Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California
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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Animal Advocates, Mary Cummins Helping Los Angeles Fire Victims



Animal Advocates and its founder Mary Cummins have been helping victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. We were in the Palisades fire evacuation area relocating owned pets that had to evacuate. Some of these people had to evacuate twice because the fire moved. The below pics are from one trip January 14, 2025. 

Sunset west was closed at Kenter two blocks from Vice President Kamala Harris' home. 10 fwy west was closed at Lincoln Blvd. National guard, police, fire department, Dept of Transportation, Red Cross and many more people were helping to secure the area and offer aid. 

Animal rescue groups are not yet allowed into the areas that have been damaged by the fire. The fire department has to inspect each home first to assess damage, check for bodies, turn off gas, turn off electric, turn off water and assess the safety of the structure. Animal groups are also not allowed in the evacuation zones without full property and animal owner permission and police escort. The purpose is to prevent looters and arsonists. It's also not safe in case the wind picks up and the fire moves quickly. The original fire had winds at 100 mph blowing burning embers over a mile. 

Mary Cummins has lived in Los Angeles her entire life. Animal Advocates has experienced many wildfires during that time. Cummins has gone through the FEMA disaster animal response training. Cummins has also worked for HSUS NDART National Disaster Animal Rescue Team. Cummins, Animal Advocates aided EARS in past fires setting up pet evacuation areas and received a Certificate of Appreciation in 2003. Cummins also cared for wildlife and domestic pets injured by many past fires from smoke inhalation, burns, loss of habitat, loss of food and water sources. Huge fires spread by Santa Ana winds happen in Los Angeles, California.









Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Sunday, January 12, 2025

Rental Price Gouging During Los Angeles Fires by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser



People were talking about landlords price gouging after the Los Angeles fires. I searched MLS sold rentals for Los Angeles City five days before and after the fires. Median rents went from $3,800 to $4,800. I looked at some individual listings and saw them relisted higher after the disaster. Other agents saw the same. It's illegal to charge more than 10% higher price during a disaster. This is 20%. #pricegouging #losangeles #losangelesfires #fires #marycummins hashtag#realestateappraiser

The MLS just posted this to all agents logging into the system. What is "fair market value" for rental housing per HUD for luxury mansions? These mansions rent for $25,000-$200,000 per month furnished or unfurnished. 


They've since added a link to that message below.

https://info.vestaplus.net/cawildfires


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Friday, January 10, 2025

Houses at 750 Iliff, 18860 PCH Survived Fires Because they were Passive Construction by Mary Cummins Real Estate appraiser


A passive home built in 2024 located at 750 Iliff, Pacific Palisades, California survived the fires which destroyed the surrounding homes. It is mandatory green design because it's newer. It's a passive house with super insulated envelope, air tight construction, high performance glazing, thermal bridge free detailing and more. All these elements which save energy by keeping heat, cool air in also keep embers, fire, smoke out. There is minimal landscaping, block walls and a metal roof. We can build to prevent houses from burning down in fires. Before and after. It's time to make all homes more fire proof in wildfire areas. The owner Chris Ottinger remodeled/rebuilt at the perfect time. Green construction is mandatory for new construction. The architect was Greg Chasen. It's near intersection of Sunset Blvd and Chautauqua. As I look at it the roof is angle perfectly for Santa Ana winds to blow over it which blow to the sea. There are also no exposed eaves. 


The home at 18860 Pacific Coast Highway PCH, Malibu also survived the fire. It was listed for almost $10M in 2023. It was listed for lease in 2024 for $50,000/mo 4 bed, 4 bath 3,896 sf. It was built in 2000 which means mandatory green construction. Green construction also helps prevent the home from burning down. Owner David Steiner. 




#PassiveHouse #marycummins #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #fires #fireproofhome #fireproofconstruction #PalisadesFire


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Friday, December 13, 2024

Appraisal Institute States FHFA Study is Deeply Flawed, Comments by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser


Appraisal Institute states FHFA "study" is flawed. The "study" also used the Zillow Home Value Index aka Zestimate which includes tax assessor data, MLS listings, public data, info provided by alleged property owners... The data, analysis and conclusions are all flawed. GIGO, Garbage In Garbage Out. No one would ever publish their paper in a peer reviewed journal for those reasons yet the government sends it out as "factual research." Biased. #appraisalinstitute #FHFA #zillow #zestimatefails #Zestimate #marycummins #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal

From the article.

"A study on the use of time adjustments by appraisers conducted by two researchers at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in November contains serious flaws that misrepresent the appraisal process and further demonize the appraisal profession regarding racial bias. The study, Underappraisal Disparities and Time Adjustments to Comparable Sales Prices in Mortgage Appraisals, contends appraised values often fail to reflect rapidly increasing home prices in competitive markets. It further casts housing equity concerns, claiming that time adjustments are used less in curing “underappraisal” in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods than in major White neighborhoods. The study suggests appraisers should use automated valuation models and lenders should randomly assign appraisal orders to mitigate bias.

For one, the assumption that appraisals should perfectly mirror the pace of rising market prices oversimplifies the role of appraisers and the appraisal process. The study does not sufficiently account for the complexity of making time adjustments in markets with uneven price growth or where transaction volumes are low, limiting the availability of comparable sales.

The study also interprets caution by appraisers as “underappraisal,” when this may represent a prudent check against market volatility. In rapidly appreciating markets, appraisals may appear low compared to contract prices, but this could serve as a risk-mitigation tool, in protecting buyers from overpaying during speculative bubbles.

Further, the research ignores critical dynamics of the appraisal process in how comparable sales may be accounted for by appraisers in the narrative section of appraisals. For example, in some markets, a market change might occur with an increase of as much as 1% per month. Therefore, a comparable sale that is as recent as 2 or 3 months ago, could require a 2% or 3% positive adjustment to the sale price. On the other hand, with a market that is moving at a mere 3% a year, then a three-month old sale would correspond to only a .75% adjustment. An appraiser might well not apply such adjustment, as it could be argued as being of virtual rounding error. An appraiser might well handle the issue in the reconciliation of the three to four or more comparable sales presented in the sales comparison approach, which is completely overlooked by the study.

There may be a myriad of other factors at play. For instance, and for whatever reason, an appraiser’s analysis could indicate that one of the comparable sales sold on the “high” side. Applying a time adjustment for an above-the-market sale, while requiring explanation, might not be appropriate at all.

The study also leans heavily on the use of automated valuation model information from Zillow, which has its own credibility and accuracy problems."

Read the rest at the link.

Link to article

https://www.appraisalinstitute.org/cmspages/newsletters/getemailbrowsercontent.ashx?issueGuid=a47d3875-adac-4c06-976f-a74cf075c4f3&recipientEmail=adomatis%40hotmail.com&hash=dee4bfd3032a0548215443494269a5ad0ce160df6bf2e9f5eb5bd5cbc41fc36a&utm_source=ainewsletter_appraisal_now_20241213_a_b&utm_campaign=ainewsletter&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwY2xjawHJbQtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRhQEY41enGI_9PE2g1aIpBP89mxTLlgApt8kVLq_Amh_Gru75czg-oGFw_aem_RMT7BVcsvwnhpT-8Tkl0FA

Link to the flawed FHFA "study" "Underappraisal Disparities and Time Adjustments to Comparable Sales Prices in Mortgage Appraisals" by William M. Doerner, Scott Susin, November 2024. Working Paper 24-07

https://www.fhfa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/wp2407.pdf

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Friday, December 6, 2024

Taking a Listing in Probate and Trust webinar by Paul Horn Attorney, notes by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser


I attended a webinar given by California probate estate attorney Paul Horn. It was very informative and entertaining. Paul Horn Esq definitely knows wills, trusts, probate and real estate. He gave some great advice which I've actually heard from other estate attorneys.

It's important to order a date of death historical appraisal to determine market value at time of death. Paul Horn stated it's well worth the $500 cost. One person asked if they must sell the property for the appraisal value. He said "of course not." Sell it for what you believe is the highest current market value. 

In order to sell a home in probate you will need three main things i.e., Order for Probate, Letters, Notice of Proposed Action. These are all legal forms which can be found at lacourt.org He posted samples but they had names so I won't repost them. A real estate agent would get these items from the attorney handling the probate, estate. The real estate agent does not fill them out. The attorney does.


This is the California Probate Process.


The best thing is to avoid probate altogether. It will save you time, money and headaches. Get a will and a trust. Put the property in the trust. Make sure not to put the name of your heirs on the deed. Put the name of the trust only. This image shows the benefits of a trust versus a will. If you only have a will, you have to go through probate.


These are the essentials of good estate planning.

A married couple should take ownership as community property to avoid extra taxes.


 Here is one of Paul Horn's videos on the probate process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZtMW7hlH-c

You should have an attorney handle your will and trust. This is not legal advice. I am not an attorney. I would recommend Paul Horn to handle trusts, wills and probate. He knows what he's talking about. I've been doing historical date of death appraisals for over 40 years. I've had to deal with estates and probates so I've dealt with many estate and planning attorneys. 

@paulhornesq https://www.paulhornlawfirm.com/

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Sunday, December 1, 2024

CLAW MLS Allows Agents to Remove Photos at Close of Sale by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser Los Angeles


Combined Los Angeles Westside Multiple Listing Services CLAW MLS via Vesta Plus allows all subject photos except main photo to be removed, unpublished from the listing when the property is sold. It's for privacy reasons which I totally understand. Seeing the condition of the listed and sold comparables is such a vital data source for real estate appraisers. I wrote an email to the MLS asking if there is a way real estate appraisers could view the photos . 

"I received notice yesterday that all photos except one main photo could be removed from the MLS when the sale closes. As a real estate appraiser this will be a huge loss of data and information. It will affect the appraisals of all homes if we can't see the condition, upgrades or amenities of the comparables. 

Is there a way for appraisers to access the hidden photos for appraisals? We can agree never to post the photos publicly."

CLAW MLS response.

"Thank you for your email and we understand your concerns.  Please note that as of right now, selling agents do already remove all photos except the main one once a listing is sold.  Unfortunately, once the photos are unpublished, there is no way to retrieve them.

Removing all photos is a very common request as selling agents are constantly being asked by the new owners to remove photos due to safety concerns."


Someone commented on LinkedIn that the photos would still be on Zillow. Only if the owner doesn't request their removal. You can remove all photos of a house you claim to own. 

It may be a good idea for appraisers to print out the MLS listing of comps used with photos for the work file in case there are questions later. Click print, with photos, save as pdf. 



Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Sunday, November 24, 2024

What will Donald Trump, Scott Turner do to HUD? Same thing Trump Did First Term, Cut the Budget and Programs, by Mary Cummins



Photo: Wikipedia, Donald Trump, Scott Turner, HUD, Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, 

Donald Trump nominated ex-football player, motivational speaker and Pastor Scott Turner to be the head of HUD. Scott was a Texas State Representative for the 33rd District for two terms. He was also on Trump's White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump's first term. In 2023 he was hired as Chief Visionary Officer (lobbyist?) at JPI a real estate company.

When Turner was on the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council he co-produced a one year report. That report was the result of the Trump 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It dealt mainly with plans to promote investments in Opportunity Zones. A final report released in 2020 stated they were involved in different grant programs. Trump cut the HUD budget at least 18% during his term so grant programs and funding were reduced. That appeared to be a name only PR council and report.

We can expect Trump to again cut the HUD budget. I personally feel some programs are vital and others should be cut. I'd like to suggest HUD cut the funds given to NFHA for defamatory advertisements trashing appraisers. They could also cut the funding for the improper sting operations and lawsuits regarding appraisers. They should also look into the false and frivolous appraiser complaints. Hire an independent real estate appraisal company to investigate to see if the values in question were market value or not. If they weren't, investigate. If they were, dismiss the complaint and send an all clear letter. So much money was wasted on these worthless programs that did not find appraiser bias.

Trump in his Project 2025 plan stated he'd get rid of PAVE. The PAVE Task Force is over and it didn't really change anything. The main purpose was to get black, Latino and lower income votes and to keep campaign promises about solving made up problems. Joe Biden lied and said appraisal bias was a huge problem causing wealth inequality. The real problem is income inequality causing wealth inequality. Biden said he alone could fix the fake problem if they voted for him. The fake problem didn't exist. 

We were already doing all of the suggested PAVE programs. We already had appraisal appeal aka Reconsideration of Value ROV processes. We already had mandatory bias, discrimination and fair housing education. We already had a complaint process. We were already planning a PAREA like solution to the mentorship program problems. The PAREA program is not yet successful with only a handful of graduates at huge expense. Appraisers are almost as diverse as real estate agents. The issue is high initial cost, time and inability to make a living in the current market. This goes back to income inequality. 

Most people think HUD has the power to solve the housing crisis. It does not. HUD only oversees public housing programs and government backed mortgages. They have no control or jurisdiction over the real causes of the housing crisis which is insufficient number of housing units. That problem is caused by the states, counties and cities building requirements. It's not a problem under the direct jurisdiction of the federal government.

Trump has made some suggestions for helping the housing crisis. He will most likely roll back the Inflation Reduction Act which mandated more energy efficient homes. I doubt the developers will trickle down those savings to the consumer. Trump also suggested using federal lands to build homes. Those lands aren't in areas where people want to live. The last time the government did that developers built cheap shitty homes on swamp land such as Marin City. Trump said he'll reduce interest rates but he has no control over that Department. 

It will be interesting to see what Donald Trump and Scott Turner actually do with HUD. I predict they will just reduce the budget and cut programs like Trump did last time. Turner will do a lot of positive press and release a lot of positive reports while he obeys Trump and guts the Department as much as possible. 


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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