New Home Valuation Protection Code
Ever hear of this? New York state attorney general Cuomo has come up with a proposal that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the companies that buy most of the conventional loans) will be agreeing to. This Code will basically protect consumers from the "conflicts" where appraisers have been pressured into "over appraising properties-inflating values" which is one of the reasons we are in this mess of the housing/foreclosure market.
The requirements of the act are: that mortgage brokers cannot select appraisers, lenders cannot use "in house" staff appraisers and lenders cannot use appraisal companies they own or control.
This takes the conflict out of the system and protects consumers. This is also one way states may have slipped their toe into the Federally regulated bank, savings and loan, and credit union systems that are completely monopolized and regulated by the FEDS.