Search Engine Question

You are currently browsing the archive for the Search Engine Question category.

Search Engine Answers from the Lundquist Appraisal Blog

July 6, 2009 in FHA Appraisal, Search Engine Question | No comments

It’s interesting to see how people find my website. I am able to see basic data every day for how readers get here. I only see the words people type in search engines – nothing more. I wanted to provide a bit more information for readers below from a few of the most recent search results:

“getting your house appraised for a loan”

Answer:  I don’t know exactly where you were going with this, but I’ll take a stab. For mostly any loan you will need a real estate appraisal (and therefore a real estate appraiser to inspect your property). Most of the time these days you will not be able to choose your own appraiser due to HVCC – see below (unless doing an FHA loan or a loan not affiliated with Fannie Mae). People ask me all the time what they should do to prepare for an appraiser to come to their home. Other than being greeted with fresh cookies, hot coffee and biscotti (just kidding), it’s not a bad idea to have your house semi-clean and make sure that the appraiser will have access to each room. If the appraiser cannot observe all rooms and spaces within the house and on the property, then there is a good chance the appraiser will have to come back for another inspection.

“date HVCC went into effect”

Answer:  May 1, 2009. To read more about HVCC, click HERE. “HVCC” stands for the “Home Valuation Code of Conduct” and there have been quite a few articles lately on the subject.

“FHA appraisal interior cracks”

Answer:  FHA appraisals are the rage in the marketplace right now. From a lending standpoint there are different guidelines for FHA loans as opposed to conventional loans geared toward Fannie Mae. This of course means that FHA qualified appraisers are mandated to follow certain standards set forth by HUD. Do interior cracks matter to HUD? Well, what do they look like? How big are they? Where do they come from? Could these cracks suggest a lack of structural integrity or are they simply evidence of an older house and/or depreciation? This is not an easy question to answer without observing the property personally. HUD is primarily concerned with safety, soundness and security, and so if there are any issues with the property that might compromise safety, soundness or security (or any of the very specific minimum requirements HUD has laid out), then the cracks could be something warranting further investigation. But then again, they could be no big deal at all.

“Rocklin Tax Assessor”

Answer:  People find this website on a daily basis by searching for items such as “Rocklin Tax Assessor,” “Rancho Cordova property taxes”, “Fair Oaks taxes” and more. Keep in mind that our local cities do not collect property taxes from us. The county in which the property is located handles property tax assessment and collection. In the case of Rocklin, that would be the Placer County Assessor. If you do happen to need help disputing your property taxes, you are invited to poke around our property tax appeal website HERE.

I hope these brief answers were helpful. I’ll continue to answer questions I find from search engine results, but I am more than happy to answer questions via email or phone too.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  Search Engine Answers from the Lundquist Appraisal Blog

  • Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Answers from Search Engine Inquiries Yesterday

July 1, 2009 in Search Engine Question | No comments

I have a stats program that enables me to see how people get to this website through search engines. Since I get to see some of what people are searching for, I make it a point to answer questions that others are asking, and I try to give a bit more information than what I have previously posted. There are way too many inquiries to respond to each one, but I hope the information below is helpful for you. 

Search:  “Anatolia Rancho Cordova Vacant Lots”

There are indeed vacant lots in Anatolia. Like many construction sites, local builders in the Sacramento Region have halted future building until the market rebounds. There are still patches of new construction though in pockets of the Greater Sacramento Region, but the pace of construction is very slow compared to the rapid building five years ago. I happened to snap a shot of a vacant site in Anatolia last week while in the field and I’ll share it here. How convenient!!! I am glad to connect you with a local Broker or Agent if you are interested in purchasing a lot or group of lots.

Vacant Lot Anatolia Rancho Cordova June 2009

Search:  “How to obtain appraised value of property”

That’s a good question and the answer depends upon what type of property you are considering. Are you talking about personal property or real estate? I don’t handle personal property (though the Antiques Road Show is fun), but if you are interested in obtaining a valuation for your real estate, give me a call at 916-595-3735. You can also order online if that is convenient for you.

Search:  “How does unemployment affect the economy”

I track unemployment trends on a regular basis. Firstly, I would recommend for you to take a look at the Employment Develompent Department website to gain a sense of some of the most recent data. This comes in very handy if you are looking for information on a particular city in Sacramento County (or Solano, Placer, Yolo…) or even a Census-Designated Place like Gold River or Foothill Farms.

I am not an economist, but there is a basic principle at work here. If more people are losing their jobs, there will be more people not able to afford to purchase products in the marketplace (or afford their mortgage payments eventually). The natural progression of an increasing unemployment rate logically concludes in a more distressed marketplace with less revenue for businesses and a very likely increase in foreclosure properties unless there is some sort of legislation, government interference or act of God.

Search:  “Independence at Mather”

I won’t re-hash an entire description on the Mather subdivision referred to as “Independence at Mather” because previous blog posts will do the trick for you very well. In case any veterans who were stationed once at Mather Air Base would like to see what their former barracks now look like, take a glimpse at the images below. It’s a long way from what it used to be, huh? Veterans, thank you for your service to our country.

Independece at Mather Subdivision Sign 

Indpendece at Mather

Independence at Mather 2

Well, that was sort of a shotgun approach to giving insight on a few search engine inquiries. Please let me know if you have any further questions. I am always willing to help when I can.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  Answers from Search Engine Inquiries Yesterday

  • Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: , , , , ,

What are FHA Guidelines for Removing Lead-Base Paint? (question from search engine)

June 26, 2009 in FHA Appraisal, Search Engine Question | No comments

Website statistics show that someone found this site today when searching for the answer to the following question: What are FHA guidelines for removing lead-base paint? I’d like to shed some light on the answer and hopefully help any future readers too.

chipping-paintJPGAs indicated on the HUD website in tremendous detail, whether you are in Sacramento or anywhere in the United States, there is a very specific methodology for the abatement of lead-base paint. To learn more than you probably ever wanted to know about lead-base paint removal, you can DOWNLOAD a PDF document from HUD (50+ pages). In short though, the answer to the question is that a defective paint surface (chipping, cracking, flaking, peeling) on a property built prior to 1978 must be cured by a proper method of scraping and then painting afterward. Careful attention must also be given to flakes of paint falling on the soil during removal. Thus you can see that it doesn’t jive well with HUD to simply slop on some new paint over a cracked or flaking surface and then call it cured. The defective portion of paint actually has to be properly removed and then the bare wood must be painted. Does that make sense?

Why do you think they HUD is so concerned about lead-base paint anyway?   

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com or LundquistCompany@gmail.com

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  What are FHA guidelines for Removing Lead-Base Paint? (question from search engine)

  • Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Can I Use an Appraisal for a Loan Modification? (question from search engine)

June 25, 2009 in Loan Modification, Search Engine Question | No comments

Someone found this blog last night by typing in the question, “Can I Use an Appraisal for a Loan Modification?” In case the answer was not found, I’d like to shed some light on the matter. The answer is maybe. When you are doing a loan modification you’ll need to consult with your agent, attorney or bank and do what they say. If you already have an appraisal in your hands that demonstrates fair market value for your property and it was recent (and reliable), you may be good to go. However, if you have an outdated appraisal, it might not be acceptable for your loan modification needs since the market has changed so rapidly over the past several years (and months). An older real estate appraisal is often no longer reliable because the market has very likely shifted down or up since the time the appraisal was completed (down most of the time lately).

I hope this helps to answer the question. Please let me know if you need any clarification and if there is anything I can do for you. I am very familiar with doing loan modification appraisals for attorneys and home owners, so I am glad to provide my services to households in the Greater Sacramento Region. Feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com or LundquistCompany@gmail.com

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  Can I Use an Appraisal for a Loan Modification? (Question from Search Engine)

  • Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: , ,

Can a Realtor also be an Appraiser? (question from search engine)

June 24, 2009 in Appraisal Stuff, Search Engine Question | No comments

Someone found this blog through a search yesterday by typing in the following: “Can a Realtor also be an Appraiser?” In case the answer was not found, I wanted to chime in briefly. The answer is “yes”. It is entirely legal for an appraiser to be a real estate broker, Realtor, loan officer or whatever else he/she wants to be. The key though is that the appraiser can only act as an appraiser when appraising. When working as a Realtor, the appraiser takes off his/her appraiser hat and wears the Realtor hat and makes sure to keep the two trades separate. An appraiser who is a Realtor cannot be doing appraisals for his/her own deals either because there would be a big conflict of interest, don’t you think?

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  Can a Realtor also be an Appraiser? (question from search engine yestesrday)

  • Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: