New York Attorney General, GSEs release revised appraisal agreementMortgagePress.comAndrew Cuomo, GSEs, appraisals, NAMB, FHFA, Fannie MAe, Freddie Mac, Home Valuation Code of Conduct
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has announced its
disappointment with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo,
government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs)
and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for issuing its
revised Agreement on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) for
appraisals. This agreement, in response to an initial investigation
into business practices conducted between Washington Mutual and
appraisal management company E-AppraiserIT, once again fails to
address the appraiser fraud problem. NAMB today issued the
following statement from NAMB President Marc Savitt:
"This agreement amounts to a de facto regulatory action which
avoids the appropriate process. The law provides for a process to
implement regulatory and policy changes such as those contemplated
and specified in this agreement.
This agreement will increase costs to consumers and remove
thousands of small business competitors from the marketplace. This
will create a severe disadvantage to small business mortgage
brokers, and prevent them from engaging competitively in the
mortgage marketplace.
The Attorney General and GSEs disregarded many letters submitted
by industry associations citing numerous laws and regulations
already in place and for failing to make the necessary revisions in
the new agreement to accurately address the problem of appraiser
fraud. The solution to appraiser fraud is to hold responsible those
that commit the fraudulent acts: appraisers. Regulators have failed
to reprimand appraisers committing similar acts to those committed
during the Savings and Loan Crisis, and instead held small business
mortgage brokers accountable.
As always, we are ready to work with these agencies to achieve
the objective of eliminating appraiser fraud without disrupting the
marketplace or hurting consumers. As it stands now, the National
Association of Mortgage Brokers intends to consult with our legal
advisors and to take appropriate legal action if necessary."
For a copy of the revised agreement, please click
here.
For more information, visit www.namb.org.
