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A Letter to Buyers about Appraisals
Dear Buyer,
You may have heard about the new changes in the appraisal laws for any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages which took effect recently.  Beginning May 1, the responsibility for managing home appraisals moved to a middleman, known as appraisal management companies or AMCs.Under new federal regulations, mortgage brokers and loan officers can't directly order appraisals. Instead, they are expected to go through third-party AMCs, which are supposed to prevent them from pressuring appraisers.
One fall out of these new regulations is that there may be fewer indpendent appraisers since the majority of them will now be on staff.  This means they may not be as knowledgeable about the neighborhood and/or unique property characteristics.  This change also means that borrowers, mortgage brokers, and agents can no longer suggest comparable properties or discuss possible misunderstandings.
The new regulations are very likely to increase the number of appraisals which come in below purchase price. which will inturn drive more sellers to lower their prices to reach mutual acceptance. The news is filled with stories of homes not appraising. I recently realized that a low appraisal is  exactly what several of my buyer clients are hoping for - negotiate a price that the seller will accept, and then pray for ... more

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