As a result of the efforts of Charles McMillan, the 2009 President of National Association of Realtors (NAR) and its members, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae this week issued new guidance to all lenders on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The letter issued on July 22, 2009 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) clarifies two very important points that we raised by the Realtors® in recent meetings with officials.

First, it states that lenders should use appraisers who have clear experience in the geographic area. Second, it clarifies that appraisers are not prohibited from talking to real estate agents. In a statement released by Charles McMillian, he stated “NAR has asked Congress and the FHFA to immediately implement an 18-month moratorium on the new HVCC rules to further address unintended consequences of this new rule. We will continue to push for this, but are pleased that this first step was taken today.”