The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified its appraisers last week that the new versions of Fannie Mae's appraisal forms should not be used at this time for properties which will be insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

"FHA Roster Appraisers are instructed to continue to use the pre-March 2005 version of the Fannie Mae appraisal reporting forms for all properties to be security for an FHA insured loan until further notice," the e-mail notice said. Questions were to be directed to your area's homeownership center (HOC). You can find it and contact information at this link.

1,000+ registrants for Orlando Technology Convention next month will get first crack at Aurora

July 28 will be opening day for our first summer Technology Convention in Orlando. More than 1,000 of our closest friends will be there to help us kick it off in style, and be among the first to get their hands on WinTOTAL version 5.0, known as Aurora.

The 700+ who joined us in Las Vegas in February warmed us up for next month, and what we believe is the biggest appraiser convention in many years. The feedback we got from the Las Vegas convention was extremely good, and it looks like you told your colleagues as well as us what a great and productive time you had.

But the main attraction next month will be Aurora, and your first chance to dive into it. More than 50 a la mode employees will be on hand to answer questions, make sure you have a good time, and, most importantly, to teach hands-on classes giving you a leg up on the new WinTOTAL. You'll learn straight from the developers and product managers whose efforts have gone into developing the new version for many months.

With the "national" debut of Aurora and promise of more useful classes aimed at increasing your productivity and boosting your bottom line, we're already bursting with more than 1,000 registrants for the Orlando convention. (There's room for more!) This confirms what we learned at our Annual Convention in Las Vegas in February: You don't want long CE marathons. You do want useful, hands-on technology training, and we're going to deliver once again next month.

In addition to hitting the ground running with Aurora, you'll also attend courses on things like marketing services, customer relations, office management and much more. But it is a Technology Convention, and in addition to Aurora we'll have classes and panel discussions on such topics as mobile productivity tools, electronic report delivery, workflow management and more.

Of course, we wouldn't schedule a convention in one of America's family-friendliest vacation destinations without giving you and your family a chance to enjoy the area. The track-style class schedule will be flexible enough for you to enjoy Disney and other great Orlando-area attractions as well. And the Thursday through Saturday schedule makes it easy to come early or stay later to add to your "working" vacation.

Visit our Technology Convention home page to find out more and to register.

And look for weekly editions of this e-Newsletter in July to keep you informed up to the moment as Aurora's release approaches fast.

Oklahoma City, Orlando seminars previewed Aurora; more seminars, online videos coming

Nearly 150 people joined us in Oklahoma City last weekend over two days for a hands-on seminar to preview WinTOTAL Aurora. At the same time, some 50 gathered at our Orlando training office for the same purpose. Two events, both filled to capacity with appraisers eager to get their hands on Aurora. The feedback we got was great. There have been a number of new versions of WinTOTAL over many years, but customer anticipation and excitement over Aurora beats them all. This was reflected at this weekend's seminars.

Over the next month you will have many opportunities, including especially our Technology Convention in Orlando, to sit down and learn Aurora from the people who helped create it. But it's important to know that once Aurora ships, we will also have support and training videos online that will make easing yourself into the new version a snap. You'll be able to complete full hands-on online tutorials or skip around and ahead at your own pace. We want you to get everything there is to get out of Aurora, and we're committed to helping you do it with industry leading help. So if you can't join us at the convention, you'll still have a great opportunity to learn the ropes.

We're also putting on a number of other hands on seminars in the next month or so focusing on Aurora. You can see a full schedule and get more information here. If you absolutely can't make the Technology Convention, there will be an Aurora Hands On Training seminar in Orlando August 19-20. See information here.

Visit our Training page to register online and learn more about upcoming classes and conventions. And remember, tons of help will be a mouse click away once Aurora ships, too.

Shred, erase consumer information you're not keeping in your workfile

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s new "Disposal Rule" went into effect June 1, and it applies to you as it does to many businesses. Chances are you don't need to do much differently to comply but you do need to be aware of the new rules.

The rule requires businesses to take "appropriate measures to dispose of sensitive information derived from consumer reports." The FTC notes that "any business or individual who uses a consumer report for a business purpose is subject to the requirements of the Disposal Rule."

Among these are: lenders, mortgage brokers, and "entities that maintain information in consumer reports as part of their role as service providers to other organizations covered by the Rule" — appraisers who get loan application and other information either routinely or sometimes as part of a residential appraisal assignment.

USPAP requires you to preserve your working files, and that's fine, because the Disposal Rule doesn't require you to shred or destroy anything you're otherwise required to keep. But if you get consumer information in conjunction with an assignment that you won't be keeping in your work file — that is, once you do determine that it needs to be disposed of — you need to comply with the Rule.

The FTC says you can "burn, pulverize, or shred papers containing consumer report information so that the information cannot be read or reconstructed." Electronic files or media containing consumer report information should be destroyed or erased.

Consumer information collected by your lender clients may already be covered by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Safeguards Rule. If so, it trumps the new rule. But they'll know that.

You can download a PDF of the FTC's alert on the new rule here.