we had a bite in local creperie café. I love the energy of university campuses. Feels different and so energized.

BAD THING:

We returned home and I went in my office to do some work with the idea to put myself ahead of tomorrows’ reports deliveries.

I was appraising a typical ranch from 50s. Typical size, bedroom bath count. What was atypical about this ranch it was where this ranch was situated – on the border of two towns– Norwalk and New Canaan, being legally in Norwalk. So that immediate streets were in New Canaan, sleepy rich town with the homes values in high millions. Same typical ranches are 2-3 times higher in value in New Canaan than in Norwalk. I had to put extra research, analyses to deliver the value.

I worked about 90 minutes on my report, I have moved comps around, and I adjusted and re-adjusted over and over again. I forgot to mention that it was a purchase. Several times while working I had a thought: save all, go out to get washing detergent, but no I kept working.

At the moment I thought- I am done, value is here, I heard a clicking sound, circuit breaker popped out and the computer shut down. I lost all work, its 8:30 pm. WCA software is acting up recently, and their “the latest and the greatest” updates do not deliver what is promised. THERE IS NO AUTOSAVED version of my report. In short, I had to re-enter all over again, all comps. I had to adjust again, move them around, and readjust again. I am still working on this report tonight, with a little bit more familiarity of where I am going with it now.

Growth and Development

FeaturedNovember 17, 2014November 17, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

For the next 30 days I have decided to keep a log of my appraisal
work day. Something like a dairy.
I will be keeping a log of the good things that happened that day and will log what bad
things happened that day.

After 30 days I will compare what the good and bad things were. How many good things and
bad things happened during this 30 day period of time? I will notice whether
there are repetitious good and bad occurrences; if so I will take notice of
what they are and I will question why they occurred.

Hopefully, I can go on and do a quarter of the year as a next step.

My objective with this is to help with the growth and development of my business.

I argue YOU too to join me, partner with me in this endeavor. At the end of the
month we can compare all “good” and all “bad” which happened, brainstorm
together on how to eliminate the “bad” and have better “good” for the rest of
our business careers and lives.

Is it possible? Is it viable? I do not know, but I would like to try.

…and yes, I will be one day behind, so that the day should have passed, in
order to evaluate the particulars my business day.

Follow my blog to cheer up! Life is easier when one has a partner.

Nana
_______

AMC Appraisal Perspective Through Rhetorical Misdirection

FeaturedNovember 13, 2014November 13, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Spot on. Unfortunately this is about to get even more surreal when Fannie rolls out their big data Collateral Underwriter Tool. Again, if this data is so awesome, why won’t they share it with the appraisers?

FNMA

Part below is a blog from the MatrixBlog of MIller Samuel Inc. Real Estate Appraisers & Consulting, I came across this morning once my frustration with AMCs companies came to climax!

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“As much as I think I held their attention for the entire hour allotted, my presentation fell short of getting audience adrenaline pumping like the Jordan Petkovsky, the Chief Appraiser of a TSI Appraisal, a large national AMC and affiliated with Quicken Loans. I still wonder how beneficial this public relations could be by talking to the industry like a politician – as if residential appraisers were clueless to the “incredible benefit” that AMCs provide our industry.

Here are a few of the questions (paraphrased) posed to an audience comprised of heavily experienced residential and commercial appraisers:

Q: “I realize there is friction between AMCs and appraisers. What has to happen to solve this problem?”
A: Someone in audience: “Someone has to die” followed by a burst of laughter from the entire room.

Q: “We spend millions on powerful analytics. Wouldn’t it be great for appraisers to get their hands on this technology?” (repeated 2 more times slowly for effect).”
A: Someone answered: “You have to spend millions on technology because the appraisal quality is so poor you need to analyze the markets yourself.”

Q: “How do we attract new appraisers into the business?”
A: My answer “Until appraisers are fairly compensated when banks are made to be financially incentivized to require credible reports, nothing will change.”

Q: “How do you think banks feel about the reliability of appraisals today? They don’t feel the values are reliable.”
A: My answer “Because AMCs pay ±half the market rate, they can only mostly attract form-fillers (aka “corner-cutters”). They don’t represent the good appraisers in the appraisal industry.”

Q: “We focus a tremendous amount of effort on regulatory compliance on behalf of banks and boy are they demanding! We even have a full time position that handles the compliance issues.”
A: My comment – that’s a recurring mantra from the AMC industry as a scare tactic to keep banks from returning to in-house appraisal departments. Prior to 2006 boom and bust cycle and the explosion of mortgage brokers with an inherent conflict of interest as orderers of appraisals, the profession was pretty good at providing reliable value estimates. The unusually large demands by regulators (if this is really true and I have serious doubts) is because the AMC appraisal quality is generally poor. If bank appraisal quality was excellent, I don’t believe there would be a lot of regulatory inquiries besides periodic audits.

What I found troubling with his presentation – and I have to give him credit for walking into the lion’s den – is how the conversation was framed in such an AMC-centric, self-absorbed way. I keep hearing this story pushed by the AMC industry: The destruction of the modern appraisal industry was the fault of a few “bad actors” during the boom that used appraisal trainees to crank out their reports. That’s incredibly out of context and a few “bad actors” isn’t the only reason HVCC was created – which was clearly inferred.

Back during the boom, banks closed their in-house appraisal centers because they came to view them as “cost centers” since risk was eliminated through financial engineering – plus mortgage brokers accounted for 2/3 of the mortgage volume. Mortgage brokers only got paid when the loan closed, so guess what kind of appraisers were selected? Those who were more likely to hit the number – they were usually not selected on the basis of quality unless the bank mandated their use. Banks were forced to expand their reliance on AMCs after the financial crisis because the majority of their relationships with appraisers had been removed during the bubble – the mortgage brokerage industry imploded and banks weren’t interested in re-opening appraisal departments because they don’t generate short term revenue.

The speaker spent a lot of time talking like a politician – “we all have to work together to solve this problem” “appraisers have to invest in technology.” When asked whether his firm had an “AVM”, he responded almost too quickly with “No” and then added “but you should see our analytics!”

The residential appraisers in the audience were largely seething after the presentation based on the conversations I heard or joined with afterwords.

It’s really sad that appraisers don’t have a real voice in our future. We’ve never had the money to sway policy creation and we can’t prevent the re-write of history.

See full article bellow

MatrixBlog

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Phone: +1 203 858 6727

Office: +1 203 212 3788

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27 Fifth Street, 2nd Floor, Stamford CT 06903

Nana G. Smith, Proprietor

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Cap Rates vs Yield Rates in the Income Approach

FeaturedOctober 29, 2014October 22, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Synopsis In the income approach analysis of real property value, there is often confusion as to which rates to use and what these rates represent. In the direct capitalization approach, the cap rate is merely the ratio of stabilized net operating income to sales price – i.e. the property dividend rate.

In discounted cash flow analyses or other yield capitalization techniques, future cash flows are discounted by use of a discount rate which is a true yield rate – which can be directly compared to other before tax, unleveraged return rates such as stock and bond yields, etc.

Discussion The premise of the Income Approach is that the value of a property is the present value of future benefits of property ownership. All of the Income Approach techniques discount or translate, in some fashion, future net cash flows to a current property value. This is usually done on a before tax, before financing basis and usually deals with the net income stream from the real estate – before financing charges, depreciation or taxes – what appraisers call Net Operating Income (NOI).

Direct capitalization is simply applying an appropriate overall capitalization rate to next year’s stabilized NOI. This cap rate is the property dividend rate or, more popularly, simply the ratio of next year’s NOI to sales price – usually supported by direct market evidence gleaned from other market sales.

Properties that have high demand and / or low risk have cap rates in the low end of the range. Properties that have high risk and / or low demand have cap rates in the high end of the range. Put another way, savvy investors try to pay high cap rates (i.e. relatively low price relative to NOI) while retail type buyers for popular properties have to pay low cap rates (i.e. demand bids the price up for a given income stream).

The strength of Direct Capitalization is its simplicity and familiarity with market players – particularly for smaller commercial properties. A variation of this approach is also used in small rented residential properties – where a gross rent multiplier is applied to stabilized rents. The gross rent multiplier is simply the sales price divided by next years’ stabilized gross rents. Obviously, to be used effectively, the appraiser must know the terms of the lease – i.e. who pays what and also what the likely occupancy will be next year.

Loan	Real Estate	Stocks
	Cap/Dividend	Mortgage Constant	NOI/Sales Price	1/PE Ratio
	Yield/Discount Rate	Interest Rate	Discount Rate	Dividend rate + Price Growth Rate

In other words, the discount rate is the property yield rate and includes a component related to annual income (read an annual dividend with stocks or, alternatively, NOI with real estate) and appreciation at resale (future stock price with stocks or, alternatively, future sales / reversion price of the property at the end of the investment term with real estate). The above discussion reflects property yields that are appropriate for the overall property cash flows. Obviously, a similar analysis could be done for only the equity component of future cash flows (i.e. NOI less debt service) – the resulting present value of the equity would then be added to the mortgage amount to arrive at an indicated property value.

inally, support for cap rates is usually direct market evidence from other sales and these market cap rates are not adjusted but simply used to bracket or select an appropriate cap rate for the subject property. Remember, next year’s NOI is usually used for the subject and therefore should be used on the comparables.

Support for yield rates is usually from market indices such as published yield rates on real estate from surveys of national lenders or from investor interviews or from yield rates required from other alternative investment options.

This article presented By Thomas A. Steitler, MAI

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The Appraisal Institute

FeaturedOctober 22, 2014October 22, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

The Appraisal Institute has published guidance to help appraisers learn what evaluations are, when they are used and who can prepare them. The Appraisal Institute’s “Guide Note 13: Performing Evaluations of Real Property Collateral for Lenders” addresses how appraisers should prepare an evaluation for a lender and comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

The Guide Note states, “Federally insured lending institutions in the United States are subject to regulations regarding real estate appraisals. For lending transactions involving real estate, a lender must obtain an appraisal from a state licensed or certified appraiser. There are 12 exemptions from this requirement. For three of these exemptions, in lieu of an appraisal by a licensed or certified appraiser the lender may obtain an evaluation.”

Evaluations, per the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, are market value opinions that may be provided by individuals who are not state licensed or certified appraisers. However, state licensed and certified appraisers may provide them, according to the Appraisal Institute’s Guide Note. The interagency guidelines also state that an evaluation must be based on a valuation method that is appropriate for a transaction rather than the method that renders the highest value, lowest cost or fastest turnaround time.

The Appraisal Institute’s Guide Note states that USPAP allows an appraiser to adjust the scope of work for a valuation assignment as long as the resultant value opinion is credible, given the intended use. When preparing an evaluation, the appraiser may consider narrowing the scope of work as appropriate.

According to the interagency guidelines, a lender may obtain an evaluation in lieu of an appraisal when the loan transaction: Has a transaction value equal to or less than $250,000; is a business loan with a transaction value equal to or less than the business loan threshold of $1 million, and is not dependent on the sale of, or rental income derived from, real estate and the primary source of repayment; or involves an existing extension of credit at the lending institution, provided that there has been no obvious and material change in market conditions or physical aspects of the property that threaten the adequacy of the institution’s real estate collateral protection after the transaction, even with the advancement of new monies; or there is no advancement of new monies other than funds necessary to cover reasonable closing costs.

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PCV Murcor

FeaturedOctober 16, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

A must read for all appraisers! Please read comments too!

PCV Murcor

I stumbled upon this blog/article after PCV started boiling me, by giving me feedback. Deborah Smith (Apparently she is a vendor MANAGER) gave me 2ND OFFENSE on OFFENCE LEVEL , under the CATEGORY PCV Business Process/Practice, and apparently action taken was COUNSELING. What a joke!

I am planning on writing a blog and hopefully article too which I will do my best to publish.

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USPAP Standard 1-6

FeaturedSeptember 27, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Standards Rule 1-6

In developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must:

(a)	reconcile the quality and quantity of data available and analyzed within the approaches used; and
(b)	reconcile the applicability or suitability of the approaches used to arrive at the value conclusion(s).
	Comment: See the Comments to Standards Rules 2-2(a)(viii), 2-2(b)(viii), and 2-2(c)viii) for corresponding reporting requirements.

5.	See Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 9 (SMT-9), Identification of Intended Use and Intended Users.
6.	See Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 9 (SMT-9), Identification of Intended Use and Intended Users.
7.	See Advisory Opinion 19, Unacceptable Assignment Conditions in Real Property Appraisal Assignments. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
8.	See Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 6, Reasonable Exposure Time in Real Property and Personal Property Market Value Opinions. See also Advisory Opinion 7, Marketing Time Opinions, and Advisory Opinion 22, Scope of Work in Market Value Appraisal Assignments, Real Property. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
9.	See Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 3, Retrospective Value Opinions, and Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 4, Prospective Value Opinions.
10.	See Advisory Opinion 2, Inspection of Subject Property, and Advisory Opinion 23, Identifying the Relevant Characteristics of the Subject Property of a Real Property Appraisal Assignment. References to the Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
11.	See Advisory Opinion 17, Appraisals of Real Property with Proposed Improvements. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
12.	See Advisory Opinion 28, Scope of Work Decision, Performance, and Disclosure, and Advisory Opinion 29, An Acceptable Scope of Work. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
13.	See Statement on Appraisal Standards No. 2, Discounted Cash Flow Analysis.
14.	See Advisory Opinion 24, Normal Course of Business. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.
15.	See Advisory Opinion 1, Sales History. References to Advisory Opinions are for guidance only and do not incorporate Advisory Opinions into USPAP.

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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USPAP Standard Rule 1-5

FeaturedSeptember 20, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith 2 Comments

Standards Rule 1-5

When the value opinion to be developed is market value, an appraiser must, if such information is available to the appraiser in the normal course of business: 14
(a)	analyze all agreements of sale, options, and listings of the subject property current as of the effective date of the appraisal; and
(b)	analyze all sales of the subject property that occurred within the three (3) years prior to the effective date of the appraisal. 15
	Comment: See the Comments to Standards Rules 2-2(a)(viii), 2-2(b)(viii), and 2-2(c)(viii) for corresponding reporting requirements relating to the availability and relevance of information.

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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USPAP Standard Rule 1-4

FeaturedSeptember 17, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith 1 Comment

Standards Rule 1-4

In developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must collect, verify, and analyze all information necessary for credible assignment results.

(a)	When a sales comparison approach is necessary for credible assignment results, an appraiser must analyze such comparable sales data as are available to indicate a value conclusion.
(b)	When a cost approach is necessary for credible assignment results, an appraiser must:
	(i)	develop an opinion of site value by an appropriate appraisal method or technique;
	(ii)	analyze such comparable cost data as are available to estimate the cost new of the improvements (if any); and
	(iii)	analyze such comparable data as are available to estimate the difference between the cost new and the present worth of the improvements (accrued depreciation).
(c)	When an income approach is necessary for credible assignment results, an appraiser must:
	(i)	analyze such comparable rental data as are available and/or the potential earnings capacity of the property to estimate the gross income potential of the property;
	(ii)	analyze such comparable operating expense data as are available to estimate the operating expenses of the property;
	(iii)	analyze such comparable data as are available to estimate rates of capitalization and/or rates of discount; and
	(iv)	base projections of future rent and/or income potential and expenses on reasonably clear and appropriate evidence. 13
		Comment: In developing income and expense statements and cash flow projections, an appraiser must weigh historical information and trends, current supply and demand factors affecting such trends, and anticipated events such as competition from developments under construction.
(d)	When developing an opinion of the value of a leased fee estate or a leasehold estate, an appraiser must analyze the effect on value, if any, of the terms and conditions of the lease(s).
(e)	When analyzing the assemblage of the various estates or component parts of a property, an appraiser must analyze the effect on value, if any, of the assemblage. An appraiser must refrain from valuing the whole solely by adding together the individual values of the various estates or component parts.
	Comment: Although the value of the whole may be equal to the sum of the separate estates or parts, it also may be greater than or less than the sum of such estates or parts. Therefore, the value of the whole must be tested by reference to appropriate data and supported by an appropriate analysis of such data.
	A similar procedure must be followed when the value of the whole has been established and the appraiser seeks to value a part. The value of any such part must be tested by reference to appropriate data and supported by an appropriate analysis of such data.
(f)	When analyzing anticipated public or private improvements, located on or off the site, an appraiser must analyze the effect on value, if any, of such anticipated improvements to the extent they are reflected in market actions.
(g)	When personal property, trade fixtures, or intangible items are included in the appraisal, the appraiser must analyze the effect on value of such non-real property items.
	Comment: When the scope of work includes an appraisal of personal property, trade fixtures or intangible items, competency in personal property appraisal (see STANDARD 7) or business appraisal (see STANDARD 9) is required.

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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USPAP Standard Rule 1-3

FeaturedSeptember 10, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Standards Rule 1-3

When necessary for credible assignment results in developing a market value opinion, an appraiser must:

(a)	identify and analyze the effect on use and value of existing land use regulations, reasonably probable modifications of such land use regulations, economic supply and demand, the physical adaptability of the real estate, and market area trends; and
	Comment: An appraiser must avoid making an unsupported assumption or premise about market area trends, effective age, and remaining life.
(b)	develop an opinion of the highest and best use of the real estate.
	Comment: An appraiser must analyze the relevant legal, physical, and economic factors to the extent necessary to support the appraisers highest and best use conclusion(s).

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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USPAP Standard Rule 1-2

FeaturedSeptember 5, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Standards Rule 1-2

In developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must:

(a)	identify the client and other intended users; 5
(b)	identify the intended use of the appraisers opinions and conclusions; 6
	Comment: An appraiser must not allow the intended use of an assignment or a clients objectives to cause the assignment results to be biased. 7
(c)	identify the type and definition of value and, if the value opinion to be developed is market value, ascertain whether the value is to be the most probable price:
	(i)	in terms of cash; or
	(ii)	in terms of financial arrangements equivalent to cash; or
	(iii)	in other precisely defined terms; and
	(iv)	if the opinion of value is to be based on non-market financing or financing with unusual conditions or incentives, the terms of such financing must be clearly identified and the appraisers opinion of their contributions to or negative influence on value must be developed by analysis of relevant market data;
		Comment: When developing an opinion of market value, the appraiser must also develop an opinion of reasonable exposure time linked to the value opinion. 8
(d)	identify the effective date of the appraisers opinions and conclusions 9
(e)	identify the characteristics of the property that are relevant to the type and definition of value and intended use of the appraisal, 10 including:
	(i)	its location and physical, legal, and economic attributes;
	(ii)	the real property interest to be valued;
	(iii)	any personal property, trade fixtures, or intangible items that are not real property but are included in the appraisal;
	(iv)	any known easements, restrictions, encumbrances, leases, reservations, covenants, contracts, declarations, special assessments, ordinances, or other items of a similar nature; and
	(v)	whether the subject property is a fractional interest, physical segment, or partial holding;
		Comment on (i)(v): The information used by an appraiser to identify the property characteristics must be from sources the appraiser reasonably believes are reliable.
		An appraiser may use any combination of a property inspection and documents, such as a physical legal description, address, map reference, copy of a survey or map, property sketch, or photographs, to identify the relevant characteristics of the subject property. When appraising proposed improvements, an appraiser must examine and have available for future examination, plans, specifications, or other documentation sufficient to identify the extent and character of the proposed improvements. 11 Identification of the real property interest appraised can be based on a review of copies or summaries of title descriptions or other documents that set forth any known encumbrances. An appraiser is not required to value the whole when the subject of the appraisal is a fractional interest, a physical segment, or a partial holding.
(f)	Identify any extraordinary assumptions necessary in the assignment;
	Comment: An extraordinary assumption may be used in an assignment only if: it is required to properly develop credible opinions and conclusions; the appraiser has a reasonable basis for the extraordinary assumption; use of the extraordinary assumption results in a credible analysis; and the appraiser complies with the disclosure requirements set forth in USPAP for extraordinary assumptions.
(g)	identify any hypothetical conditions necessary in the assignment.
	Comment: A hypothetical condition may be used in an assignment only if: use of the hypothetical condition is clearly required for legal purposes, for purposes of reasonable analysis, or for purposes of comparison; use of the hypothetical condition results in a credible analysis; and the appraiser complies with the disclosure requirements set forth in USPAP for hypothetical conditions.
(h)	determine the scope of work necessary to produce credible assignment results in accordance with the SCOPE OF WORK RULE. 12

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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USPAP Standards Rule 1-1

FeaturedAugust 29, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Standards Rule 1-1

In developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must:

(a)	be aware of, understand, and correctly employ those recognized methods and techniques that are necessary to produce a credible appraisal;
	Comment: This Standards Rule recognizes that the principle of change continues to affect the manner in which appraisers perform appraisal services. Changes and developments in the real estate field have a substantial impact on the appraisal profession. Important changes in the cost and manner of constructing and marketing commercial, industrial, and residential real estate as well as changes in the legal framework in which real property rights and interests are created, conveyed, and mortgaged have resulted in corresponding changes in appraisal theory and practice. Social change has also had an effect on appraisal theory and practice. To keep abreast of these changes and developments, the appraisal profession is constantly reviewing and revising appraisal methods and techniques and devising new methods and techniques to meet new circumstances. For this reason, it is not sufficient for appraisers to simply maintain the skills and the knowledge they possess when they become appraisers. Each appraiser must continuously improve his or her skills to remain proficient in real property appraisal.
(b)	not commit a substantial error of omission or commission that significantly affects an appraisal; and
	Comment: An appraiser must use sufficient care to avoid errors that would significantly affect his or her opinions and conclusions. Diligence is required to identify and analyze the factors, conditions, data, and other information that would have a significant effect on the credibility of the assignment results.
(c)	not render appraisal services in a careless or negligent manner, such as by making a series of errors that, although individually might not significantly affect the results of an appraisal, in the aggregate affects the credibility of those results.
	Comment: Perfection is impossible to attain, and competence does not require perfection. However, an appraiser must not render appraisal services in a careless or negligent manner. This Standards Rule requires an appraiser to use due diligence and due care.

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FeaturedAugust 24, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

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STANDARD 1: REAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL, DEVELOPMENT

FeaturedAugust 22, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

STANDARD 1: REAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL, DEVELOPMENT

In developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must identify the problem to be solved, determine the scope of work necessary to solve the problem, and correctly complete research and analyses necessary to produce a credible appraisal.

Comment: STANDARD 1 is directed toward the substantive aspects of developing a credible appraisal of real property. The requirements set forth in STANDARD 1 follow the appraisal development process in the order of topics addressed and can be used by appraisers and the users of appraisal services as a convenient checklist.

Original content was published in The Appraisal Foundation site.

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Information on Reviewing the Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report Form

FeaturedAugust 20, 2014August 20, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report (04/15/2014) B4-1.3-05:

The appraisal must provide a clear, detailed, and accurate description of the improvements. The description must be as specific as possible, commenting on such things as needed repairs, additional features, and modernization, and should provide supporting addenda, if necessary. If the subject property has an accessory unit, the appraisal should describe it.

Conformity of Improvements to Neighborhood

The improvements should conform to the neighborhood in terms of age, type, design, and materials used for their construction. If there is market resistance to a property because its improvements are not compatible with the neighborhood or with the requirements of the competitive market because of adequacy of plumbing, heating, or electrical services; design; quality; size; condition; or any other reason directly related to market demand, the appraiser must address the impact to the value and marketability of the subject property. However, the lender should be aware that many older neighborhoods have favorable heterogeneity in architectural styles, land use, and age of housing. For example, older neighborhoods are especially likely to have been developed through custom building. This variety may be a positive marketing factor.

Unique Housing Types

In the appraisal and appraisal report review processes, special consideration must be given to properties that represent unique housing for the subject neighborhood. Mortgages secured by unique or nontraditional types of housing, including, but not limited to, earth houses, geodesic domes, and log houses, are eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae provided the appraiser has adequate information to develop a reliable opinion of market value. It is not necessary for one or more of the comparable sales to be of the same design and appeal as the property that is being appraised, although appraisal accuracy is enhanced by using comparable sales that are the most similar to the subject property. On a case-by-case basis, both the appraiser and the underwriter must independently determine whether there is sufficient information available to develop a reliable opinion of market value. This will depend on the extent of the differences between the special or unique property and the more traditional types of houses in the neighborhood and the number of such properties that have already been sold in the neighborhood.

When appraising unique properties,

if the appraiser cannot locate recent comparable sales of the same design and appeal, but is able to determine sound adjustments for the differences between the comparables that are available and the subject property and demonstrate the marketability of the property based on older comparable sales, comparable sales in competing neighborhoods, the existence of similar properties in the market area, and any other reliable market data, the property is acceptable as security for a mortgage deliverable to Fannie Mae;
if the appraiser is not able to find any evidence of market acceptance, and the characteristics of the property are so significantly different that he or she cannot establish a reliable opinion of market value, the property is not acceptable as security for a mortgage deliverable to Fannie Mae.

Fannie Mae does not specify minimum size or living area requirements for properties with the exception of manufactured housing (see B4-1.4-01, Factory-Built Housing: Manufactured Housing). There should be comparables of similar size to the subject property to support the general acceptability of a particular property type.

Actual and Effective Ages

Fannie Mae does not place a restriction on the actual age of the dwelling. Older dwellings that meet Fannie Mae’s general requirements are acceptable. Improvements for all properties must be of the quality and condition that will be acceptable to typical purchasers in the subject neighborhood.

The relationship between the actual and effective ages of the property is a good indication of its condition. A property that has been well-maintained generally will have an effective age somewhat lower than its actual age. On the other hand, a property that has an effective age higher than its actual age probably has not been well-maintained or may have a particular physical problem. In such cases, the lender should pay particular attention to the condition of the subject property in its review of any appraisal report. When the appraiser makes adjustments for the “Year Built,” he or she must explain the adjustments that were made.

Remaining Economic Life

Fannie Mae does not have any requirements related to the remaining economic life of the property. However, related property deficiencies must be discussed in the sections of the appraisal report that address the improvements analysis and comments on the condition of the property.

Fannie Mae’s appraisal report forms are designed to meet the needs of several different user groups; consequently, the report forms address the remaining economic life for the property being appraised. However, appraisers are not required to report this information. If appraisers report this information, lenders do not need to consider remaining economic life because any related property deficiencies will be discussed in the sections of the appraisal report that address the improvements analysis and comments on the condition of the property.

Energy Efficient Improvements

An energy-efficient property is one that uses resource-effective design, materials, building systems, and site orientation to conserve nonrenewable fuels.

Special energy-saving items must be recognized in the appraisal process and noted on the appraisal report form. For example, when completing the appraisal report (Form 1004), special energy-efficient items are to be addressed in the Improvements section in the Additional features field. The nature of these items and their contribution to value will vary throughout the country because of climactic conditions, differences in utility costs, and overall market reaction to the cost of the feature. Some examples of special energy-efficient features may include, but are not limited to energy efficient ratings or certifications, programmable thermostats, solar photovoltaic systems, low-e windows, insulated ducts, and tank-less water heaters.

Appraisers must compare energy-efficient features of the subject property to those of comparable properties in the Sales Comparison Approach adjustment grid. If the appraiser’s analysis determines that an adjustment is warranted based on the market reaction to such item(s), the adjustment must be included in the adjustment grid.

Layout and Floor Plans

Dwellings with unusual layouts and floor plans generally have limited market appeal. A review of the room list and floor plan for the dwelling unit may indicate an unusual layout, such as bedrooms on a level with no bath, or a kitchen on a different level from the dining room. If the appraiser indicates that such inadequacies will result in market resistance to the subject property, he or she must make appropriate adjustments to reflect this in the overall analysis. However, if market acceptance can be demonstrated through the use of comparable sales with the same inadequacies, no adjustments are required.

Gross Living Area

The most common comparison for one-unit properties, including units in PUD, condo, or co-op projects, is above-grade gross living area. The appraiser must be consistent when he or she calculates and reports the finished above-grade room count and the square feet of gross living area that is above-grade. The need for consistency also applies from report to report. For example, when using the same transaction as a comparable sale in multiple reports, the room count and gross living area should not change.

When calculating gross living area

The appraiser should use the exterior building dimensions per floor to calculate the above-grade gross living area of a property.
For units in condo or co-op projects, the appraiser should use interior perimeter unit dimensions to calculate the gross living area.
Garages and basements, including those that are partially above-grade, must not be included in the above-grade room count.

Only finished above-grade areas can be used in calculating and reporting of above-grade room count and square footage for the gross living area. Fannie Mae considers a level to be below-grade if any portion of it is below-grade, regardless of the quality of its finish or the window area of any room. Therefore, a walk-out basement with finished rooms would not be included in the above-grade room count. Rooms that are not included in the above-grade room count may add substantially to the value of a property, particularly when the quality of the finish is high. For that reason, the appraiser should report the basement or other partially below-grade areas separately and make appropriate adjustments for them on the Basement & Finished Rooms Below-Grade line in the Sales Comparison Approach adjustment grid.

For consistency in the sales comparison analysis, the appraiser should compare above-grade areas to above-grade areas and below-grade areas to below-grade areas. The appraiser may need to deviate from this approach if the style of the subject property or any of the comparables does not lend itself to such comparisons. For example, a property built into the side of a hill where the lower level is significantly out of ground, the interior finish is equal throughout the house, and the flow and function of the layout is accepted by the local market, may require the gross living area to include both levels. However, in such instances, the appraiser must be consistent throughout the appraisal in his or her analysis and explain the reason for the deviation, clearly describing the comparisons that were made.

Gross Building Area

The gross building area

is the total finished area including any interior common areas, such as stairways and hallways of the improvements based on exterior measurements;
is the most common comparison for two- to four-unit properties;
must be consistently developed for the subject property and all comparables used in the appraisal;
must include all finished above-grade and below-grade living areas, counting all interior common areas such as stairways, hallways, storage rooms; and
cannot count exterior common areas, such as open stairways.

Fannie Mae will accept the use of other comparisons for two- to four-unit properties, such as the total above-grade and below-grade areas discussed in Gross Living Area, provided the appraiser

explains the reasons he or she did not use a gross building area comparison, and
clearly describes the comparisons that were made.

Accessory Units

Fannie Mae will purchase a one-unit property with an accessory dwelling unit. An accessory dwelling unit is typically an additional living area independent of the primary dwelling unit, and includes a fully functioning kitchen and bathroom. Some examples may include a living area over a garage and basement units. Whether a property is a one-unit property with an accessory unit or a two-unit property will be based on the characteristics of the property, which may include, but are not limited to, the existence of separate utilities, a unique postal address, and whether the unit is rented. The appraiser is required to provide a description of the accessory unit, and analyze any effect it has on the value or marketability of the subject property.

If the property contains an accessory unit, the property is eligible under the following conditions:

The property is one-unit.
The appraisal report demonstrates that the improvements are typical for the market through an analysis of at least one comparable property with the same use.
The borrower qualifies for the mortgage without considering any rental income from the accessory unit. (See B3-3.1-08, Rental Income, for further information.)

If it is determined that the property contains an accessory dwelling unit that does not comply with zoning, the property is eligible under the following additional conditions:

The lender confirms that the existence will not jeopardize any future property insurance claim that might need to be filed for the property.
The use conforms to the subject neighborhood and to the market.
The property is appraised based upon its current use.
The appraisal must report that the improvements represent a use that does not comply with zoning.
The appraisal report must demonstrate that the improvements are typical for the market through an analysis of at least three comparable properties that have the same non-compliant zoning use.

(See B4-1.3-04, Site Section of the Appraisal Report, for subject property zoning information.)

Additions without Permits

If the appraiser identifies an addition(s) that does not have the required permit, the appraiser must comment on the quality and appearance of the work and its impact, if any, on the market value of the subject property.

Properties with Outbuildings

A lender must give properties with outbuildings special consideration in the appraisal report review to ensure that the property is residential in nature. Descriptions of the outbuildings should be reported in the Improvements and Sales Comparison Approach sections of the appraisal report form.

Type of Outbuilding	Acceptability
Minimal outbuildings, such as small barns or stables, that are of relatively insignificant value in relation to the total appraised value of the subject property.	The appraiser must demonstrate through the use of comparable sales with similar amenities that the improvements are typical of other residential properties in the subject area for which an active, viable residential market exists.
An atypical minimal outbuilding.	The property is acceptable provided the appraiser’s analysis reflects little or no contributory value for it.
Significant outbuildings, such as silos, large barns, storage areas, or facilities for farm-type animals.	The presence of the outbuildings may indicate that the property is agricultural in nature. The lender must determine whether the property is residential in nature, regardless of whether the appraiser assigns value to the outbuildings.

Related Announcements

The table below provides references to the Announcements that have been issued that are related to this topic.

Announcements	Issue Date
Announcement SEL-2014–03	April 15, 2014
Announcement SEL-2011–11	October 25, 2011
Announcement 08–30	November 14, 2008

Original Guidelines can be found on Fannie Mae site here

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Contact C.R.E.A.

Email: info@CompleteREA.com

Phone: +1 203 858 6727

Complete Real Estate Answers, Inc.
453 Webbs Hill Road
Stamford, CT 06903

Nana G. Smith, Proprietor

Web & Blog: CompleteREA.com (you are here)
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How to Built Your Real Estate Bussines

FeaturedAugust 6, 2014August 6, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Becoming an established name in the real estate industry is a tough road to go down, but the best in the business know exactly how to market themselves and find clients. For those that are just starting out, however, it can be challenging to build that same network of potential listings.

Even so, there are a number of ways a professional can find success in real estate. At its core, the job is about getting these listings – and that is achieved via relationships. Nothing is more frustrating than having a possible client decide to go work with a competitor, but thankfully this scenario can be avoided with a few simple steps and a smart plan.

In order to get started, here is how real estate agents often lose clients, and a few recommendations to prevent that from happening again:

Never lose touch with clients
Always be on the lookout for clients

Read the original article here

And here are few tips which I learned when I stared my real estate career:

Always wear your Realtors’ pin. Make it attractive and unusual looking. It will become a subject of conversation and once a conversation has started, a connection has been made.
Have a very small mailing list (no more than 100 names), to start your marketing, but do it repeatedly, once every 6 weeks.
Use holidays to softly market yourself as a “knock on the door.” Scenario; It’s the Fourth of July, you knock on the door, while holding a small potted flower with the American flag sticking out of the pot, along with your business card, who wouldn’t want that?!
Learn and master your elevator speeches to present yourself as quickly and self-assured as possible.
Newbies, if you’re asked: “How long have you been in business?”- There is always a true answer: “Seems like forever!” Try it
Do not be afraid to try, to be creative nor to be different – there is no failure, just experiences.

Share with us what is or was your experience in starting your real estate career?

Another great links and helpful information are bellow:

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Contact C.R.E.A. and Nana Smith

Email: info@CompleteREA.com

Phone: +1 203 858 6727

Complete Real Estate Answers, Inc.
453 Webbs Hill Road
Stamford, CT 06903

Nana G. Smith, Proprietor

Web & Blog: CompleteREA.com (you are here)
Facebook
Twitter
Google+

The REO or Short Sale Appraisal

FeaturedAugust 1, 2014August 5, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

I have 15-years’ experience as a residential appraiser for Fairfield County, Connecticut. I have extensive, and historically, excellent experience in Real Estate Owned (REO) appraisals for both lenders and various other.

My areas of expertise are mostly comprised in the Lower portion of Fairfield County, particularly; Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Fairfield and Bridgeport.

Having based my company locally in Stamford, CT has afforded me the ability to stay on top of the current market in Lower Fairfield County as well as gaining comprehensive knowledge of the local REO market.

I have working knowledge of expenses acquired through residential single-family, in both owner-occupied and leased properties.

Along with being a certified appraiser, I am also a licensed real estate agent, which keeps me up to date on current market conditions.

Please feel free to contact us.

Call or email Nana Smith

NanaGsmith@gmail.com

203-858-6727

…

C.R.E.A. – comment using this form to be in touch :

Motivational Monday Quote – 07.21.2014

FeaturedImageJuly 21, 2014July 21, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Reverse Mortgage

FeaturedJuly 17, 2014July 21, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Are you 62 years old or older?

Is reverse mortgages right for you?

See article bellow with a great information on reverse mortgage types and helpful phone numbers to call to get more information.

Reverse Mortgage

Below is another link with detailed breakdown on:

Reverse Mortgage Guides

And below is totally different opinion on reverse mortgage. A well written article from 2012 but still worth reading since it is applicable:

The Hidden Truths About Reverse Mortgages

And of course this always is a good idea to seek legal advice.

You also may want to appraise your house first so you know where market stands for you.

Call or email Nana Smith

NanaGsmith@gmail.com

203-858-6727

…

C.R.E.A. – comment using this form; what is your opinion on reverse mortgages, or simply share your experience:

Motivational Monday Quote – 07.07.2014

FeaturedImageJuly 7, 2014July 4, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Motivational Monday Quote – 06.30.2014

FeaturedImageJune 30, 2014June 29, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

The Cost Approach

FeaturedJune 26, 2014June 26, 2014NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Beyond its use as independent method to determine property value, the cost approach presents a highly effective way to verify market and income-based valuations, project construction costs and adjust estimates to account for unique physical property features.

As an independent valuation method
An essential valuation method, the cost approach is crucial to various appraisal assignments, including when appraising new or proposed construction, when lack of market activity limits the effectiveness of the sales comparison (market) approach, when land value is well supported, when improvements represent the best use of land, and for special purpose or specialty properties not frequently exchanged.

Develop an opinion of market value
Based on the reasoning that a buyer will not pay more than what it would cost to reproduce or replace the subject property, the cost approach enables the appraiser to develop an opinion of market value based on the current costs of labor, materials, related fees, and any entrepreneurial profit or incentive. Marshall & Swift provides the cost data needed to determine this value.

Read Full Article Here

Motivational Monday Quote – 06.23.2014

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More than half of US housing markets were overvalued in April

June 19, 2018June 14, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter

The post below is abbreviated version of original article; which can be found here

Home prices nationwide jumped 6.9 percent in April from a year ago, according to the latest monthly value report from CoreLogic.
While that is slightly less than the 7 percent annual jump in March, it is still making more and more markets unaffordable.
Of the nation’s 50 largest housing markets, 52 percent were considered overvalued in April.

Diana Olick | @DianaOlick

Published 8:00 AM ET Tue, 5 June 2018 Updated 10:50 AM ET Tue, 5 June 2018 CNBC.com

Getty Images

Miami, Florida

As the sharp gains in home prices continue, more markets are seeing values higher than their local economies can support.

Prices nationwide jumped 6.9 percent in April from a year ago, according to the latest monthly value report from CoreLogic. While that is slightly less than the 7 percent annual jump in March, it is still making more and more markets unaffordable.

Of the nation’s 50 largest housing markets, 52 percent were considered overvalued in April. CoreLogic determines affordability “by comparing home prices to their long-run, sustainable levels, which are supported by local market fundamentals (such as disposable income).” In March, 50 percent of markets were considered overvalued.

A market is considered overvalued when home prices are at least 10 percent higher than the long-term, sustainable level. By the same metric, 34 percent of the largest markets were considered at value and 14 percent were undervalued.

Not all expensive markets, however, are considered overvalued. San Francisco, for example, where prices are up more than 12 percent from a year ago, is considered at value, because local incomes can support the area’s prices. Boston is also considered at value.

Overvalued markets include Denver, Washington, D.C., Houston, Miami, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

CoreLogic revised its annual home price growth for all of 2018 to 5.3 percent from 5.2 percent.

High demand and very short supply continue to drive up home prices. The supply of homes has been dropping for three years. While more homes came on the market this spring, they have been selling at the fastest pace on record, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Homebuilders are slowly ramping up production, but most of that is at the move-up or luxury level, not at the entry level, where most of the demand is. Sales of newly built homes fell in April, according to the U.S. Census, even as supplies in that category rose. This is likely because of higher prices.

“The best antidote for rising home prices is additional supply,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “New construction has failed to keep up with and meet new housing growth or replace existing inventory. More construction of for-sale and rental housing will alleviate housing cost pressures.”

Rising mortgage rates also continue to weaken affordability. Rates have been rising steadily since this year. While they did take a step back last week, as bond yields dropped, they are on the rise again this week. Mortgage applications to purchase a home have also been falling for several weeks.

Some argue that the improving economy will support higher home values. So far that appears to be the case. Overall home sales have been weakening, but most blame that on lack of listings more than weakened affordability, although higher prices have to be sidelining some buyers.

“Extremely low inventory conditions in most markets are preventing sales from breaking out, while also keeping price growth elevated,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Even if rates climb closer to 5 percent, sales have room to grow more, but only if current supply levels start increasing more meaningfully.”

Where Do Appraisal-Related Adjustments Come From?

June 17, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Appraisal:

By: McKissock August 18, 2016June 29, 2017

Appraisal-related adjustments are not just guesses by the appraiser or “rules of thumb.” Nor are they calculated numbers used to mathematically force a preconceived adjusted market value estimate in support of a value conclusion for the subject property. We tend to think of appraisal-related adjustments, as they pertain to residential appraisal assignments, as usually having to do with the sales comparison approach. However, it may become necessary to also provide cost approach adjustments and/or income approach rental adjustments that are not only necessary, but also appropriate, defensible, and reasonable.

Keep reading to learn about specific guidelines for adjustments, where appraisal adjustments actually come from, and a real-life example of adjustments in action.

Common adjustment factors

Adjustment factors that frequently occur with residential properties include:

Real property rights conveyed
Financing terms
Conditions of sale, such as motivation
Market conditions affecting the subject property
Location
Physical characteristics for both the land and improvements
Various types of depreciation
Use considerations, such as zoning, water and riparian rights, environmental issues, building codes, and flood zones
And other factors that may affect the market value of the subject property

What adjustments are not supposed to be used?

The July 26, 2016 Fannie Mae Selling Guide provides some guidance pertaining to what Fannie Mae expects an adjustment not to be. Fannie Mae’s position is summarized as follows:

Fannie Mae does not have specific limitations or guidelines associated with net or gross adjustments. The number and/or amount of the dollar adjustments must not be the sole determinant in the acceptability of a comparable. Adjustments must reflect the market’s reaction to the difference in the properties. Appraisers should analyze the market for competitive comparable sales and apply adjustments with no arbitrary limits on adjustment sizes.

Freddie Mac has stated that adjustments must be sufficiently discussed by the appraiser. Also, without statistical or paired sales analysis, adjustments tend to be subjective and imprecise. If appraisers make precise adjustments to a comparable sale or rent—1, 2, or 7 percent, for instance—sufficient data or discussion should be provided to support their analysis.

So, just where do appraisal-related adjustments come from?

Most, if not all, adjustments should come directly from the real estate market affecting the subject property. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) require appraiser familiarity with the market area where the subject property is located and competence to complete the required appraisal process as stipulated in USPAP. However, there are those occasional unique properties that require the calculation and/or extraction of reasonable adjustments through extraordinary means.

A real-life example

Several years ago, I and another appraiser had taken very separate approaches to determine the actual market value adjustment caused by the removal of 30 beautiful, mature fir trees (50–80 feet in height) bordering an entrance driveway into a 10-acre home site with a high-end, 5,000-square-foot, 3-year-old, excellent-quality residence located thereon.

The trees on the east side of the entrance driveway were thought to be located on the 10-acre tract by the 10-acre tract’s owner. The property owner of the contiguous 50-acre tract argued that the line of trees were on his property. Two independent surveyors were hired to survey the 10-acre property and agreed that the trees were actually on the 10-acre site.

One day, upset, and not believing the surveyors’ findings, the owner of the 50-acre property decided to fell all of the trees in dispute while his neighbor was at work, leaving the stumps, but having the felled trees hauled away the same day to a lumber mill.

The adjustment problem here was that, according to professional tree growers, the only trees that could be used as replacement trees could not be greater than 20–30 feet in height. Trees of greater height could not be safely transported or successfully transplanted.

The question for me and the other appraiser was how could we support the market value adjustment for the now missing trees when it was impossible to replace the removed trees with equal-in-size-and-value trees?

Further complicating the appraisal process was the reality that no comparable sales existed within the subject property’s market area that could be used to extract an adjustment using paired sales analysis.

As stated earlier, two separate adjustment calculation approaches were used. The other appraiser had concluded that the trees should be treated just like the forestry industry considered similar trees being harvested from a stand of similar-in-height-and-quality trees. He stated that the adjustment should be equal to the stumpage value of the trees that were hauled off to the mill and nothing more.

By contrast, I had concluded that the trees lining the entrance driveway had contributed substantially greater value to the property as mature, growing, beautiful fir trees lining the entrance to a very nice property. But I couldn’t prove that opinion using paired sales that did not exist in that market, or some sort of statistical data which might prove up my position. Unfortunately, such documented statistical data didn’t exist either.

What did exist were six very experienced real estate brokers within the subject market area who agreed to provide me with their independent broker’s price opinions of the 10-acre property hypothetically being sold with the previously tree-lined entrance contrasted with the value of the property as a stump-lined entrance. To that statistical average price difference, I added the cost of the removal of the stumps plus the cost of the planting of the much smaller replacement trees that several local horticultural arborists had agreed with the maximum height that could be transplanted being 20–30 feet in height.

The difference between the two approaches to calculating the necessary adjustment for each appraisal report was substantial. The matter was finally resolved by a civil court judge over one year later, with the decision being in favor of my non-textbook adjustment methodology.

Many years earlier, as a new appraiser, I was taught that generally it is better to remove thorny thistles from your garden bed using a dull hoe instead of your bare hands—when that is all that is available. This adjustment example reminds me of that sage advice.

Even with very creative approaches to extracting adjustments from the market, it is a best practice to always carefully study and then extract the necessary adjustments from the current real estate market affecting the subject property. It is time to set any left-over adjustment “rules-of-thumb” or “guesses” aside—forever!

Article by Robert Grafe.

Robert Grafe is a Texas Certified General Real Estate Appraiser. Robert began his appraisal career on Kodiak Island Alaska in 1971 while the Owner/Broker of R.E. Grafe & Company Real Estate. He has served as a deputy county assessor/appraiser, as the chief appraiser for two national banks, and as the managing appraiser for Valuation Service Company. Robert has an extensive background in arguing both sides of county and state property tax appraisal appeals. He specializes in real property litigation support, valuing commercial properties in transition, and real property tax assessment consultation, with over 40 years of experience. Visit his website at valuationservicecompany.com or email reg@valuationservicecompany.com.

Commentary on the the U.S. Appraisal Market – Change is Coming

June 14, 2018June 17, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

John Mathis June 13, 2018

This article was first published in the Harbor View Advisors.

About John Martins

John is a Partner and Co-Founder of Harbor View Advisors. He brings over 20 years of experience as an investment banker, investor, equity research analyst and management consultant. John leads Harbor View’s Catalyst for Corporate Development practice where he helps clients fuel growth through acquired innovation. Prior to founding Harbor View, John was a Vice President in the Technology Research Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York. As a publishing analyst, John’s research spanned companies with a total market capitalization of $100 billion across five industries including payment processing, financial services, travel services, business process outsourcing and business intelligence. Companies under coverage included Accenture, Amdocs, Automatic Data Processing, ChoicePoint, EDS, First Data Corp, Fiserv, Hewitt Associates and Sabre. John’s experience also extends to the “buy-side” as a Partner at Camelot Capital, a hedge fund with targeted investments in public and private software and services companies. John led the investment decisions involving 80 companies in ten industries including business and financial services, payment processing, telecom services and security. Prior to joining Goldman, John worked as Principal for A.T. Kearney in Chicago where he managed global consulting engagements in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom. John’s practice expertise included international supply chain, global sourcing, process reengineering and strategic planning. John was active in helping A.T. Kearney establish new offices in Australia and Brazil and facilitated the integration of a consulting firm acquisition in Denmark. A sample of his client engagements includes Visa, Sears, Rolls Royce and General Motors. John received a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of Chicago. Outside of Harbor View, John is an Ironman, part-time triathlete and a father of three.

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The Appraisal world is under intensifying pressure that will likely accelerate the pace of M&A consolidation. We see the new “registry” component of the Dodd Frank rollback as another potential catalyst for consolidation in the fragmented appraiser and Appraisal Management Company (“AMC”) arenas. In this note we highlight where the market is pricing transactions given recent notable deals, including CoreLogic’s high water mark of 13.5X EBITDA. While the larger captive AMCs appear to have satiated their acquisition appetite for now, we see newcomers gaining ground, particularly those with private equity backing, including LenderLive and Class Appraisals or public companies like Altisource (NASDAQ: ASPS) and Real Matters (TSE: REAL). Further, the savvy independents are sure to make a play at accelerating growth through acquisition including Clear Capital, Dart Appraisal, LRES, Pro Teck and The William Fall Group.

Appraisals Rising

Beware of “small” rule changes

An executive at a leading MortageTech company once told me, “Beware of a seemingly small rule change in a highly regulated market like mortgages. The impact can be deadly.” The Appraisal world is facing one of these changes. We see the new “registry” component of the Dodd Frank rollback as a potentially massive catalyst for consolidation in the fragmented appraiser and Appraisal Management Company (“AMC”) worlds. The forces bashing this industry have been relentless:

Appraiser population demographics leading to supply “shocks”
Low margins and limited pricing power has advantaged only the largest providers
Domineering government sponsored enterprise rule changes (GSEs – Fannie, Freddie)
A fundamental change from a form-driven industry to more data-driven value proposition
Looming disruptive technology innovations from drones to mobility

As every AMC tries to navigate these headwinds, along comes the “registry” change whereby an incremental fee is about to hit every AMC’s panel of appraisers. The larger providers are better positioned to absorb these new requirements and fees, however, basic math for the smaller AMCs suggests a new expense burden with no direct beneficial offset. Further, each state is likely to implement differently, potentially creating a complex, expensive and risky compliance environment for the AMC industry.

Merger activity is heating up

Expect continued consolidation within the AMC world, and given the permanent economic impact of “registry”, there may be further pressure on sellers to realize the valuation multiples of recent transactions. A review of recent AMC acquisitions suggests the market is pricing these assets between 6X – 8X EBITDA, with the exception of CoreLogic’s transactions as they were considerably above this range, continuing to set the market high water mark. In our client work, the key valuation drivers have been scale, diversity of services and technology leverage. See the table below for recent transactions:

Forces are driving greater scale and technology innovations

U.S. real estate assets are marked to market through a unique mechanism – the appraisal. While much has been written about the aging population and brain drain among the 40,000+ U.S. residential and commercial property appraisers, little attention has focused on the key node in the system, the AMC. The AMCs include large captives of loan, title or data service providers and more independent, often regional, companies.

Scale and technology forces will continue to define the landscape of players. We expect the strong AMCs to strengthen further while the middle market is more likely to consolidate the smaller players. We also expect technology advancement in key areas like mobility and analytics. The GSE’s are likely to drive accelerated adoption of these technologies and more efficient approaches – further accelerating industry consolidation.

Expect consolidation to pick up in the middle market

The larger captive AMCs appear to have satiated their acquisition appetite for now and we don’t expect to see much from CoreLogic, ServiceLink or First American in the near term. However, we see newcomers gaining ground, particularly those with private equity backing, including LenderLive and Class Appraisals or public companies like Altisource (NASDAQ: ASPS) and Real Matters (TSE: REAL). Further, the savvy independents are sure to make a play at accelerating growth through acquisition including Dart Appraisal, LRES, The William Fall Group and Pro Teck. We have summarized the AMC market segments below:

How to Write a Brilliant Blog Post per Week

June 10, 2018June 14, 2018NanaGSmith 1 Comment

Great observations and tips on how to write a brilliant blog from the fellow blogger Christian Mihai.

Click on writer’s name highlighted in red to see original post.

Thank you Christian!

Hi guys,

Today’s post is all about writing that great post. The one that is going to attract new readers, build trust with the old ones, and engage every one who stumbles upon your blog to comment…

We’ve already talked about writing a blog post in 15 minutes, which is a great skill to have, and we also tackled the issue of being consistent.

Consistently creating great content is the backbone of any blog.

But how can you make that happen? Well, one option is to caffeinated yourself to the point of near death and stay up late the night before you publish your post.

But the better option is to spread the writing and editing process over a few days. Sounds good?

Quality over quantity

The truth is that publishing a great post once a week is better than posting mediocre content on a daily basis.

That’s what your goal should be: one weekly post that will attract attention, engage readers emotions, and turn them into loyal subscribers.

The idea is that you should be able to sustain the pace. Writing content on a daily basis is not easy to sustain, even if you dedicate a lot of your time on your hand.

So, how exactly do you write a great post a week? Well, let’s all take in day by day.

Day 1: Ideas and headlines

Start by thinking about your topic, and what angle you’ll approach it from.

Think of what the readers has to gain from reading your post. How exactly is your post going to help me? How is it going to make them feel?

What are YOU trying to make them feel?

Think of all these things as you write down as many ideas for a headline as possible. First impressions matter, so you need to create the best headline that is sure to attract attention.

While you’re at it, you can also write down your subheads. The general ideas of the post. Try to get a feel for it, to sense the direction in which everything’s headed.

That’s enough for day one.

The first step is the most difficult, and you’re off to a good start. Move on to the rest of your day, and prepare for tomorrow — it’s going to be a heavy one.

Day 2: The devil is in the details

First off, revise the headline and subheads you wrote yesterday. Do they still make sense? Are they still intriguing? Are you looking forward to filling in what’s missing?

If not, edit. Once you’re satisfied, it’s time to fill in the details. Ready? Set? Go!

I know what you’re saying right now. “It’s not a race.” Actually, it kind of is.

Don’t think, just write.

Don’t try to analyse your writing, don’t linger too much on any one paragraph. Write as fast as you can.

Punch the damn keys!

Write from the heart.

Finally, before you wrap up working on your post for the day, look for an image, something that will capture what your post is all about.

Now, it’s time to walk away. Stop thinking about your post. Take a break.

Day 3: Writing is rewriting. Also, editing.

On day three, read through your first draft to see how it looks today. You might want to read it out loud in a monotone voice to be sure it still makes sense and sounds good, even with no inflection.

Now, it’s time to rewrite and edit. Move text around, keep reading, keep tweaking.

When you’re pleased with the final result, it’s time to format your post. Add bulleted lists where you can. Add excerpts using block quotes. Break up long paragraphs into smaller chunks to make them easier to read on screen.

Last thing on your do-do list should be about checking a few more things:

Does the headline make a reader want to know what your post is all about?
Is the image intriguing enough?
Do the subheads tell your story all by themselves?
Have you asked an engaging question at the end to encourage comments and conversation?
Did you add a call to action for a product, service, or your email list?

Ideally, you should be answering yes to all of these questions.

Day 4: This is the day

Now, don’t think that if you get to hit that “publish” button that your job is done. No. You also need to promote your post.

How can you do that? Try:

Making yourself available to respond to comments, answer questions and converse with your readers
Promoting your post across the social media channels you use
Include it in your e-mail newsletter.

It’s not easy to write epic posts week after week, but dividing the work up over several days will make it a lot easier.

Building time into your schedule to get away from your post will make you a better editor.

What’s your writing schedule?

This is one way to write brilliant posts, but there are many others.

Do you have a favorite technique?

Let’s talk about it in the comments.

3 Major Credit Bureaus

June 5, 2018June 14, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

What do you think, will it boost real estate sales?

Will it help dying appraisal profession?

On the 8th of June, there will be changes on how your credit is reported. These include:

• Collections that aren’t at least 180 days old will be rejected by the 3 major credit bureaus. You will now have time to pay them off before it is even reported.

• Medical collections will no longer show on credit reports as long as it is being paid (through either you or insurance)

• Collection accounts that have not been updated in six months or more will not be factored into scores.

• Any collection that did not result from a contract or agreement to pay by the consumer, will be removed.

What Does The Partial Rollback Of Dodd-Frank Mean For The Largest U.S. Banks?

June 1, 2018May 30, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Trefis Team , Contributor
Last week, President Trump signed into law a partial rollback of the Dodd-Frank Act after the proposed changes cleared legislative hurdles in the Senate and the House. The Crapo bill dilutes some of the stringent regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act on the U.S. financial system, and is primarily aimed at making things easier for small- and medium-sized U.S. banks, which were seen as being affected by the tougher rules in a disproportionate manner compared to their larger rivals.

But the bill did have things to offer to some of the largest U.S. banks – especially the two U.S. custody banking giants, BNY Mellon and State Street. Based on the changes proposed by the new bill, and using our interactive dashboards for BNY Mellon and State Street, we expect these two banks to return more cash to investors in the near future, as their profits improve marginally over coming years. As this will increase net margins and reduce outstanding shares for the banks going forward, this implies a small upside to these banks’ valuations.

A Quick Summary Of The Changes Implemented By The Bill Aimed At Banks
The Crapo Bill, formally signed as the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, introduces changes on several aspects of the U.S. financial industry. The following is a summary of changes that target the bank holding companies:
Increase In SIFI Threshold

• Current regulations label all banks with more than $50 billion in assets as systemically important financial institutions, and subject them to higher regulatory scrutiny, in addition to stricter capital requirements. The bill increases the SIFI threshold to $100 billion, and will raise the threshold further to $250 billion after 18 months.

• Which Banks Are Affected? The Federal Reserve Board currently includes 38 banks with assets worth more than $50 billion in its rigorous annual stress tests. This figure will fall to just 12 given the new threshold, as nearly all regional banks will now be exempt from stricter regulatory oversight. Notably, investment banking giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will not get any respite because of their identification as Global SIFIs by the Basel Committee

• Why Does This Matter? While the banks with $100 billion to $250 billion in assets are not completely off the hook (and will be subjected to stress tests periodically), they will save millions in regulatory compliance costs linked with the stricter scrutiny.
Boost To Supplementary Leverage Ratio Figure of Custody Banks

• Current regulations require banks to leave out any deposits they have with central banks of developed nations (like the Fed and the ECB among others) while calculating their supplementary leverage ratio. Overall, this requirement has a negative impact on this key ratio figure. However, the new bill allows only the custody banks to include these deposits in their calculation of supplementary leverage ratio – resulting in an immediate boost to this figure

• Which Banks Are Affected? This change is a welcome one for BNY Mellon, State Street and Northern Trust. Despite being the third- and fourth-largest custody banks in the world, JPMorgan and Citigroup will not benefit from this change because of their diversified business models (with significant investment banking exposure).

• Why Does This Matter? BNY Mellon and State Street have regularly fared among the best at the Fed’s annual stress tests in terms of impact of a severely adverse economic conditions on their profits and capital ratio figures. As their capital ratio figures are already very strong, the relaxed leverage ratio requirements should free up considerable amount of cash for these custody banks – allowing them to return a sizable chunk to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the near future.
Change In Treatment Of Certain Municipal Obligations
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• The current classification of securities held by banks does not allow U.S. Municipal Securities to be included as a part of high-quality liquid assets. The bill makes these securities admissible as a level 2B liquid asset (which can be included as a part of the Tier 2 capital ratio figure, with a haircut of 25-50%) provided they are investment grade and are marketable.

• Which Banks Are Affected? As all banks hold some proportion of municipal securities, this move is likely to have a positive (albeit small) impact on all U.S. banks

• Why Does This Matter? Banks with a sizable portfolio of eligible U.S. municipal securities on their balance sheets should be able to report a small uptick in their capital ratio figures thanks to this amendment. Clearly, the positive impact will be more for banks with a larger proportion of these securities.

These charts were made using our interactive dashboard platform, which is used by CFOs and Finance teams, private equity professionals and more to build interactive models and create, share and present scenario analyses.

Original article with original foot notes is here.

Image not mine, source not known. From internet

No, Dodd-Frank was neither repealed nor gutted.

May 30, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Editor’s Note:

This report is part of the Series on Financial Markets and Regulation and was produced by the Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets.

The largest legal change to financial regulation since passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 just occurred. This new law neither repeals nor replaces Dodd-Frank as House Speaker Ryan claimed nor does it ‘gut Dodd-Frank’ as some of its opponents argue. Here are five false narratives promoted about the new bill, along with a surprising ramification of what passage of this legislation likely means: Dodd-Frank is here to stay.

False narratives:

1. The bill repeals and replaced Dodd Frank.

To the contrary, the legislation leaves intact the core Dodd-Frank framework: increasingly tougher regulation on larger banks, new authority and discretion for the Federal Reserve, enhanced authority for the federal government to unwind a failed financial institution, and the creation of new federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The legislation itself does not touch the CFPB, a key requirement for Democratic congressional support.

The House of Representatives did consider a true repeal and replace, the CHOICE Act, which passed the House with no bipartisan support in June 2017. The core of that legislation was rejected by the Senate, which reached a different bipartisan deal that attracted the support of 17 Democratic Senators.^[1] The Senate bill passed verbatim by the House, where almost all Republicans joined 33 Democrats to pass this law. Congress rejected the CHOICE Act’s repeal and replace and instead embraced the Senate’s modifications of existing law.

2. This law ‘guts’ Dodd-Frank.

The major change cited in this argument is the increase of the so-called ‘Bank SIFI’ threshold, which increases the size at which a bank is subject to enhanced regulation by the Federal Reserve. Dodd-Frank set this line at $50 billion, unindexed for inflation or economic growth. The law raises this figure to $250 billion, with an important caveat that the Federal Reserve retains the discretion to apply enhanced regulatory standards to any specific bank greater than $100 billion, if the Fed feels that is warranted.

Dodd-Frank attempts a difficult balancing act in regulating large banks. The idea is to internalize the negative externalities that a large, complex financial institution creates through the imposition of higher regulatory scrutiny, specifically through higher capital standards and other forms of enhanced regulation. This was Dodd-Frank’s solution to the debate raging at the time, between nationalizing and breaking up the largest banks or allowing the market to determine proper bank size. Dodd-Frank delegated, largely to the Federal Reserve, the important task of how to set the scales to achieve this balancing act. The new legislation goes further down this path, granting the Fed greater discretion in how to set those scales for institutions between $100 and $250 billion, including providing the option of essentially no penalty for size. Congress is changing the weights on the scale, and is empowering the Fed even more, but it is continues the Dodd-Frank structure.

3. Major new lending is coming to individuals and small businesses.

This is the argument put forth by many in Congress and within the banking industry. As the Independent Community Bankers Association argues: “The new law will spur greater consumer access to credit and business lending in Main Street communities nationwide.” There is no direct provision in this law that accomplishes this and the argument that reduced regulatory costs for a subset of banks will translate into more lending as opposed to greater profits is just speculation. Bank profits just reached a record $56 billion last quarter, and small business lending by community banks is already growing twice as fast as that by large banks, according to the FDIC. The new tax law and this new bank de-regulation law will continue to help boost profits, what trickles down in lending is less clear.

Consider two provisions of the new law: the repeal of Truth-In-Lending Act protections for certain mortgages on mobile homes, and the exemption of small banks and mortgage lenders from enhanced reporting of data to detect racial discrimination (known as HMDA+).

The mobile home provision does not even touch banks, big or small. Instead it exempts manufactured home retailers and their employees from TILA requirements, ultimately perpetuating “the conflicts of interest and steering that plague this industry and allow lenders to pass additional costs on to consumers,” according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Mobile home buyers will have less visibility into true costs, making it harder to shop for the best deal. An argument that boils down to the extra profit generated by steering consumers to products not allowed under Truth-In-Lending, may produce more marginal mobile home purchases, is weak.

The second provision targets banks that originate between 100 and 500 mortgages a year, exempting them from collecting enhanced data used to detect predatory and racially discriminatory mortgage lending. Those banks originate only around one out of seven mortgages and are competing with other national mortgage lenders who are subject to this data-reporting requirement. In the scope of a nationally competitive mortgage origination business, with far greater costs and inefficiencies than this additional data, it is hard to see how any savings will translate to borrowers, or how additional mortgages will be made. However, it could allow for greater undetected steering of minorities to higher cost mortgages – which was prevalent during the housing boom – as well as create more false positives where traditional information show discrimination but enhanced data would demonstrate otherwise.

These two provisions are both bad policy and unlikely to spur greater overall lending. Instead, they are likely to generate higher profits for the providers of credit and potentially worse terms for borrowers.

4. This law fulfills President’s Trump promise to ‘do a big number’ on Dodd-Frank.

A bill signing ceremony is a natural moment for a President to say he has delivered on a campaign promise. The lack of major legislative achievements for President Trump and the Republican Congress only compound the pressure to argue that this bill does more than it actually does. This is Congress’s likely only bite at the apple on financial reform. Dodd-Frank survives Trump’s first two years.

To the Trump Administration’s credit, its thinking has evolved to see the benefits to major components of Dodd-Frank. For example, the Treasury Department’s report on Dodd-Frank’s failure resolution regime (Title II of Dodd-Frank) recommended keeping it with only minor modifications. This stopped efforts in Congress to repeal Title II, which remains in place.

Ultimately, the success of the Dodd-Frank framework depends on the prudence and judgment of the financial regulators who are generally given substantial authority and discretion in applying the Dodd-Frank framework. As Trump finally assembles his regulatory team – the last major piece of which was the Senate’s confirmation of the new FDIC Chair McWilliams on the same day the new law was signed – the efficacy of Dodd-Frank under a new regime will be tested.

Trump may still deliver on his promise, not by legislation, but by the actions of financial regulators he appoints. Appointing his top budget staffer, Mick Mulvaney, as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has resulted in a series of major rollbacks and revisions of key rules and regulations to protect consumers and prevent many of the abuses that were at the heart of the financial crisis. If the CFPB is the cop on the beat patrolling against unscrupulous lending, Mulvaney, as the new chief of police is ordering the force to take a nap.

5. The legislation meaningfully addresses #EquifaxScandal.

The Equifax scandal broke during consideration of the legislation, pressuring Congress to do something. Unfortunately, the legislation does not address the fundamental problems inherent in the credit reporting system, including that 1 out of every 4 readers of this piece has a material error on their credit report. Congress settled on a small provision regarding the right to freeze credit reports without cost, while also providing Equifax and the other bureaus a major victory by limiting their liability for certain lawsuits regarding credit monitoring services they provided.

In financial regulation, scandals are often the drivers of legislation to fix problems both exposed from the scandal and long festering. This bill does neither for credit reporting agencies nor for other recent financial scandals, such as the Wells Fargo fake account scandal.

Key takeaways from the new financial law

Despite Republican control of Congress and the White House, Dodd-Frank’s structure remains largely intact. If this legislation is the largest change made to Dodd-Frank during Trump’s time in office, then Dodd-Frank will have survived its first major political test. The failure of the Republican Congress to alter significantly Dodd-Frank does not mean that it will remain effective. Personnel changes are a far greater threat to Dodd-Frank’s success than this new law. And just because the law’s impacts are not likely to threaten financial stability does not mean that they are not problematic and will not result in significant problems for certain borrowers (check back for scandals where the CFPB pulled back or in mobile homes in a few years).

Finally, it is important to note that even for those who disagree with many provisions of the new law, there are some that are positive. The law changes a definition by the Federal Reserve on the treatment of certain municipal debt to allow it to count for a regulatory requirement for greater liquidity. It also creates a reasonable parity with the treatment of corporate debt, striking a better balance for the financial system and ultimately allocating more capital to municipal governments. Hopefully they will use to build more infrastructure as it has become clear that is another campaign promise that Trump will not fulfill this year.

Original article with original foot notes can be found here

This image not mine. Source not known, from internet.

USPAP Compliance and Desktop Appraisals

May 30, 2018May 23, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Many appraisers are worried that a so-called desktop appraisal will not be USPAP compliant if a third party to inspects and/or photographs the subject property.

USPAP does not make an issue of who inspects the property, nor who photographs it. USPAP does not require the appraiser to inspect the subject property. Nor does USPAP require the appraiser to photograph the subject property or the comparables. USPAP requires the appraiser to disclose the extent of the inspection of the subject property, which includes no inspection at all. Further, USPAP makes no mention of the need to include photographs of the subject as part of the formation of a credible value opinion. Both these requirements are a function of lender requirements, not USPAP.

Fannie Mae requires the appraiser to inspect the subject property, as well as to inspect the comparable property from at least the road in front of the it (assuming that’s possible). However, Fannie Mae has no requirements the appraiser take these photographs. In other words, a contractor the appraiser hires to take photographs could do this and the report would still be fully Fannie Mae, as well as USPAP, compliant.

An individual lender may require the appraiser to take the subject and comparable photographs him- or herself. If the appraiser agrees to this condition, then the appraiser has no choice but to do so. However, the key point here is that the appraiser personally taking the photographs of the subject and/or the comparables is a lender requirement, not a requirement of USPAP, and not necessarily a requirement of Fannie Mae.

Therefore, under certain conditions, an appraiser doing a desktop appraisal is perfectly USPAP compliant. Providing photos is not significant appraisal assistance. The appraiser is under no ethical obligation to disclose the photographer’s name, nor the extent of his/her assistance.

Original Article Here

CONDUCT:

May 30, 2018May 23, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

CONDUCT:

An appraiser must perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests.

An appraiser:

• must not perform an assignment with bias;

• must not advocate the cause or interest of any party or issue;

• must not accept an assignment that includes the reporting of predetermined opinions and conclusions;

• must not misrepresent his or her role when providing valuation services that are outside of appraisal practice;11

• must not communicate assignment results with the intent to mislead or to defraud;

• must not use or communicate a report or assignment results known by the appraiser to be misleading or fraudulent;

• must not knowingly permit an employee or other person to communicate a report or assignment results that are misleading or fraudulent;

• must not use or rely on unsupported conclusions relating to characteristics such as race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, familial status, age, receipt of public assistance income, handicap, or an unsupported conclusion that homogeneity of such characteristics is necessary to maximize value;

• must not engage in criminal conduct;

• must not willfully or knowingly violate the requirements of the RECORD KEEPING RULE; and

• must not perform an assignment in a grossly negligent manner.

The Home Buying Process

May 24, 2018June 14, 2018NanaGSmith Leave a comment

Today we feature our guest blogger, Bret Engle article.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Many first-time home buyers consider purchasing a fixer-upper. While you may think a fixer-upper is an inexpensive way into your first home, or a fast track to easy money, it could turn into a money pit. Take these points into consideration so you can make a smart choice.

The home-buying process. Before you do anything else, you need to know the ins and outs of the home-buying process. CNN explains the basic steps:

Save for a down payment. Typically this is around 20 percent of the purchase price.

Know your credit score. The better your credit rating, the better your chance of getting a loan and securing a good interest rate.
Talk with your bank. Your lender can tell you how much you can borrow.
Explore the market. Find out what’s available in your price range.

Special funding. Depending on your situation, you may qualify for special loans to buy a fixer-upper. There are government-backed home-renovation loans available through Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration. These loans are determined in part by your credit rating, along with other factors affecting eligibility.

House hunting. You need to research the homes available in your area, becoming familiar with all the local market offers. You should explore what is in your price range, decide if you can afford repairs, and think about whether it’s appropriate to invest your time, money, and energy in a fixer-upper. For instance, homes for sale in Stamford, CT have a median listing price of $570,000.

As Bob Vila explains, if you’re pooling all your funds for a down payment, it may not be reasonable to consider a home you can’t afford to fix right away. Some repairs are cosmetic, and you can live on-site and do the work yourself. In that case, you can probably take your time and make repairs during evenings and weekends. If a house has structural issues or needs major renovations, consider where you will live and whether you have the skills to do the work. When determining repairs, some items may be difficult for a layperson to evaluate. Before you fall in love with property, some experts note it’s wise to pay for appropriate inspections, which may mean hiring more than the traditional certified home inspector. There are specialized inspections for roofs, sewers, pests, and geological issues, and you might even be able to get the seller to pay for them.

Smart decisions. If you elect to take the jump into purchasing a fixer-upper home, you’ll need to invest in appropriate tools and materials. You won’t want to pinch pennies by buying poor-quality items because good tools such as drills, sanders, and jigsaws make your work much easier. Better quality equates to better efficiency and a lighter workload on your part. You also need to prioritize properly. For instance, HGTV notes you want to make any major repairs to kitchens and bathrooms first because those rooms are of high use and value.

Sell or stay? This is a big question, and there are many determining factors. One of the biggest factors in whether to flip your fixer-upper is the expense involved in your renovations. If quick, cosmetic repairs are all that’s needed and a home is located in a desirable location, you can potentially turn a profit flipping a home. However, expensive repairs, a downturn in the market, or a location that isn’t so marketable can all factor into whether your investment will pay off. Some professionals warn that for many first-time home buyers who purchase fixer-uppers, bankruptcy can be the outcome instead of a tidy profit. Weigh the pros and cons carefully before your dream of flipping a fixer-upper becomes a financial nightmare!

First-time fixer-upper? If you’re puzzling over whether to purchase a fixer-upper as your first home, it’s wise to be cautious. Understand the buying process and evaluate whether you have the skills and money to make it worthwhile. Weigh the many factors involved if you’re considering attempting to flip the property. Careful considerations are the key to making a smart decision!

Bret Engle Article

If you need help with design for your project, or with buying/selling your home or knowing the value of your home fill up the form below.

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Some Important Points To Consider:

The impact waiting a year to purchase your dream home can make on your monthly payment is significant. Contact a local real estate professional today to discuss your options before the experts’ predictions become reality!

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There is no “later.”

Don’t build “negotiation room” into the price.

The Price is Right

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Bottom Line

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That hasn’t happened this year.

Bottom Line

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Bottom Line

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From Monakewego to Greenwich Point

Tod’s Point

Acquisition by the Town

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What are you looking for?

Is it a Good Deal?

Can A Realtor Help?

Are they a Good Tenant?

Can it Save Me Money in Other Ways?

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DEMAND

SUPPLY

Bottom Line

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1. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With

2. Exposure to Prospective Purchasers

3. Results Come from the Internet

4. FSBOing has Become More and More Difficult

5. You Net More Money when Using an Agent

Bottom Line

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Fannie Mae’s “Collateral Underwriter” Is Now Open For Business

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Day 4, reflections of yesterday November 19th

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If this tool is that great why they would not let appraisers to use it to?

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Day 4, reflections of yesterday November 19^th