Appraisal Institute Seeks Guidance from Policy Makers

The Appraisal Institute announced March 18 that it is aggressively engaging all primary appraisal policy makers to help guide appraisers during the coronavirus pandemic. AI expects some guidance to be released as early as this week about exterior-only and/or desktop appraisals for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Representatives of the Appraisal Institute have raised appraisers’ concerns regarding property inspections and appraisal waivers and exemptions, seeking a measured or balanced approach to risk mitigation.

So far, most policy discussions have focused on credit issues over collateral concerns and on servicing over loan purchasing issues to keep people who will be facing financial hardship in their homes during the coming weeks and months. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, has begun to engage on appraisal-related issues with many additional issues requiring solutions, including determining how loans will close in areas where courthouses are closed and there are no e-closing procedures, a situation that reportedly affects 20% of the country.

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