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The trial ended for the day before 5 p.m. Appraiser Douglas Larson was cross-examined by defense attorneys in the afternoon, and the questioning will continue Wednesday. Prosecution Shows 2 Appraisals With Different Numbers, Same Date–3:48 p.m. Prosecutors showed former Cushman and Wakefield appraiser Douglas Larson two appraisal reports he dated Nov. 1, 2012. The reports had different numbers, and Mr. Larson was questioned as to which one he submitted to Capital One first. Mr. Larson said he didn't know. Prosecutors then showed the 2011 and 2012 appraisals in granular detail, pointing out that the cost per square foot in 2011...

Think the value of your house has dropped this year? Take a look at the White House. The value of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has dropped nearly $80 million from its $331.5 million value at the peak of the housing boom to today's $253.1 million, reported the Los Angeles Times. A year ago, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was worth $292.5 million, according to WalletPop. Nor is the president's home alone in that slump, despite the many, small improvements President Obama made to the property when he moved into the Oval Office. Many luxury homes in "the Washington Metropolitan area [are] going the...

I'm helping the friend of a friend sell a farm/ranch. It's a unique property for the area and when I tried to find "comps," ("comparable properties") I was unable to do so. There just weren't any comparable properties in our area. They had it appraised in 2000 and again in 2009. It appraised at $315,000 and $376,000, respectfully. We listed the property at $376,000 and accepted an offer of $372,000. We were set to close but the day of the closing we learned that Chase Bank's (the buyer's lending institution) appraiser only appraised the property at $315,000, and Chase wouldn't...

New appraisal rules under fire Critics charge that a new system is fostering the use of appraisers willing to work for low fees and who are willing to conduct home appraisals far outside their typical areas of activity, leading to low-ball appraisals that can hurt builders, real estate agents, consumers and lenders. By Kenneth R. Harney Syndicated columnist WASHINGTON — It's by far the hottest controversy in real estate this summer and it could directly affect the value of your house — probably negatively — by tens of thousands of dollars. The issue concerns lowballed valuations and the new rules...

Now that we are in the middle of a real estate disaster there is a great hue and cry for regulatory reform. We were here before in the early 1990's. The answer on that occasion was real estate appraisal licensing. Now the thrust is on Appraisal Management Companies (AMC's). Licensing did and does have some potential to address the proper evaluation of collateral for loan purposes. In the intervening years, however, it was subject to what is known in political science as "regulatory capture*". The emphasis in the New York State Attorney General Andres M. Cuomo proposal on Home Valuation...

Antoin "Tony" Rezko leaves federal court in Chicago in this Oct. 19, 2006, file photo. Mr. Rezko spent years pouring thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into Barack Obama's climb from the Illinois legislature to Capitol Hill, and helped him raise tens of thousands more. A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status, says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama. In a complaint filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of...

PRESS RELEASE from Kenneth J. Conner paid for by Kenneth J. Conner OBAMA CALLED ON TO RELEASE HOUSE APPRAISAL Kenneth J. Conner, a plaintiff against the bank that financed the Rezko purchase of 5050 S. Greenwood and released a portion of 5050 S. Greenwood for purchase by Obama, calls for immediate release of the Obama House Appraisal (OHA). OHA is conspicuously missing from hundreds of pages of document images at the Obama web site that purportedly comprise extensive, sufficient, and thorough disclosure of House and Lot transaction details related to: Obama purchase of a portion of 5050 S. Greenwood Obama...

Every year county appraisal districts mail notices of appraised value changes to millions of property owners across the State which prompts protests by unhappy taxpayers. Even with fewer values than usual increasing in Galveston County this year, hundreds of property owners attended classes to learn how to be effective in the protest process. I know because I taught those classes and attendees confirmed what seems to me to be obvious -- the system needs to be changed. In 2006, the Governor’s Task Force on Appraisal Reform traveled the state collecting information on problems associated with our current property tax system....

I need to have a few items appraised. Old family pieces that will need to be sold. Has anyone done it and how has it worked?

A new site promises sophisticated home valuations and -- one day -- an end to 6% commissions. NEW YORK (MONEY) - Say "goodbye" to appraisers -- and possibly real estate agents. At least that's the promise of Zillow.com, launched Wednesday, which is headed by the founder of Internet travel company Expedia........... Plug in an address and you get a price. You can even pull back to a satellite photo of a particular street, complete with price estimates for every house on the block. Those price guesses, which the branding-savvy Zillow folks call a "Zestimate," take into account the size of...

A LoneStarTimes.com investigation has exposed concerted efforts last year by two senior officials of the Friendswood Independent School District to maximize district revenues and increase the property tax burden of Friendswood homeowners by manipulating the appraisal process, issuing legal threats, and deploying unprecedented pressure on the Galveston County Appraisal District. The FISD officials in question are Superintendent Patricia "Trish" Hanks and Tax Assessor/Collector Becky Carbone. In late February of this year, LST made an open-records request to both FISD and GCAD asking for any and all communication between the two entities for the dates 5/1 - 6/30, 2004. Documents subsequently...