| Featured news - posted October 17, 2006
Survey results show informed, professional appraisal industry Forty-seven percent of appraisers believe the level of federal regulation of their profession is just right, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the National Association of REALTORS® Marketing Research Department and released recently. Splitting the difference almost evenly, 27 percent said there is too little federal regulation of appraisers and 25 percent said there is too much. The goal of the survey was "to understand how Appraiser members conduct their business, obtain appraisal industry information, and make decisions on their appraisal education and designations." Appraisers are keeping up with the most important regulatory developments that affect their livelihoods. Ninety-three percent of 858 respondents said they were aware that the 2006 edition of USPAP eliminated the Departure Rule and added a Scope of Work Rule. Eighty-nine percent were aware that the AQB Appraiser Qualification Criteria are set to change drastically in 2008. Three fourths of those who had heard about the AQB changes said they are receiving enough information about them. Perhaps highlighting the difficulty attracting new people to the profession, 69 percent of respondents had been residential appraisers for more than 10 years. Seventy-one percent had been doing commercial appraisals for more than 10 years. Of the respondents to whom the question was applicable and who provided an answer, 55 percent make more than $60,000 a year doing residential appraisals. Two thirds of respondents are doing 10 or more 1004s a month. Twenty-four percent are making more than $60,000 doing commercial appraisals. Asked about the highest level of education received, 64 percent of respondents indicated they had at least an associate's degree. The full survey report can be found in PDF form by clicking here.
WinTOTAL Aurora, and all a la mode products, will now allow any software developer to integrate on equal terms and without any preference given to one over another under a new Vendor Integration Platform announced last week by a la mode Chairman and founder Dave Biggers. a la mode has published an Application Programming Interface, or API, that will allow technology vendors to simply click a few links to get documentation, sample code and everything they need to begin integrating. Each vendor then will choose how they develop, price, support, upgrade, and deliver their product, without our involvement and without expensive and sometimes fruitless negotiations.
To learn all the details, please click here for the text of the announcement by Dave Biggers.
We’re confident you’ll be very happy with having more choices inside WinTOTAL and our entire product line. It’s simply one small part of our efforts to do exactly what you want, even though there are so many of you that “what you want” isn’t one single thing. Effective October 1, 2006, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Appraiser Roster exam has been streamlined and the examination fee eliminated, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced September 27. The test has gone from 50 questions to 10, now integrated into the application form to get on the FHA Appraiser Roster, which is available online. Like Fannie Mae's recent new forms, the application now also beefs up the certifications an applicant agrees to. Mortgage Letter 2006-26, which details the changes and contains complete instructions for getting on the FHA Appraiser Roster, is available by clicking here and selecting "2006 Letters" on the right menu. |
Briefly speaking
a la mode is hiring appraiser Research Fellows In conjunction with the launch of our a la mode R&D Labs initiative, we are hiring appraisers as Research Fellows to work directly with our developers and managers on cutting edge ideas and products. We’ll be working on truly revolutionary products and ideas, not just evolutionary improvements, and we want practicing appraisers with a penchant for grand ideas and a thirst for cool technology to be a direct part of the company’s efforts. The products we’ll showcase in the R&D Labs will be available for download, but they’ll be free and for the purpose of generating feedback and ideas as the general public sees them — sort of like seeing concept cars at an auto show, except you get to actually drive them too. If you consider yourself a visionary when it comes to appraising and technology, and you’d like to be regularly published in the trade press and speaking about coming technologies, come talk to us. It’s a salaried research position, but we want you to still work as an appraiser every week — so that a clear focus on practicality is always present even in far-flung ideas. Some travel is involved, as you’ll be at company-sponsored appraiser gatherings in various cities in order to maintain direct contact with the widest variety of users and ideas as possible. If you’re interested, read all the details by clicking here for the announcement by Dave Biggers. Then send your résumé, cover letter, and ideas of how you’d approach the position, directly to us at labs@alamode.com. Write the editor at Current specials Special ends October 31st — Save $449 Why do thousands of appraisers switch to WinTOTAL every year? Simple. WinTOTAL lets you sit down, finish reports, and get them delivered faster than any other formfiller. It's simple yet complete, and doesn't make you bounce from program to program just to get your job done. For the thousands of appraisers who switch every year, better software is only one of the reasons. Check out the rest here or call 1-800-ALAMODE for more information. |
