What’s an HVCC and How does it Affect the Real Estate Market?

Huge thanks to Kris Berg for republishing her brilliant piece on the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). I’m not fond of starting the week with non-original content, but all buyers, sellers and Realtors should read this. The HVCC affects everybody – and not necessarily in a good way.

Real estate is local. If the appraiser is not local, in my opinion, they are much more likely to be unable to perform their assignments effectively.

If you were a licensed real estate agent in 2005 (which, according to the most recent census, includes everyone over the age of eighteen except some guy from Des Moines named Carl), you undoubtedly understand the need for a code of conduct. Back in the glory days when homes, or as we liked to call them, debit cards, were in high demand, the typical conversation between the listing agent and appraiser went something like this.

Appraiser: “I have been asked to appraise the property at 347 Falling Downs. May I meet you there at 3:00 today?

Agent: “Great, yes!”

Appraiser: “What is the sale price?”

And from Mark Madsen at the Bloodhound blog – Why Real Estate Agents should Stop Playing Loan Officer. (I couldn’t agree more; being a Realtor is more than enough for me. I know good lenders; that’s part of my job.

True mortgage professionals are paying attention to things like: HVCC, concerns of HR1728, Mortgage Insurance companies changing their guidelines, Fannie’s new condo rules, FHA fico score requirements (archived: 2022), Loan Level Price Adjustments (archived: 2010), new FHA appraisal guidelines (archived: 2024), adjusting interest rates in an unstable market, and a constant stream of mortgage Twitter chatter that only adds to the noise.

For those of us primarily working with FHA First-Time Home Buyers (archived: 2024), we’re also keeping tabs on the $8000 Tax Credit (no longer available) being used as a down payment, as well as how long the Fed plans on purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities (archived: 2022) to keep rates lower.

Just as real estate agents are learning about short sales (no longer available), bank owned properties, and transparency, mortgage originators have a full-time job keeping up with industry news so that we can lead our clients down the right path.