"Rob....you short F&F? I have a small taste of each and can't help but notice the regular opinion on the value (or lack thereof) of the common shares. I understand the discussion in context to the industry but you take a preset hard stance on valuation regularly."    View Comment

"I have closed a few....with 760 or better the LPMI is tolerable...payment is a bit more attractive than FHA and no UFMIP. Also can be helpul on condos that aren't FHA approved if you really need to minimize funds at closing. The cost of the MI is the biggest barrier. Maybe if the MI co's get a sampling of files and get a good feel for risk maybe we see premiums come down over time."    View Comment

"Great stuff Ted"    View Comment

"It is a free market. If your services were not meeting the demand, they would have to pay you more. Apparently there are still enough appraisers willing to work under the current cost structure such that fees are stagnant. Supply and demand."    View Comment

"Prices are dictated by the market forces (supply/demand). If there were a greater imbalance, appraisers would be paid more. As for the AMC review, it is designed to produce a higher quality product for the end user (the lender). Whether this happens or not one could argue but the AMC's do not vet the reports for fun, they do so because the lenders want a cleaner report when they begin their review. The AMC review is just to weed out the junk before it gets to the lender. If there were not junk..."    View Comment