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North Bay Chapter
Education

Thurs. Jan. 19th, 2012(flyer)

Loss Prevention Program
for Real Estate Appraisers


by Claudia Gaglioni and Peter Christensen

(4 CE Hrs. OREA #10119C101)

Pre-registration is now closed.

 

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GAO Appraisal Subcommittee Report 01-18-2012

Group Health Care - Coming soon.

REAA Bylaws
(Approved March 1,2011)

July 2011
 

2011 Appraiser Scholarship:

Eligibiltiy Requirements (pdf)

Application (pdf)

(Article by Mark Lindsay and Photo by Allen Kezer )

Hearing more about appraisers in the news and not enough of it good? The North Bay Chapter of REAA hosted a loss prevention program for appraisers presented by Liability Insurance Administrators on January 19th in Petaluma. LIA's General Counsel, Peter Christensen, highlighted several of the areas of concern for residential appraisers and shared specifics for appraisers to use in their businesses to reduce risk.

According to Mr. Christensen, many issues can be avoided by performing a few simple precautionary actions:

1. Trust your instincts. He cited that an overwhelming number of appraisers seeking advice and legal help start their explanations with "I felt there was something wrong here…".
2. Disclose property issues in plain English, take photographs and keep a strong workfile, it will be your defense kit.
3. In California, the statute of limitations starts with the claimant's discovery of the defective appraisal and runs 2 years. Remember, the USPAP record keeping rule is only 5 years after appraisal preparation.
4. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is the receiver for failed banks and the FDIC made the most claims against appraisers in 2011. The bad news is the discovery rule is extended to 3 years for the FDIC. It is suggested appraisers retain workfiles up to 8 years given the vintage of claims currently arising.

Claims can start in several ways but all require a response, think first is advice given by Mr. Christensen. Assess the situation and consider a range of resolutions. Respond to the claim and report it to your carrier. Do not offer to "correct an error" or make admissions prior to getting all the facts and reporting the situation to your carrier.

What has caused the rise in claims against appraisers? Mr. Christensen noted the decline in values and subsequent defaults expose many errors in the mortgage process including appraisals. Mortgage liability via loan put backs and mortgage backed securities litigation are some of the reasons the level of claims against appraisers is elevated. The heightened scrutiny of lending paperwork has found defects in many portions of the loan file including underwriting, borrower information, title and credit.

The good news is that many claims can be avoided by a few best practices of strong workfiles, disclosure and proof reading reports prior to delivery.

2011 Trussas Award

The James Trussas Award winner for 2011 is Corina Rollins, educator and appraiser from the North Bay Chapter. The award recognizes excellence in the appraisal industry. Corina is a well loved USPAP instructor, the Senior Real Estate instructor for College of Marin, first female member of the Marin County Assessment Appeals Board and has been an instrumental force in the development of the North Bay Chapter. Many of us in the North Bay Chapter seek her advice on appraisal issues as she is a trusted source and deeply experienced. Congratulations Corina!
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