Appraise This

Welcome to Day 1 of the HVCC. 

For those of you unfamiliar, that stands for the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.  The main focus of the HVCC is to keep Appraisers away from the influence of loan originators assuming that this measure will decrease the pressure on Appraisers to meet a certain value determination.  Basically, there are new rules for who may order an appraisal if a loan package is to be sent to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The mythology behind the HVCC was that all appraisals would need to be ordered through Appraisal Management Companies (AMC's).  This is not true.  The important element is that the appraisal function reports to an individual or department outside of loan production in order to maintain a separation.

There are some valuable references clarifying the HVCC and I advise everyone working in the industry to read them so that they are educated on the new changes.  The links are below:

The Appraisal Institute has published a Myths & Realities paper which has answers to many questions regarding the HVCC.  It can be found various places online including here through Appraisal Scoop:

http://appraisalnewsonline.typepad.com/files/home-valuation-code-of-conduct---myths-realities.pdf

In fact, Appraisal Scoop has a GREAT DEAL of information on the HVCC.  It is generally a great source for all information appraisal:

www.appraisalscoop.com