TAF Suspends Most APB Operations
APB was based on the housing crisis of 2008…
Appraisers,
The news release below was issued on Jan. 26, 2017.
I for one, appreciate what’s been done so far by the Appraisal Practices Board to help define and explain certain aspects of our work, and make those items available to anyone who wanted to download their advisories.
I am also of the opinion that the initiation of the APB was one of the elements that lead to the Appraisal Institute resigning from The Appraisal Foundation, an action that was not entirely positive for AI members, or the ‘image’ of AI within our profession. Should the APB be formally ended, I encourage AI leadership to reexamine their position about their membership in The Appraisal Foundation. (Disclosure: I have been an AI member since 2003.)
The Appraisal Foundation News Release:
The Appraisal Foundation Reexamines Valuation Advisories – Activities of the Appraisal Practices Board Temporarily Suspended
Washington, DC – January 26, 2017 — The Board of Trustees (BOT) of The Appraisal Foundation (Foundation) recently voted to temporarily suspend the activities of the Appraisal Practices Board (APB), citing the desire to examine the current needs of appraiser professionals related to guidance on recognized valuation methods and techniques. In putting APB activities on hold, the BOT determined that two advisories under development in the area of financial reporting would continue under the auspices of the BOT, as would the third in the series of advisories on valuing green and high performance properties being developed under agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. Each of the three advisories is nearing completion.
Chair of the BOT, Tom Boyer, stated, “The actions taken give the BOT time to fully analyze the financial impact of developing advisories and to better understand the effect of these advisories on the profession. This vote should not be misconstrued as a negative reflection on the work of the many Board members and subject matter experts who have contributed to the APB since its inception in 2010, for each has given of their time and talents for the betterment of the profession, and we are very grateful for them.”
In the coming weeks, Foundation trustees and staff will conduct outreach activities to solicit feedback about valuation advisories from appraisers, users of appraisal services, regulators, and other stakeholders. The focus of the February 24, 2017 Public Meeting in Torrance, CA is now an open forum to explore the topic with attendees, as well as provide an update of Foundation activities.
David S. Bunton, President of the Foundation recalled that the origin of the APB was based on the housing crisis of 2008. “At that time appraisers were struggling with how best to deal with declining markets, and the Foundation was encouraged to publish voluntary guidance to help all appraisers, especially those who did not have access to such information via association with a professional membership organization.” He continued, saying, “We all know that the market is now very different, access to information through technology has dramatically changed, and we need to take a close look at our continued investment in providing this service to the profession: Is the need still there?”
For more information on attending the February 24 open forum, please click here. Questions or comments can be directed to John Brenan, Director of Appraisal Issues, j…@appraisalfoundation.org, 202.624.3044.
Dave Towne on e-AppraisersDirectory.com
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I was never in favor of the APB. It has been my belief since 1989-1992 era when licensing went into effect or was to go into effect that the purpose of The Appraisal Foundation was to protect the public by originating, reviewing, and changing USPAP as needed and necessary. It has been my long held belief that USPAP was intended to have standards of practice in place to require that an appraisal be conducted in accordance with those standards. In other words, provide what an appraiser must do when doing an appraisal, but not tell an appraiser how to do an appraisal. The how to should come from client requirements contained in a scope of work as to what is to be done, and, in the case of the secondary market that purchases mortgage loans, what they consider must or should be done. The how to should also be the concern of professional organizations, state regulatory boards, and appraisers peers. The purpose of the APB came close to telling us “how to” in many cases. That was not the intent of the authority given the TAF by congress in FIRREA. It was rather, to write standards of practice with oversight by federal regulators, the FFIEC represented by the ASC.
Some of the biggest errors that we have had was when TAF got “into the weeds” with things like the departure provision, and a few other failed concepts along the way.
Just my opinion of course, but, since the earliest date when I received my first copy of USPAP by FAX so I could teach it to appraisers who were the first to apply for their state licensure, the intent was to set certain standards, not assume a role of oversight best left to the states and the market.
Great information, thank you Dave and Don. So like what’s the deal, will we still have advisory opinions? Who can keep up with this? Is this about advisory opinions because I like those and they’re helpful. To think some other technological entity could replace that with alternative non centralized guidance is not logical. The AO’s still defer to the main book and they’re always intended as anecdotal. Very helpful but still anecdotal. Or is this like scary dangerous serious like no more ethics book? I have used the departure rule and this is a limited post, just outside the consultative circle of appraisal practice. I think that just set in, despite being long gone. What is the deal lately, I’ve got this new verbiage from Ford to pop in; this report supersedes and replaces, renders prior versions yada yada official official word tricks for the ten million ambulance chasing lawyers breaking into real estate and that’s a wrap.
The APD has nothing to do with Advisory Opinions outside of the activities of the APB. The AQB and the ASB will still function as they are supposed to. The departure rule went out of being in 2008 as I recall.
No matter how you cut it, appraisers are going to get screwed again just like we have in the past. We can complain all we want, but sorry to say it ain’t gonna do any good. We have complained since this whole debacle started, and we are no further ahead then we were then. Only difference, our insurance increased, our license/certification fees increased and we are offered less money per job.
Perhaps you should offer some opinions on how to make things better.
The way to do that is to send your written opinions to TAF. Reminds me of when Fannie Mae was changing all the forms in 2005. They asked for comment well in advance of the change. Of the then approximately 100,000 appraisers nationwide they got less than 1,000 comments.
Better to speak up now than after changes have been made.
Don It does not matter what any appraiser thinks, says, or does, unless it is something they can add on to the list of objections we have to being ruled by a political organization. Now that the bank lobbyists and realtors have conspired against the unnecessary evil appraisers and they have trump in office, the opton of using fake news like there is a shortage of appraisers, and technology is judging our work based on the body of work they have stolen from us, they don’t need us any more. Part of the current mob rule toward de-regulation, appraisers will go the way of the dinosaur because the manipulating crooks of wall street who are at the top of the current adiministration run by a destructive psychiatric patient will prevail as long as all the republicans act like Koch libertarians who just hate regulations because that means the EPA can charge them fines and make them clean up their industries. So, appraisers, bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye as an appraiser; maybe you can get a job doing something more meaningless, like mining coal in West Virginia. I heard the big sucking sound that was loud and clear when the Foundation claimed they are the foremost expert in real estate appraisal after the Appraisal Institute took the “high” road and now all that was created by the Appraisal Institute (dating back to the early 1930s to protect the American people to insure their money in the bank after the Great Depression) is being co-opted by the Foundation who has absolutely no value whatsoever to appraisers. The war on appraisers and having one ethical person involved in a financed real estate transaction is pretty much won by those who manipulate money, and by the way, if you still respect trump and his band of rebels, then you deserve to be excluded from conducting any appraisal because your thinking is obviously clouded. I suggest you go get a job for one of the sharks who promotes shit while telling you it doesn’t stink! Anyway, everyone knows a computer is a better appraiser than anyone with licenses, experience and training. Welcome to the age of artificial intelligence. Actually, the dumbing down of America was evident when trump was elected despite being immoral, an illegal businessman, and where else have you heard of a casino going bankrupt when we all know the “house” has the advantage. Considering who trump appointed to HUD, I am sure he is beefing up his apartment portfolio to get on the list of rentals that he can exclude anyone he wants to live there, including American Blacks, Muslims, or any Democrats…. remember, they are taking names in the UN, so now that we are in a database, we will be on trump’s shit list if we complain about the regulations being lifted so anyone who wants to can perform an appraisal, without experience, and without any qualifications. Since everyone in his administration is not qualified but outwardly anti-the-agency they head (EPA, Interior, Commerce, Health & Human Services, Treasury, etc) will gut the former rules and regulations that protect the American people that took generations to develop in line with our core principles, but let it go appraisers, you are just unnecessary and have caused deals to be renegotiated, so now they can get their values from the real estate agents and other people who are just glorified sales people. We had our chance to be real professionals; the Appraisal Institute was a force that upgraded the profession but failed to take it to the university so we could earn our designations for life, but then if wall street and fannie and freddie didn’t like it, they could just spend tons of money lobbying against high standards, and in favor of doing it fast so they could turn your home loan into a piece of a whole pie that would fail as everything did in 2008. By the time we have the next crash, appraisers won’t be much in demand because after all, they have the realtors who hold those quicky designations that confuse the public and which aren’t worth the paper they are written on. TAF is a phony organization with absolutely no power, so why have them anyway? Abolish all of those political bozos who have been telling us what to do with our work when they have no idea what it takes! We are living in the time when anyone who wants to be can be an “expert”, they just pronounce it themselves; hence the belief in fake news…. it comes from the top. Now that we have a dictator, you better start storing food for the next epidemic of greed, exercised by your government. I suggest you get a new helmut for the crash to preserve what part of your brain is left after we’ve been partially lobotomized and can be easily replaced by artificial intelligence.