Appraisal Institute - Southern Arizona Chapter

	Southern Arizona Chapter Our chapter news covers the latest programs and developments at the Appraisal Institute and around the industry.

Good news for homeowners going green 10/2011, Published by the Arizona Daily Star Here's some good news for homeowners who've gone green and installed energy-saving features but haven't been sure whether appraisers will credit them with higher valuations: Thanks to a new industry-issued appraisal addendum, the odds have improved that they'll get the fairer market value they're due. The Appraisal Institute, the country's largest and most influential association in its field, published the long-awaited addendum Sept. 29. It's designed to be attached to any standard appraisal report covering a property with significant green features. Owners, sellers, buyers, refinancers and realty agents don't have to wait for an appraiser to use it. They can download it at no cost, and ask that it be made part of the appraisal submitted to the lender. The new addendum won't guarantee you that the appraiser will raise your property value by the tens of thousands of dollars you spent on your solar panel array, high-efficiency windows or geothermal system. But it should guarantee at the minimum that he or she will take notice of the energy improvements and seek to come up with a value adjustment for your local market conditions. The three-page form is a response to growing concerns that although the Obama administration and many state governments and utilities are pushing homeowners to invest in energy-conserving components, standard appraisal forms - including those used by financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - are not set up to give adequate recognition to those often costly improvements. The inevitable result: Owners are frustrated at what they consider lowball valuations. Refinancers can't get the loan amounts they seek because the appraisal report doesn't factor in the monthly utility savings they're getting from their solar panels. Appraisers, for their part, say local real estate listing documents often don't spell out in detail all the energy-efficiency improvements or they get the facts wrong. Any certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) must be attached to the report along with information on any changes made by the owners to the property since the certification. The three-page form is a response to growing concerns that although the Obama administration and many state governments and utilities are pushing homeowners to invest in energy-conserving components, standard appraisal forms - including those used by financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - are not set up to give adequate recognition to those often costly improvements. To read more: www.azstarnet.com

Agencies seek help in dealing with foreclosures 08/2011 The Obama administration is investigating the possibility of renting out foreclosed properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, HousingWire.com reported Aug. 10. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a request for information Aug. 10, seeking new ideas for dealing with the backlog of real estate owned properties. The FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises currently own 250,000 properties, and another 850,000 homes are in some stage of foreclosure, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 11.

Mortgage Fraud by Organized Crime Remains Prevalent 08/2011 Citing data from CoreLogic, the FBI said that $10 billion in loans that originated in 2010 were obtained fraudulently. The various schemes involved loan origination, foreclosure-rescue initiatives and short sales, HousingWire.com reported. Fraud also was occurring when parties were engaged in property flipping, loan modifications, equity skimming, builder bailouts, reverse mortgages and title and escrow deals. FBI analysts blamed the down real estate market for creating a confluence of factors that kept mortgage fraud alive, HousingWire.com reported. To combat those abuses, the Department of Justice and FBI will continue to tackle the issue nationwide as part of an ongoing mortgage-fraud initiative.