Mike Gage achieves Certified General Real Estate Appraiser classification...Michael Gage, Senior Appraiser with ValueOne Appraisal in Federal Way recently passed the state Certified General Real Estate Appraiser exam. Mike has specialized in complex and high-value residential properties in the Puget Sound area and plans to build on prior experience with multi-family properties and new residential subdivision analysis. The Certified General classification allows for the appraisal of all types of real property. Mike is a graduate of the University of Washington and has been working as a valuation professional since 1992.

RESPA Reform Dies… Simplification of the home buying process and paperwork reduction in the process will continue to be sought, but thankfully, HUD’s flawed proposal has been withdrawn. Read the press release here.

Bill King on the Radio…On February 29th, Bill King made an appearance on Real Estate Radio Sunday which is aired by KVI 570 AM Seattle. During this broadcast, Bill touched on many issues, including taxes, how to become an apprentice, real estate bubbles, and fair market value. Be sure to listen to the show at Real Estate Radio's home page.

National Attention... often quoted in local and national publications, here is an article in USA Today in which ValueOne's President Bill King gives some of his opinions on investing in beach area vacation homes and condos.

Appraiser Independence… The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) have all issued a joint statement explaining general guidelines that should be followed to make sure an appraisal is done independently (found here).

Resources Published...Recent articles published in the Appraisal Buzz by Bill King have lead to many requests for a number of documents. In response, we have published to our web site Professionalism in Residential Appraisal Part 1 and Part 2. Also requested has been our Homeowner Questionnaire, which can be found in PDF here, or editable Word format here.