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DHA Appraisal Blog

On Capitol Hill ...IRS Responds to ASA Meeting Request

December 7th, 2009 9:36 AM

IRS responded to a letter sent Oct. 21 by ASA requesting a meeting to discuss appraiser penalty assessment letters sent under Section 6695(A) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). The IRS letter, called a Form 4477 penalty assessment letter, is sent to appraisers telling them that IRS is "proposing a penalty ... based on our review of the appraisal." The letters raise serious due process concerns and might require disclosure to national accrediting associations or state licensing boards. ASA was joined by the Appraisal Institute (AI), the Association of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA), and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA) on the Oct. 21 letter. In its response, dated Nov. 13, IRS refers to ... READ MORE.

To read the letter sent by ASA, AI, ASFMRA and NAIFA, click here. To read IRS's response letter, click here. To read a blank Form 4477 letter, click here.

Posted by Dave Hohman on December 7th, 2009 9:36 AMPost a Comment (0)

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Hotel Sector Improvement Seen in 2010

December 18th, 2009 12:16 PM

The hotel sector will be showing signs of recovery in the first half of next year, according to PKF Hospitality Research. The Atlanta research firm has projected that hotel-room demand will increase in the upcoming first quarter from the year-ago period, which would be that measurement's first year-over-year gain since the fourth quarter of 2007. It added that hotels will start seeing upticks in the all-important revenue per available room metric a full quarter earlier than it had forecasted last October. Its Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on December 18th, 2009 12:16 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies Climb

December 10th, 2009 5:58 AM

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgages held by four of the five major investor groups surveyed by the Mortgage Bankers Association continued their climb in the third quarter. Only Freddie Mac didn't see an increase in delinquency. The rate for loans more than 90-days late stayed flat at 0.11%. That compares with 0.09% at the end of the first quarter and 0.01% in the third quarter a year ago. CMBS loans ended the quarter with a 4.06% delinquency Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on December 10th, 2009 5:58 AMPost a Comment (0)

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The FBI is on the Phone for You

December 3rd, 2009 5:11 AM

written by attorney Peter Christensen of Liability Insurance Administrators

Here's a quote:

"The FBI released a report earlier this year entitled 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report "Year in Review". It indicated the obvious: that reports of mortgage fraud and investigations of it by the FBI increased significantly in 2008."

"One result of the FBI's intensified effort seems to be that appraisers have been getting more calls than usual from FBI special agents wanting to ask questions about particular reports. The agents almost never indicate specifically what they are investigating (other than "fraud"), who initiated the investigation, or who is the direct subject of the investigation. Often, the agents try to be friendly and say something like: "I'm looking at your report here and I'm just wondering if you can tell me a bit about how you arrived at your value" or "I have a review of your appraisal that has a much lower value, can you help me understand why?" Sometimes, the agents suggest that giving them some information will help them close up the file and not have to bother the appraiser again. The agents will then often also ask the appraiser to come down for an interview or tell the appraiser they'd like to come by and have a look at the file."

To find out what to do when the FBI calls, Click here

Posted by Dave Hohman on December 3rd, 2009 5:11 AMPost a Comment (0)

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Bank Drops Suit; Renegotiates Foreclosure

December 1st, 2009 7:28 AM

PNC Bank has dropped its foreclosure suit against the owner of a South Florida office park and instead has modified the loan against it. The bank had filed its suit against a group calling itself Flamingo Commons LLC, which owns the seven-building complex at 4351 S.W. 124th Ave. in Davie, FL. Read Full Story

Posted by Dave Hohman on December 1st, 2009 7:28 AMPost a Comment (0)

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