Home Appraisals: Changes on the Horizon?

A major legal brawl is breaking out over how homes are appraised, at what cost, and by whom. The outcome could directly affect the price you pay for your next piece of real estate, and the amount of mortgage money you can obtain.

The fight centers on an unusual agreement reached in March among Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, their federal regulator, and New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo. The agreement took the form of an out-of-court settlement under which Cuomo terminated an investigation of the mortgage finance giants’ appraisal practices in exchange for their adoption of a far-reaching "home valuation code of conduct" covering all loans they purchase or securitize.

The code, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, would shake up the entire appraisal system:

• Mortgage brokers, who originate roughly 60 percent of all new loans, no longer would be allowed to select or pay appraisers. That could force some mortgage shoppers to pay for multiple appraisals rather than just one.

• In-house appraisers at banks and mortgage firms no longer would be permitted to do appraisals for loans to be funded by their organizations.

• Lenders would not be able to use appraisals generated by management companies – firms that contract with networks of appraisers nationwide – if they have a significant financial stake in the management company.

Inflated appraisals – often involving either pressure by loan officers or fraudulent collusion by appraisers themselves – played a role in at least some of the mess we’re seeing in many housing markets.

Under the (Fannie-Freddie plan), consumers would be financially tied to the first lender they, or their mortgage or real estate professional, submits their application to. Any subsequent application may require a new appraisal, doubling or tripling the cost and time involved.