Appraisal Institute Announces Support for 'Green' Real Estate Bill in Congress

I'm so incredibly excited! The long awaited appraisal reform is coming to reflect the consumer benefits of going green!

 Rismedia announced Monday October 24, 2011

 Appraisal Institute Announces Support for 'Green' Real Estate Bill in Congress

The Appraisal Institute is supporting the Sensible Accounting to Value Energy Act of 2011  sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo, and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and other organizations. Remind me to send them a thank you note.

“We strongly support the SAVE Act because it will improve communication and the flow of information among appraisers, lender clients and those interacting with the mortgage lending process,” Appraisal Institute Immediate Past President Leslie Sellers, MAI, SRA, said at the event. “It would require use of qualified, competent appraisers and would help ensure that appraisers have access to data needed to analyze the effects of energy-efficient home improvements in the marketplace. Consumers would benefit from the bill’s efforts to help ensure they receive a reliable, credible opinion of value.”

 
What this means is that our house values will be adjusted upwards for features that reduce energy consumption.  It also means the The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would issue updated underwriting and appraisal guidelines for any loan issued, insured, purchased or securitized by the Federal Housing Administration or any other federal mortgage loan insurance agency.

 What will be measured?

 1.  Average utility costs derived by the Department of Energy’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey database,  and

 2.  Adjusted for the square footage of the home, or if available, a qualified, independent energy report of the subject property.

 The measure includes two primary features:

 An affordability test and a loan-to-value adjustment.

Sellers said the SAVE Act would help protect taxpayers from another foreclosure crisis; would lower utility bills for U.S. households; would remove from federal mortgage policy an impediment to home energy efficiency; would drive business and job growth in the construction and manufacturing sectors; would expand the accessibility and affordability of energy efficient homes; and would reduce U.S. energy dependence.

“The SAVE Act would require that appraisers are provided with all relevant information relating to energy-efficient features of properties,” Sellers said. “And by defining these types of appraisal assignments as ‘complex,’ the SAVE Act would help ensure those properties are valued by an appraiser with enhanced competency who can more thoroughly analyze and make appropriate judgments for building energy performance and who can help lenders understand their collateral risk.”