HVCC Update

Well we have been stuck with HVCC since May 1st and it's still the total disaster I said it would be a year ago. Check http://www.choicefinance.net/blog/
for my post a year ago saying it would be a nightmare. It's about what I thought it would be and once again the homeowner that is supposedly helped by this is the biggest loser once again. I just had a home that appraised got 995k and the tax assessment is for 1,310 million. Now tax assessments typically run higher than the appraised value these days but not by that percentage. I went back and pulled comps closer and more recent than what the appraiser used. The banks response was a quick no to my appeal. It's ironic that the original intent was to separate lender and appraisers because EVERYONE was in collusion to increase home values. Well guess who owns the appraisal management companies? Yes that's right the banks own most of the AMC'S that are the central management for ordering appraisals!! There have been cases where the appraisers need directions to find the town where they need to go for the appraisal. Folks trust me if that is the case it's almost guaranteed that a poorly done appraisal will follow. When I could order my own appraisals, my local DC guys would not go to Baltimore for me. Why? Because they didn't know the area well enough to do the work. Now you have appraisers coming from anywhere to do them because they need the money. Did you know that while appraisal fees increased as a result of the AMC involvement the actual fees to the appraiser were reduced? Why? Because now you have another layer of bureaucracy involved in ordering it. So appraisers are working twice as hard to make the same amount of money. You get what you pay for, appraisers are turning in reports as fast as they can and why not, it doesn't really affect their ability to get another job. It's a rotating list so the accountability to do a good job is gone. The government claims that they wish to lessen the credit crunch and have the housing market perform to a higher level. Well the HVCC that they have placed on us all will do exactly the opposite, drive down the price of homes and continue the pain that we have all faced much longer than it needs to be. There is a bill in Congress to place and 18 month halt on the HVCC. PLEASE call you member of Congress and tell them to support HR 3044. If not the burdens this rule places on the housing industry will not stop. There has to be a better way than this. Don't think this affects you? You might be right unless you NEVER plan on buying or selling a home pretty much ever. If that is the case then why are you reading this? :)
Please let me know if you have any questions, I would love to hear appraiser feedback as well.

Thanks,