By Ben Goheen on December 18, 2009
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation expects more banks to fail in 2010, increasing the operating budget 35% to $4 billion dollars. Over 1,600 new staff members will also be added to the payroll. Luckily the FDIC sees this as more of a short-term problem since only 84 of these are permanent positions.
133 banks have already failed this year, and there’s no evidence to suggest the 134th is far away. The FDIC keeps a tight lip on the health of the nation’s 8,300 banks. So a website run by MSNBC and American University helps to check the status of your…
Posted in Economy, Mortgage, Mortgage, Subprime
By Ben Goheen on December 3, 2009
The Federal Housing Administration repealed the second appraisal requirement for loans exceeding $417,000 in declining markets, and for cash-out refinances. The two appraisal mandate initially went into effect on April 1, 2008 and was strongly opposed by the National Association of Realtors.
The second appraisal requirement will remain when a property is re-sold between 91 and 180 days following acquisition by the seller if the resale price is 100% higher (or more) than the price paid by the seller when the property was acquired.
“We haven’t noticed any benefit and it really slowed down the process,” FHA Commissioner David Stevens…
Posted in NAR, Real Estate | Tagged FHA, NAR
By Ben Goheen on November 13, 2009
Many properties can exhibit some form of obsolescence – either functional, external or both. Don’t know what that it means? You’re not alone. Real estate classes often dart past these terms because real life situations that occur nationwide are difficult to cite. Yet as an appraiser I encounter homes with one or more of the following examples every week.
External Obsolescence
Easier to explain and observe, external obsolescence refers to an undesirable factor outside the property and is generally not curable. This can include:
Highways: Unless you’re a NASCAR fan, having traffic buzz past your front yard at 55 mph isn’t the…
Posted in Real Estate, Tutorial
By Ben Goheen on November 6, 2009
Nerd alert
This post contains technical information on how to setup Google Apps for your domain. The process isn’t extremely complicated – fairly similar to setting up a website.
Another Google product? Not exactly. Google Apps combines several business related tools that you may already use (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs & Google Sites) for use on your website. If you own http://www.coolest-real-estate-agent-ever.net (because of course .com was already taken) it puts the power of these Google services behind it. For the rest of this post I’ll concentrate on Gmail since it’s the most common application.
The benefits
Portability: Rather than having…
Posted in Tech | Tagged Business, google, Technology
By Ben Goheen on October 9, 2009
Indianapolis based appraisal management company StreetLinks has established a $1,000,000 fund to pay a performance guarantee to its clients, saying that it ensures their appraisals are consistent and accurate.
Of course with any guarantee you have to read the fine print. A lender simply has to stick to the following rules:
Minimum volume: 50+ full conventional and/or FHA products per month
Established and typical state, regional or national lending footprint
Adherence to StreetLinks, HVCC and FHA appraiser independence process
Utilization of StreetLinks “IntelAssign” appraiser selection process
Volume, footprint & reporting equality must be established to derive a fair comparison if…
Posted in Mortgage, Mortgage, Opinions | Tagged AMC, appraisals, Mortgage
By Ben Goheen on October 1, 2009
Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used email clients around. It also comes with it’s limitations, like trying to quickly find an old message or client’s contact information. This is where the add-in called Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) really shines.
Fast Email Search
The dual-purpose search box finds people and email messages. Start typing the contact’s name or part of a message you’re looking for and Xobni will return results 50 times faster than Outlook’s built-in search. When searching for a specific person, their name will appear in the results box along with their contact information and every conversation…
Posted in Tech | Tagged Tech, Technology
By Ben Goheen on September 11, 2009
The amount of FHA loans has skyrocketed in the last few months, primarily because they require lower down payments than conventional loans. I’ve mentioned that this increase is possibly due to the fact that lenders can bypass the HVCC, thus still influencing directly contacting the appraiser.
HUD now has a list of FHA lenders with high default rates in every state. Just head over to the early warning system website and start by choosing your state
Posted in Mortgage, Mortgage
By Ben Goheen on August 27, 2009
Since May 1st the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has caused chaos with real estate transactions. Talk to any Realtor or mortgage broker and you’ll hear stories about unqualified out-of-area appraisers killing deals with low values. On the other hand, appraisers will talk about cut-rate fees and impossibly fast turn-around times from appraisal management companies (AMCs), forcing many to leave the business.
While these issues are rather disturbing, they’ve only been isolated to loans being sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. One lender who decided to take a stand is the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),…
Posted in Mortgage, Mortgage, Subprime
By Ben Goheen on August 14, 2009
Recently the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has been blamed for being the main reason appraisal values are low. It definitely hasn’t helped the situation but doesn’t hold true for every home. There are other ways to negatively impact the appraisal:
Let There Be Light
Having a home show well isn’t only for buyers. Open windows to let in sunlight and make the house feel bigger. Get rid of any unwanted odors as it could lead the appraiser to believe there are underlying issues.
Cleaning Up
Appraisers can easily look past minimal clutter or boxes being packed. But having storage areas…
Posted in Real Estate, Tutorial
Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist