July 7, 2008 / Arizona SB 1028 - The Loan Officer Licensing Bill passed the Senate and was signed by the Governor.  The bill requires loan officers to be licensed and will be required to pass a test and pay a fee.

The law takes effect January, 2010.

June 24, 2008 / Appraisers & Lenders - If you have been following the news and articles about HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct*) you likely know that if implemented as presently designed it will have devastating affects on a number of parties to an appraisal process.  To name a few it will raise to cost to the consumer and lender while lowering the fee income to the appraiser.  It will likely cause a lender to order several appraisals on some of their loans at the cost to the borrower, it will cause Appraisal Management companies (AMCs)** to be the controlling factor in the appraisal industry, cause appraisers to drop membership in their Professional Appraisal Associations and have a negative impact of the general spending of appraisers.

* - This is a private agreement between the Attorney General of New YorK and Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac that will have a national negative impact on the lending and appraisal industries.

** - Appraisal Management Companies act as a conduit between lenders and appraisers for a fee.

 I encourage you to write your Senators and Representatives opposing this unnecessary and costly move proposed by the AG of New York.  Nobody gains with this proposal.  There are Federal Agencies now in place that can do what the AG suggests plus this will set up another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy!