SD Appraisals was formed in response to the newly enacted HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) which is now mandatory for all appraisals destined for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The appraisers in our system are regarded as the best residential appraisers in San Diego County.
The HVCC was enacted with good intentions to prevent appraiser coercion from loan officers. As a result, most lenders are utilizing large national AMC‘s (Appraisal Management Companies). This is unfortunate and will lead to future problems in the mortgage markets because many (most) of these large AMC firms utilize appraisers with inadequate experience and incomplete knowledge of the San Diego market.
To be on our panel, an appraiser must have at minimum 10 years experience in San Diego, must be a Certified Residential Appraiser, FHA approved, in good standing with the State OREA, and most importantly will be thoroughly scanned for mortgage fraud. Our internal appraisal review process is second to none.
If you are a lender and wish to submit an appraiser to our panel, please send contact info here to ****************. We will be glad to update our list as necessary.
Mortgage Fraud Mortgage Fraud has been a serious problem in the real estate industry and is the predominant cause of the mortgage meltdown. The appraisal is the key to each and every mortgage fraud scheme from years ago to the schemes still operating today in 2009.
In 2006, SD Appraisals parent company (The Lackner Group) began researching these fraud schemes and did our best to prevent them from continuing. We filed criminal complaints against these groups, exposed them to lenders, and offer testimonies for trials. We lecture different lenders, government agencies, industry professionals, legal groups, and law enforcement agencies. As a result we have become recognized mortgage fraud experts with many published articles and the goal of preventing these schemes from continuing. Unfortunately, many of the local appraisers involved in theses schemes are now working for AMC’s and have the ability to allow these schemes to continue. Most of the real estate agents involved in these schemes continue to work in the industry today, yet we at SD Appraisals will have nothing to do with them.
The lingering affects of any mortgage fraud transaction is the comparable sales. When a property sells illegitimately, it becomes a Comp for other appraisers to use. This allows other schemes to continue and even legitimate (inexperienced) appraisers will use these properties as Comps. SD Appraisals has a database of crooked transactions that is continuously added to and we will not allow any of these transactions to be used as comparable sales.
Links to recent published articles:
How Mortgage Fraud Functions:
www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/09/24/news/02mortgage092407.txt
A Staggering Swindle Part 1:
www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/04/11/sommerset/sommerset-onefull041009.txt
A Staggering Swindle Part 2 How it could happen in 2008:
www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/04/11/sommerset/sommerset-two041309.txt
Linda Visa Condos tied to scheme:
The Buildup to the great Financial Meltdown
http://identitytheft911.org/attachment.do?sp=10615
Real Estate Scam Emerges
www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/03/news/top_stories/22_42_166_2_07.txt - 110k
FBI Looking at sale of Cunningham Home
www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050617-9999-1n17duke.html - 40k
Duke Cunningham Affidavit (See page 33)
www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050617-9999-1n17duke.html - 40k
24 People Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Plot
www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/08/1n8fraud225746-24-people-indicted-mortgage-fraud-p/- 48k
Foreclosures bringing cases of fraud to light
www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080708-9999-1n8fraud.html - 41k
Wamu Loaned Millions to OC Flippers with Fraud History
www.ocregister.com/articles/soni-washington-mutual-2163800-sonis-family - 86k
A window into how the market went crazy
www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/06/20/housing/879creative062008.txt
