THIS IS THE LAST POST ON SOAPBOX – please visit MATRIX for future appraiser-related content!

Back in 2005, I entered the blogging fray out of frustration with the way appraisers were treated in the lending process. Thus, Soapbox was born. It was a labor of love for me and for the numerous contributors (I think) that have shared their appraisal expertise over the past several years.

Over this period appraisal issues came to the forefront and while I am not sure things are better today, at least there is more understanding about the importance of separating the sales from the credit function when dealing with the appraiser and appraisals.

Appraisals are only worth the paper they are written on (metaphorically speaking, pdf-wise) if they can be prepared without undue pressure and fear of retribution. Sadly this is the legacy of the recent mortgage boom and now most Americans are suffering from the ramifications of the risk/reward ethical disconnect that ran across all facets of mortgage lending. In other words, Iceland is screwed.

Within a month after I began Soapbox, I started up another blog called Matrix which covered the real estate economy. It was less of a vertical focus than Soapbox and as a result, got more of my attention over the years. However my first Matrix post topic was about appraising.

This month, I launched The Housing Helix, a podcast about the housing market. Maintaining 2 blogs up until now has been a big effort, and now the idea of maintaining 3 blogs has proved to be overwhelming. After all, I still work for a living.

This is more of an effort to simplify the process – no plans to cut back appraisal-related content. Going forward, I’ll be providing appraisal issues intertwined with other housing issues on Matrix and within The Housing Helix podcast.

Please visit and bookmark both Matrix and The Housing Helix if you haven’t already.

I hope you’ll stay with me.