Appraiser News

School Calendar | Georgia Appraiser Home Page

CramDisk.com


 

Source

Preview

FHA Measures to improve loans, raise capital

Reuters

December 8, 2009

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan has made several proposals to return to liquidity.  The proposals include higher down payments, higher insurance premiums, and higher credit scores.  The Washington Post ran a similar story.

Checking the Health of Housing Recovery

Business Week

November 23, 2009

As with any market, the balance of supply and demand matters in real estate.  And that balance is still out of whack, but it is improving.  In October the equivalent of seven months' supply of existing homes were on the market, down from eight months in September.  "We're showing signs that we're clearing out the excess inventory," says Michael Strauss, chief economist at the Commonfund, but inventories are still high.  A more normal level would be 5.5 to 6 months, he says.

For Sale:  Dresden Heights

Wall Street Journal

November 17, 2009

For more than a year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been seeking a buyer for 36 partially built condos it inherited from a high-flying, short-lived Atlanta bank.

Housing Recovery Built on Sand

Barron's

November 19, 2009

Even massive government support can't overcome past excesses, foreclosures, unemployment and tight private credit.  THE ONLY REAL SURPRISE in the latest disastrous batch of data on housing is that anybody is surprised.

Another wave of foreclosures looms

USA Today

November 19, 2009

A second wave of foreclosures is poised to hit the market, potentially undermining housing recovery efforts as more homes add to the glut of inventory and drive down prices.



Real Estate: Tax credits and inventory

Annapolis Capital

November 15, 2009

On Nov. 6, President Obama signed an extension of the $8,000 First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit and further expanded the program to include a $6,500 credit for some people who aren't first-time buyers.  The previous tax credit (for first-time buyers only) had been in effect from January 1, 2009, and was set to expire on November 30.

Housing Outlook Hopeful for 2010

Atlanta Business Chronicle

November 13, 2009

Aided by the home buyer tax credit, the outlook for housing and the economy appears headed for a sustainable recovery, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

FHA boss: FHA is not the new subprime

Business Week

November 14, 2009

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens said Saturday that concerns the agency is headed for the same financial trouble that snared Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the subprime sector are unwarranted.

Crash and Inflate

NCTimes.com

June 2, 2007

Real estate appraiser Todd R. Lackner's second job as mortgage fraud investigator began when he stumbled onto a suspicious-looking transaction while online one day last March, he said last week.

Appraisal Fraud Likely Greater Than Reported

Realty Times

May 25, 2007

In San Diego, Stephen G. Bishop, turned his appraiser's license back into California's Office of Real Estate Appraisal after being fired thrice consecutively because he refused to inflate residential real estate appraisals.

Appraisals Part of All Fraud Loans

Realty Times

May 25, 2007

A faulty or even fake appraisal is said to be at the basis of every fraudulent mortgage transaction.  But not every appraiser is at fault, or at least willingly so.

Mortgage Fraud Is Up, but Not in Their Backyards

NY Times

May 21, 2007

Nearly a decade ago, concerned that mortgage fraud was threatening their pastoral towns, the women — two full-time mothers and a mortgage executive then in their 40s — got together to write down license plate numbers of suspicious cars in their neighborhoods, scour public documents for housing titles and deeds and seek the help of local law enforcement.  At first they were ignored, written off as bored housewives.

Overstated home valuations bring fraud, foreclosures

Detroit Free Press

May 20, 2007

Have inflated appraisals helped fuel the current surge in foreclosures by credit-strapped borrowers?  Are they at the core of many mortgage fraud schemes?

The Silent Menace

Washington Post

May 12, 2007

The term "silent second" is used to describe self-serving or perhaps fraudulent schemes by which house sellers accept second mortgages as part of a sales transaction without the full knowledge of the first mortgage lender.  The "silence" refers to the absence of disclosure to the first mortgage lender.

Inflated Appraisals May Be At Core Of Fraud Schemes

Hartford Courant

April 22, 2007

Have inflated appraisals helped to fuel the current surge in foreclosures by credit-strapped borrowers?  Are they at the core of many mortgage fraud schemes?

Appraisal Fraud:  The Shifting Foundation

Mortgage Technology

June 8, 2006

You don't have to be in the mortgage business to know about appraisal fraud these days.  One only has to watch a popular cable show to get the latest pointers on how property values can be manipulated with appropriately placed organized crime "incentives" on appraisers.

Page url: http://www.georgiaappraiser.com/index.html?appraiser_news.htm