Closing Comments

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LANCASTER COUNTY ASSOCIATION

Lawrence Yun,
NAR Chief Economist

IN SIDE

At the Hub of the Wheel

............. 6-7
Eastwood Meadows
Development
................ 4
MLS Listing Status
Update Yours Accurately
................ 3
Proposed Code of
Conduct Training
................ 8
Realtors More
Confident for Spring
................ 2
What Realtors Need to
Know About Auto
Insurance and Why
......... 5 & 7

REALTORS

APRIL 2015

The Year of Change

Contract activity is convincingly up compared to a

year ago despite comparable inventory levels. The
difference this year is the
positive factors supporting
stronger sales, such as
slightly improving credit
conditions, more jobs and
slower price growth. All
indications point to modest
sales gains as we head into
the spring buying season.

OF

by Dan Ranck
HomeBridge Financial
Services, Inc.

nyone who has been involved in any aspect of the mortgage or real estate
industry over the past decade understands that its an ever-changing industry.
On the lending side, its been constant for the past several years with the implementation of Dodd-Frank, the CFPB and countless other changes to regulation and
compliance.
Change in the form of a transitive verb:
a) to make different in some particular
b) to make radically different
c) to give a different position, course or direction to.
Choose your favorite, but Im going to go with B.
2015 has seen and will see some of the most significant changes to the way we
do business. Change kicked off the year with the implementation of Fannie Maes
Collateral Underwriter. With upcoming changes in June to FHAs guidelines,
closely followed by the significant changes to Integrated Disclosures, the entire
path a real estate transaction with a mortgage will follow is changing.
Its often said that if youre not changing, youre not growing. Well, maybe that
doesnt always apply . . . .
On January 26th, Collateral Underwriter or CU was introduced by Fannie Mae.
CU is a model-driven tool developed by Fannie Mae that provides an automated
appraisal risk assessment to support appraisal quality. CU does not accept or reject
an appraisal, it simply assesses the risk associated with an appraisal by analyzing
large amounts of data and sophisticated models.
There are four key appraisal components that are analyzed with CU: Data
Integrity, Comparable Selection, Adjustments and Reconciliation.
Data Integrity. Fannie Mae will be checking to see if the physical attributes,
transaction terms and calculation of property valuations are consistent with other
appraisals performed by an individual appraiser as well as their peers. Ultimately,
they are looking for consistency in the appraisers work and how it compares to
other appraisers with expectation of similar results.
Comparable Selection. The comparable properties used in determining a value
will be ranked against a pool of available comps that are deemed most suitable by
Fannie Mae. The previous mindset of closest and most recent sales may not always
apply. This information will vary by market; however, the most appropriate comps as
determined by Fannie Mae may not be those within one mile of the subject property
and could have sold up to one year ago.

(continues on page 4)