Playing the home-appraisal waiting game Appraisers are swamped by record resales, increase in refinancing
Metro Milwaukee's record-breaking housing resale market and a powerful autumn surge of refinancing customers have swamped the real estate appraisal business, leading to three-week or more lag times in closing deals. "We're just overwhelmed," said Paul R. (Rick) Vozar. He runs Paul Vozar Appraisal

Publication: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Refinancing Doesn't Need New Appraisal
Q. Did you know that the Federal Home Mortgage Corp. has bought billions of dollars worth of "streamlined refinanced" conventional loans over the last couple of years? No appraisal is required in most cases. My S & L has probably done 300 or so, and we are a tiny little institution. A. Thanks for

Publication: Chicago Sun-Times

FANNIE MAE ANNOUNCES STREAMLINED REFINANCING, INCLUDING APPRAISALS, ON ITS ELECTRONIC LOAN DECISION SYSTEM; LOANS READY TO CLOSE IN AS FEW AS 48 HOURS; COMPANY ALSO PREVIEWS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning in late August, mortgage lenders who use Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter to process loans electronically will have a new tool that will save both time and costs involved with refinancing mortgages. Desktop Underwriter is a component of the electronic

Publication: PR Newswire

Too-low appraisals have a kind of appeal process
When it comes to mortgages, appraisals rule. Whether refinancing an existing mortgage or taking out a new loan, a lender bases what can be borrowed on the home's appraised value. What happens if the appraisal comes in for less than the home's selling price or, in the case of a refinance, what the

Publication: Chicago Sun-Times

Home Appraisals in Salt Lake City Area May Be at Risk for Inflation.
Byline: Lesley Mitchell Apr. 20--Lenders should require more detailed appraisals in the Salt Lake-Ogden area to reduce the number of people buying or refinancing homes who borrow more than their properties are worth, according to a new report. New York City-based Fitch Ratings, in a report released

Publication: Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT)

Adding Up a Home's Appraisal; For Refinancers, the Sum of the Parts Don't Always Equal a Higher Value
In September homeowner Lin Coppedge jumped at the chance to pay some household debts and reduce her monthly mortgage bill by refinancing her mortgage. What she did not plan on was dealing with the lender-mandated appraisal on her Severna Park house, which came in at $9,000 less than the $179,000

Publication: The Washington Post