Technology firms and appraisal management companies are ready for upcoming changes to Federal Housing Administration appraisal requirements. In addition, the government reminded FHA mortgagees and appraisers about its existing policies.
In Mortgagee Letter 2009-41, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reminded mortgagees and appraisers about FHA’s monitoring and appraisal performance standards. HUD also reviewed enforcement standards and sanctions that can be imposed on appraisers who do not comply with FHA appraisal reporting requirements or with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
FHA’s Appraiser Independence and Appraiser Engagement regulations aren’t effective until next year, but Solidifi said last month that it is already compliant. The company said that the introduction of the HVCC triggered protests from loan originators, and the FHA version just complicates the issue.
Solidifi pays its appraisers the full fee — a practice that is in line with new FHA requirements. The company’s, president, Griff Straw remarked, “I am not certain how traditional AMC’s who take a split as high as 50 percent of an appraiser’s fee are going to be able to comply with these new rules.”
Solidifi plans to address expected longer turn times for procuring and managing FHA case numbers with a simple FHA case number workflow tool.
Mortgage brokers who utilize the updated DartExpress system will also be compliant with all FHA appraisal requirements, DartAppraisal.com announced. Brokers order FHA- and HVCC-compliant appraisals online with a credit card by choosing a wholesale lender participating in the system. Appraisal tracking is tracked in seven steps, and copies of the completed appraisals are delivered to the brokers and lenders.
Not to be outdone, StreetLinks National Appraisal Services — a MortgageDaily.com advertiser — said on Oct. 13 that it was fully compliant with HUD Mortgagee Letter 2009-28. The company’s chief executive officer, Steve Haslam. noted that the changes will have a big impact on lenders, as did the HVCC.
StreetLinks — which last month announced it was selected as the exclusive AMC for Plaza Home Mortgage — complies with FHA’s reasonable fees requirement because it “has always used the best local appraisers in every market and paid reasonable fees.” Its appraisers set the fees.
