DHA Appraisal Blog Winter Haven/Lakeland, FL

DHA Appraisal Blog

Construction To Begin On Florida Complex

May 14th, 2009 6:06 AM

Construction is slated to begin next week on the $150 million Atlantic Village Hotel & Marina complex in Dania Beach, Fla. The property will sit on 10 acres at Interstate 95 and Griffin Road, south of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 14th, 2009 6:06 AMPost a Comment (0)

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Some Florida Markets Show Recovery

May 28th, 2009 10:18 AM

Provided by Commercial Real Estate Direct
Multifamily markets in Miami and Tampa, FL are showing modest signs of recovery. While the portion of multifamily properties nationwide that reduced rents increased to 54.3 percent in the first quarter from 47.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the portion in Miami declined to 38.7 percent from 44 percent and in Tampa to 38.9 percent from 45.2 percent. Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 28th, 2009 10:18 AMPost a Comment (0)

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When Booms Bust: Developer's Residential Golf Resorts Sitting Empty

May 28th, 2009 6:49 AM

By GERALDINE FABRIKANT
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.

MONTVERDE | Off the turnpike here in Central Florida, hidden behind stucco walls, sits a sprawling Tuscan-style clubhouse on a hill overlooking a string of lakes, a golf course and green fields.This 1,900-acre property, called Bella Collina, was designed to hold 800 homes. Today, only 48 houses dot the landscape, and just three are occupied. The clubhouse, though open, is eerily quiet, and a promised swimming pool and equestrian center have yet to be built.

Bella Collina, the brainchild of Edward Robert Ginn III, looks like a ghost town. So does Tesoro, another resort opened by Ginn near Port St. Lucie, where just 150 houses sit on 900 lots. And the Conservatory in Palm Coast, also from Ginn, is even more barren: 335 out of 340 lots are empty.

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 28th, 2009 6:49 AMPost a Comment (0)

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The Appraisal Profession with HVCC and the Rise of AMC's

May 22nd, 2009 10:39 AM

Because HVCC has required lenders who sell loans to Freddie and Fannie to use appraisal management companies, let me address our experience with AMC's.

Starting in 2002 we actively pursued AMC's as clients. We were able to get on the appraisal panels of RELS (Wells Fargo), LandSafe (Countrywide), First American and others. For several years they provided a steady but not an overwhelming number of orders for residential appraisals. RELS provided assignments from the local Wells Fargo office and offices in Iowa and Maryland. In 2005, the local office began calling us to complain that our appraisals were too low and interfering with making their deals go. After I called the district RELS office in Jacksonville, FL to discuss the lender pressure, all assignments stop. We have not gotten an order from them since that phone call.

In July of 2006, all orders from First American stopped suddenly. We called and sent emails many times to find out why we were not receiving work from them. We never received a response. We have received two or three orders from them since July of 2006. A lender who stopped using this AMC because of poor appraisal quality said that FA probably found other firms that would accept lower fees. This lender has become a steady customer of ours because they really want to know what the value is and they are willing to pay for a quality product. AMC's are only interested in paying as little as possible and having fast delivery. Paying for a quality product is not on their radar screen.

We took LandSafe off our list of clients because the fees were just too low.

In the summer of 2006, we started getting unsolicited requests for residential appraisals from Nations Valuation Service of San Diego. They were willing to pay our standard fee for regular customers. For six months we received 1-3 assignments per week from them. In the spring of 2007, I received call from Vendor Management asking us to lower our fee by $50. If we didn't agree, she indicated that they would stop sending us orders and that she had other appraisers in the area agreeing to even lower fees. I agreed to the $50 reduction. Since that conversation, we have received about a half dozen assignments. These have been for a lender that requires that the appraiser's office be within 50 miles of the subject property. For their other assignments, this AMC is using appraisers with lower fees who are located outside of our county. Again, quality does not matter. It is all about the price.

Within the past year Quantrix, the JP Morgan Chase AMC, began sending us unsolicited orders for residential appraisals. The fees were low but we decided to accept the orders. Since January, we have received 20+/- orders from them. Recently, we have raised our fee for assignments with them because of the new 1004 MC form requirement - more work equals more fee. We have continued to received orders but for how long it is anyone's guess.

We have always delivered on time. As you can see, our experience has been that AMC's are unreliable clients who only want a cheap product. We have several lenders that do not sell their loans and do not use AMC's. They are interested in the value whether it makes the deal go or not. They pay us reasonable fees which allows us to provide a quality product.

Here is the way the typical appraisal office in Florida works when they say they cover 10 or 15 counties. They load the office with trainees and have one or two maybe three state certified appraisers. The trainees inspect the subject properties and sometimes the sales. MLS pictures are often used for the sales so no time is wasted inspecting them. Houses are rarely measured. The public records are used. The state certified appraiser reviews the report, makes changes and many times signs the report as the appraiser because the lender or the AMC requires a state certified appraiser. Usually, the trainee never sees the report that is sent. If the owner can get enough business volume, he or she can be profitable with the AMC's low fees. The trainee makes enough to cover expenses, if that.

The point of this is to show how it has been working since 2002. AMC's have been widely used and the problems with appraisals have continued. The HVCC changes will do nothing to improve quality because those now in control, the AMC's, are price driven not quality driven. This just more hand ringing by the political class to show that they are doing something to help.

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 22nd, 2009 10:39 AMPost a Comment (0)

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HVCC/Fannie/Freddie raising appraisal costs

May 20th, 2009 5:04 AM

Here's a few quotes from Ken Harney's recent article

"How about this scenario the next time you refinance or apply for a mortgage: The real estate appraisal that used to cost you $325 now costs $450, even though the appraiser doing the work is getting only $175 or $200."

"Plus, your appraisal-related charges may now be subject to add-on fees that you'd never heard of before -- $50 to $100 extra in "no show" penalties if you get stuck in traffic and miss your appointment with the appraiser. Or an extra $50 to $150 tacked on if the property is worth more than $500,000."

To read the story, Click here

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 20th, 2009 5:04 AMPost a Comment (0)

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In Retail, the More Anchors the Merrier

May 7th, 2009 6:08 AM

April 30, 2009 - May 06, 2009
Provided by Commercial Real Estate Direct
With the retail sector under stress from downturns in consumer spending and home sales, the roster of anchor tenants has become increasingly critical to a property's performance. So says Moody's Investors Service, which suggests that malls have at least three anchors tenants to ensure survival during the economic downturn and that open-air centers with grocery-store anchor spots lease them only to the local market's dominant supermarket chain. Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on May 7th, 2009 6:08 AMPost a Comment (0)

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