April 2010

CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR CARLYLE HOLT NAMED VICE PRESIDENT

Elliott & Company Appraisers has promoted Client Services Director Carlyle Holt to Vice President.

“Since joining our company in 2006, Carlyle has not only met, but also exceeded our expectations,” said Charlie Elliott, president of Elliott & Company Appraisers. “He came to us with substantial experience in the mortgage lending industry and has played a key role in the growth of our company even during difficult economic times.”

Carlyle literally grew up in the mortgage lending industry and has an extensive background in property and casualty insurance and commercial and residential construction restoration. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from North Carolina State University and currently holds a North Carolina Loan Officer License and a North Carolina Real Estate License.

Elliott & Company Appraisers is a full service real estate appraisal management company that operates throughout the United States.

STUDY NAMES TOP UNDERWATER METRO AREAS

U.S. News & World Report has recently published a study to determine the metropolitan areas throughout the United States where the highest percentages of mortgages have more money owed on them than the homes are currently valued. The study used figures from Zillow.com to determine the percentage of mortgages with negative equity in the fourth quarter of 2009 and rank the top 10 metropolitan areas accordingly. Below is a list of the top 10 metropolitan areas for underwater mortgages, according to the study with the percentage of negative-equity mortgages in parentheses.

1. Las Vegas (81%)

2. Merced, Calif. (64%)

3. Phoenix (62%)

4. Orlando (58%)

5. Greeley, Colo. (45%)

6. Bend, Ore. (41%)

7. Minneapolis-St. Paul (39%)

8. Memphis (33%)

9. Cleveland (32%)

10. Grand Rapids, Mich. (29%)

MULTIFAMILY HOUSING CONSTRUCTION SHOULD INCREASE THIS YEAR

In January, U.S. Department of Commerce figures revealed that multi-family housing starts increased 9.2%. That good start appears to be the beginning of a good year in multi-family construction, despite the fact that both apartment vacancy and unemployment remain high. Green Street Advisors, a real estate research firm, predicts that real estate investment trusts (REITs) will start almost $1 billion in multi-family residential projects, a tremendous improvement over 2009, when this figure was at about $100 million.

Reasons for builder optimism in this category include the current limited supply of multi-family housing, predictions of an improving economy by next year or the year after, and the forecasted increase of the 20-to-34 age group by five million over the next 10 years. The fact that construction costs have dropped significantly within the past couple of years are encouraging builders to get started on new ventures right away.

“There’s an element of risk, but if you were to go back a year, the outlook is much more clear today,” said analyst Andrew McCulloch of Green Street. “Their confidence level in that eventual recovery is much higher.”

CHARLIE ELLIOTT EARNS ASA DESIGNATION

Charlie W. Elliott, Jr., MAI, SRA, and president of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers, can now add ASA to his list of designations. Unlike MAI (Member Appraisal Institute) and SRA (Senior Residential Appraiser), which are earned through the Appraisal Institute, Mr. Elliott’s latest designation comes from the American Society of Appraisers.

The American Society of Appraisers is an international organization of appraisal professionals and others interested in the appraisal profession. It is the oldest and only major appraisal organization representing all of the disciples of appraisal specialists. Mr. Elliott, due to his 30 years experience and many accomplishments in the real estate industry, has earned his ASA designation in the Real Property disciple. The ASA, which originated in 1936, also offers designations in Personal Property, Machinery & Technical Specialties, Gems & Jewelry, Business Valuation and Appraisal Review & Management. ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers is a multi-disciplined appraisal company.

APPRAISER CLAIMS ATTACK BY EX-SPICE GIRL’S GOON

Amado Aguirre, a California real estate appraiser, suffered injuries, allegedly, while being accosted by an employee of Melanie Brown, better known as Scary Spice, of the Spice Girls, an extremely popular music act that has disbanded.

Aguirre, who has since filed a civil suit over the incident, claims he was appraising a house in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles and was taking comp photos, not realizing that any of the houses belonged to celebrities. Ms. Brown, who was outside walking her dog, noticed Brown photographing her house. Shortly thereafter, her husband, Stephan Belafonte, stepped in front of Aguiire’s car and Amin Zahidi, an employee of the couple reached inside the driver’s door and attempted to confiscate the camera. Aguirre claims to have been seriously injured as a result of the scuffle that ensued over the camera. He is suing Zahidi, Brown and Belafonte for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.

ASK MARTITIA

QUESTION: If an appraiser is contacted by someone who identifies himself as a review appraiser and wants to ask questions about an appraisal the contacted appraiser recently performed, is this appraiser at liberty to discuss the appraisal?

MARTITIA: Yes, but only if the contacted appraiser has received authorization from the client.
 

Martitia Mortimer, Elliott’s executive vice president, answers appraisal questions on a regular basis in Elliott Real Estate News.

QUOTES  

"Drive slow and enjoy the scenery. Drive fast and join the scenery." – Doug Horton

"Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down." – William Winans

"The best training any parent can give a child is to train the child to train himself." – A.P. Gouthey

"If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep." – Dale Carnegie

"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one." – A.J. Liebling
 

Newsletter Editor: kevin@elliottco.com
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