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On March 29, President Trump made the following statements to the
American people: "We will be extending our guidelines to April 30 to
slow the spread [of COVID-19]. We can expect that by June 1, we will be
well on our way to recovery."
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's
top expert on infectious disease, has warned
that COVID-19 could come back in "cycles,"
and urged the U.S. to be prepared. e practice
of social distancing, first announced by the
White House on March 16, has had an impact
on every aspect of our lives, as well as the way
we manage our business affairs.
Recognizing the impracticality of requiring
appraisers to conduct home inspections under
the current guidelines, Fannie Mae, acting
under the guidance of the FHFA and in
concert with Freddie Mac, issued a Lender
Letter on March 23, stating:
"Effective immediately, we are allowing
temporary flexibilities to our appraisal
inspection and reporting requirements. We
will accept an alternative to the traditional
appraisal required under Selling Guide Chapter
B4-1, Appraisal Requirements, when an
interior inspection is not feasible because of
COVID-19 concerns. We will allow either a
desktop appraisal or an exterior-only inspection
appraisal in lieu of the interior and exterior
inspection appraisal (i.e., traditional appraisal)."
Commenting on this letter, Ernie Durbin,
Chief Valuation Officer, Clarocity, said, "e
desktop appraisal is actually preferred to an
exterior drive-by by the GSEs."
As per the letter, "e minimum scope
of work for a desktop appraisal does not
include an inspection of the subject property
or comparable sales. e appraiser relies on
THE WAY
WE WERE
Feature By: Mark L. Stockton
