NAR Seeks Moratorium on Appraisal Rules

The National Association REALTORS® and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers are pushing hard to delay implementation of the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules governing real estate appraisals.The new rules are supposed to take effect May 1, but the REALTORS®, in a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, argued that there hasn’t been enough time to properly implement the changes and the result would be higher costs for borrowers. They seek a one-year moratorium.The goal of the change is to eliminate alleged collusion between mortgage lenders and appraisers to pump up home values. Among other things, the rule change prevents mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals directly, requiring them to go through lenders. Mortgage brokers say this will make it hard for them to compete with lenders. Borrowers shopping for the best rate could be asked to pay for multiple appraisals, says Michael Carrier, an associate with the Mortgage Bankers Association.Read the NAR's letters to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the issue. Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jessica Holzer (04/29/2009)