Systemic Failures in FHA Appraisal and Loan Review
A recent FHA loan case revealed a cascade of failures: the appraiser misreported a home’s utilities, labeling a private well and septic system as public. The lender classified the mistake as a low‑severity Property Eligibility defect, triggering a Tier 4 rating that stripped the borrower of any remediation rights. HUD’s desk review was completed in just seven days with a “Limited” scope, foregoing a required field inspection. The AMC, Class Valuation, selected the deficient appraiser and issued a checklist that directly contradicted the original report, while a FOIA request for the review data remains unanswered.
Flags Over Facts: The Road to Obsolescence
The mortgage industry is accelerating a shift toward automated appraisals, highlighted by the Mortgage Credit Executive Order and the upcoming UAD 3.6 system. UAD 3.6 will require hyper‑granular, machine‑readable data, turning every appraisal into a data‑mining exercise and expanding automated flagging that...
Suspended: The AMC That Turned “Review” Into a Value Demand
Virginia’s Board of Real Estate suspended appraisal‑management firm Financial Asset Services (FAS) and its chief appraiser Brandon Sison for six months, adding an 18‑month probation period, after they pressured a certified appraiser to lower a $385,000 reverse‑mortgage valuation. The firm...