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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Dec. 11 that, effective immediately, it will no longer require appraisers to include Fannie Mae Form 1004MC in VA appraisal reports. However, appraisers still are responsible for analyzing and accurately reporting market conditions.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 25 approved HR 6347 and HR 6348, legislation the Appraisal Institute says will put taxpayers at significant risk by virtually eliminating appraisal requirements for the Small Business Administration’s two largest loan programs. AI had submitted a letter urging the House to vote against the legislation.
Fifty-nine percent of economists responding to a Wall Street Journal survey said they believe the U.S. economy will stop expanding in 2020, HousingWire reported Sept. 18. Sixty-two percent of respondents said the most likely cause of the next downturn would be an overheated economy that leads to increased Fed tightening.
Nearly two-thirds of real estate investors said they are planning to add more senior housing to their portfolios, and interest in independent living properties is especially high, according to commercial real estate company CBRE, MBA NewsLink reported Sept. 17. The senior housing vacancy rate is hovering around 9 percent.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled July 16 that the Federal Housing Finance Agency's leadership structure is unconstitutional, HousingWire reported. The court found that the FHFA is too "isolated," and ruled that its director's possible removal only for cause violates the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers.
The Trump administration on July 10 said the Federal Housing Administration will scale back its use of the False Claims Act so that banks that previously shied away from offering FHA loans due to concerns about violations and settlements are more certain about offering those types of loans, HousingWire reported.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on July 13 signed Public Act 100-0604 (enacted as SB 2617), legislation that amends Appraisal Management Company Registration Act requirements for AMC registration and oversight. It also authorizes the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to participate in a multistate appraiser licensing and renewal system.
Freddie Mac announced June 28 that consumers who purchase a condo or refinance an existing condo mortgage might be eligible for its automated collateral evaluation appraisal waiver. The ACE program, which launched in 2017 for single-family homes, gives eligible borrowers the opportunity to forgo a traditional appraisal.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on June 29 signed HB 863, legislation that allows the state’s real estate brokers, associate brokers and salespeople to provide broker price opinions. The law takes effect Aug. 28 and places significant restrictions on those allowed to perform BPOs and limits the situations under which they may be performed.
Fraud and misrepresentation in mortgage loan applications dropped 2.4 percent between April and May, and was down 3.6 percent from the same point last year, according to the Loan Application Defect Index released July 2 by settlement services firm First American Financial Corp., MBA NewsLink reported.
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