My New Blog

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NovaStar Financial Inc (NFI.N), a subprime mortgage lender, said on Friday it will fire about 500 employees, or 37 percent of its work force, as it reduces home loans given tough capital markets conditions.

The lender also said it will temporarily stop offering home loans through brokers, and instead continue to offer mortgages through its retail operations.Read Full Article

I have noticed in these slowing times more and more lenders are loan shopping.  They are sending mass emails out with a property address and a "estimated value" to multiple appraisers usually picked from a national registry.

I received two yesterday alone, both of which stated if the value checks out....this will become an order. 

My advice to appraisers, is to watch out for these unethical lenders, and to remember that even a verbal confirmation is an appraisal, so be careful how you respond!  Don't be suckered into the "Hit-it and Get-it" companies. Typically if they are shopping, it is because they are pushing value. Make sure you have a good E&O policy if you choose deal with them.

A whack on the side of the head: Four "Hints" that Fannie Mae wants ANALYSIS!

Having spoken with many, many appraisers regarding forms development, specifically those forms produced by Fannie and Freddie such as the URAR, I get the feeling that the subtle hints intended to catch our attention were not fully realized.

Read all hints

Be Careful with AVM's. There is no comparison with an actual appraisal done by a person. (article from NY Times)

THE value of my house fluctuates more often — and for even more mysterious reasons — than my weight these days.

But is it going up? Or down? Either my house lost $94,248 in value over the last two months, or else it gained $32,799 in the last 30 days.

I can’t tell, because I get conflicting information from online sites — like Eppraisal.com, Realestateabc.com and Homegain.com — where I find myself obsessively comparing numbers every day or so.

Read full article

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a bold bid to turn back a rising financial storm, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday cut a key bank lending rate and signaled a willingness to take more dramatic action to cushion the economy from tightening credit.

With stock markets from Asia to New York reeling as shock waves from rising U.S. mortgage defaults spread around the globe, the U.S. central bank tried to calm financial markets by lowering the discount rate that governs Fed loans to banks by a hefty half-percentage point to 5.75 percent.

Read Full Article    The Chattanooga housing market seems stable, and does not appear to be overbuilt like other cities in the nation.  Any slow down, I contribute to the negative media attention!

Credit Fears Chill Countrywide Financial (from forbes.com)

Things are going from bad to worse for Countrywide Financial.

According to America's largest home loan lender, Countrywide Financial, (nyse: CFC - news - people ) the serious crunch in the debt and secondary mortgage markets could batter its financial condition in the near-term.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted late Thursday, the embattled lender described the markets' problems as "unprecedented disruptions." Following this dire prediction shares of Countrywide Financial fell 13.8% in Friday pre-market trading, however the decline eased to a 5.6% drop, or $1.61, to $27.05 in Friday afternoon trading.

Because Countrywide Financial depends heavily on credit to finance its operations, the tumult in the debt markets could jeopardize its ability to secure that funding.

Read full story

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2007/05/28/daily18.html

An Atlanta real estate appraiser arrested for her alleged role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme from 1999 to 2001 has been cleared of all charges

"I wish I knew back then what I know now," Kinsey said. "I was an apprentice appraiser and pretty green. During that time, I think I put too much trust in brokers and agents who provided me with information on properties to be appraised. Unfortunately, my supervisors and I didn't figure out until too late that Parker was taking advantage of my trust and inexperience and using my appraisals to commit crimes. I'm just glad this nightmare is over."