From left: Michael Vargas, a principal with Vanderbilt Appraisal Company, Kathryn Higgins, an associate broker with DJK Residential, and Melissa Cohn, president of Manhattan Mortgage
Late last month, Rep. Gary Miller offered an amendment to the House
Financial Services Committee’s “Consumer Financial Protection Act of
2009.” Miller’s amendment — which passed the committee but has yet to
be voted on by the House — stipulated that the Home Valuation Code of
Conduct would ultimately be sunsetted. According to one of the California congressman’s aides, Miller’s
amendment to the House Financial Services Committee’s act will likely
be bundled into a larger financial regulatory reform bill, and
Democrats hope to bring the bill to a vote in Congress sometime next
month. For many New York City-based appraisers and brokers, the end of HVCC cannot come quickly enough. HVCC, which went into effect May 1, requires that a third party with no
stake in a sale select appraisers. The code was designed to promote
appraiser independence and stop appraisers from inflating the value of
a property when it comes to mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac. Loan officers, mortgage brokers and agents are not allowed to
select appraisers under HVCC. “I think there are some good elements in the code,” Michael Vargas, a
principal with Vanderbilt Appraisal Company, said. “What was important
to get out there is that applying undue influence on an appraiser is
inappropriate. Promoting appraiser independence is very important.” [more]
