Virginia Enacts New AMC Law
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation (H.B. 408) April 11 that made Virginia the 10th state to enact new regulations regarding the operation of appraisal management companies. The new law will become effective July 1.
Under the law, AMCs operating in Virginia will be prohibited from influencing or attempting to influence the development, reporting, result or review of a real estate appraisal through coercion, extortion or collusion by withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment or future business from an appraiser.
AMCs also will be prohibited from: removing an appraiser from an AMC’s panel without first giving written notice to the appraiser; altering an appraisal report; or requiring an appraiser to provide the AMC with a digital signature or seal. The legislation also states that AMCs cannot prohibit an appraiser from disclosing in the appraisal report the actual fees charged by an appraiser for appraisal services, and that the compensation of an appraiser shall comply with the requirements of the Federal Housing Administration.
Virginia’s law is different than the other nine laws currently in place in that it does not require that AMCs register with the state appraiser board or another government agency. Opponents of a registration process persuaded Virginia legislators to mistakenly believe that the state does not have the authority to regulate many AMCs that are owned by federally regulated financial institutions, or to provide valuations in conjunction with loans that are overseen by the federal government.
The other states with AMC laws currently in place are Arkansas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Legislatures in at least 15 other states are currently considering similar proposals.
For more information on H.B. 408, visit http://legis.state.va.us/.
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Time to disclose the AMC fees in your reports Virginia appraisers!
Virginia AMCs now need to get surety bonds, too. It seems the bond requirement trend is spreading to other states. It won’t be long before AMCs in all states will be regulated more carefully.
“It won’t be long before AMCs in all states will be regulated more carefully”.
Oh goody…at least states can rake in some cash from those in charge of collecting fees from appraisers each month (AMCs).
As an appraiser do you really care if these mob freaks are regulated or do you want someone to force them to pay full fees? I am puzzled over why so many appraisers are all giddy over the fact that their state figured out a way to take a cut from those who are taking a cut of YOUR FEES.
There are 23 states ahead of Virginia. They ate actually late to the party.
VA is the 10th state according to this article…. better late than never 🙂
That would be July 2014! Not this month or even this year.
A state you left off of the list that has implemented AMC legislation; North Carolina; as of January 1, 2011. They are overseen by our NC Appraisal Board.
No Chris, this law became effective July 1, 2012. Where did you get 2014?
As an appraiser who “chooses” to disclose the full fee within the appraisal report; how long would you anticipate remaining on a particular AMC’s approved list?
My guess is 30 seconds after they discover what you’ve disclosed to the lender and the borrower.
If this is the best states can come up with I would suggest that they take up golf rather than trying to help appraisers. USELESS!!!
If fee disclosure is optional, the appraisers who provide the amc the most profit by reducing the fee the most, in order to be the preferred appraiser, probably won’t be volunteering that information within their reports. Without mandatory disclosure of fees, the thing of value argument will continue to fly under the radar. So appraisers in one state will enjoy more protection than appraisers from other states, even though they both engage the same national companies? Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.