By jguerin@housingwire.com The FHA fully automated the second-appraisal process for HECM lenders on Friday, a move it had promised would come by December 1st. Now, lenders will receive an immediate, automatic response on whether or not a second appraisal will be required before the loan can proceed, curbing some concerns about how much time a second appraisal would add to …

By jguerin@housingwire.com David Stevens isn’t a fan of reverse mortgages, and he’s not afraid to say it. The former FHA commissioner and recently retired president and CEO of the MBA posted a comment about HECMs on LinkedIn that got people talking. “Brian Montgomery is trying to fix the abuse,” he said, “but the product is the one that kept me …

By jgaffney@housingwire.com The Maryland law firm of Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler PA sent a letter November 14th to the appraiser clients of one of the nation’s largest appraisal management companies, CoesterVMS. This letter marked the beginning of tough times ahead for owner Brian Coester. Via:: Brian Coester claims “We are not out of business,” as AMC runs into financial …

Home prices moderately increased in the third quarter of 2018, rising only 1.3% month-over-month but still up 6.3% from the same quarter last year. Supervisory Economist William Doerner said rising mortgage rates have cooled down housing markets. Via:: FHFA: Home prices are slowly increasing       

Time and costs matter a great deal in HELOC lending, and competition is high to secure these borrowers. A vendor-neutral valuation platform can give lenders an efficient and compliant solution to help them capitalize on the coming wave of home equity borrowers. Via:: [Expert commentary] A paradigm shift in valuation speed for HELOC lenders       

By cbasile@housingwire.com The leftovers are put away and Black Friday shopping is finally upon us. While you wait in line for that great deal, check out these articles to stay up to speed on what’s going on in housing. Via:: Waiting in line on Black Friday? Read these 5 housing articles       

The recent announcement that one of Amazon’s two new headquarters will be in Arlington, Virginia, just over an hour’s drive from historic Richmond, may begin to have ripple effects through eastern Virginia as early as next year. Via:: With Amazon moving in soon, how will this nearby Virginia real estate market fare?       

By blane@housingwire.com Radian Group is growing its valuations business, as the company announced Wednesday that it acquired Independent Settlement Services, a national appraisal and title management services company. According to Radian, the acquisition is “consistent with Radian’s growth and diversification strategy,” and the company’s focus on the product offerings of its title, mortgage and real estate services businesses. Via:: Radian …