Six US Regulators Announce Common Appraisal Rules for High Risk Mortgages
| Date Published | 8/16/2012 |
| Author | Yefei Wei |
| Theme | |
| Country | United States |
August 16, 2012
Six US Regulators
Announce Common Appraisal Rules for High Risk Mortgages
A common set of appraisal rules for “high risk mortgages” has
been proposed by the six principle regulators of banks and credit unions in the
USA: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Reserve Board of
Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Housing Finance
Agency, National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of Comptroller of
the Currency. A “high risk mortgage” is
defined with reference to annual percentage rate (APR) of the transaction. It
excludes all “qualified mortgages” under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 (still to
be finalized). The proposed rules include the requirement for a written
appraisal by a qualified appraiser that includes an interior inspection of the
property, and a second appraisal if the property is the consumer’s principal
dwelling or if the seller acquired the property within the previous 180 days at
a lower price than the current sales price. The applicant must be provided the
statement regarding the purpose of the appraisal and a copy of the written
appraisal at least three days before closing.
Comments are sought until October 15, 2012. The agencies
asked specifically for comments addressing the proposed amendment to the method
of calculating the APR, which is being proposed by CFPB as part of other
mortgage-related rules.
[Link to Proposed Regulation]