Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB) Resolves AMC Complaint Baton Rouge, LA – – On June 4, 2015, the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB) approved entering into a “Stipulations and Order” with Coester VMS Appraisal Management Group. The Order will resolve a pending complaint that alleged that Coester violated Louisiana law that requires AMCs operating in the state to “compensate appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable for appraisals being performed in the market area of the property being appraised, consistent with the presumptions of compliance under federal law” (La.R.S. § 3415.15, La. Admin Code. tit. 46,...
The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board Holds the First Hearing for AMC’s Not Following the Laws and Rules for Determining Minimum Reasonable and Customary Fees As a result of a thorough investigation conducted by The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (LREAB), an adjudication hearing for an appraisal management company was held to determine if that firm is following the laws and rules pursuant to minimum reasonable and customary fees, as required by the Dodd/Frank Act and Louisiana laws and Appraisers Board rules. The case alleges the appraisal management company Coester VMS was not compliant with the state’s AMC laws and...
For well over a year, the Columbia Society of Real Estate Appraisers and five other nonprofit appraiser groups have been working on an industry paper entitled Regulatory Issues Affecting the Real Estate Appraisal Profession (subtitled: Unintended Consequences of the Dodd-Frank Law and Potential Remedies). The paper is aimed at informing lawmakers of some of the unintended consequences of the Dodd-Frank law as it relates to appraisers and consumers. We hope that lawmakers will address and correct some of the issues brought to light in this paper. The Letter Over the past year, a select group of professional appraisal organizations have...
Appraisers reluctant to force actual C&R fees on AMC clients… Appraisers, I’ve spent the last two days reviewing the ‘new Rule’ involving the registration of AMCs, which has – buried within it by reference – information relating to Customary and Reasonable Fees for appraisal reports. I’m grateful to an appraiser acquaintance in Pennsylvania for her assistance. Below is a 4 page document that shows the mentions of “C&R Fees” – and how those apply to AMCs. You may forward this to anyone else, or may use this information in any article or publication disseminated to appraisers, lenders, AMCs, other clients...
North Carolina Proposed Law Would Address Reasonable and Customary Appraisal Fees North Carolina’s House Bill 577, introduced April 2, 2015, would seek to address reasonable and customary appraisal fees. Some of the proposals in the Bill would: Require the NC Appraisal Board to publish a “schedule of customary and reasonable rates of compensation for appraisals based on the market area where the real property is situated.” Establish rates by fee studies that would exclude assignments ordered by known appraisal management companies. Require rates to be “measured by the net compensation amount received by the appraiser.” Allow for payments above the...
The Texas Appraisers and Appraisal Management Company 2015 Survey Report In January and February 2015, the Texas Appraisers and Appraisal Management Survey surveyed a total of 1,421 Texas appraisers and 55 appraisal management companies doing business in the state of Texas. The questions in the survey were specifically designed to achieve the following: Clearly distinguish between the fees paid to appraisers by Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) and fees paid by non-AMC clients for residential appraisals. Capture any difference in fees paid by property type: single family, condominium, size or square footage, or other factors. Capture the impact on fees by market area...
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on March 23 signed into law S.B. 1445, which requires appraisal management companies operating in the state to compensate appraisers at a reasonable and customary rate. The legislation gives the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board authority to take administrative action against AMCs not paying appraisers customary and reasonable fees in accordance with federal law. Prior to enactment of the legislation, Virginia law already required an appraiser engaged by an AMC to disclose as part of the appraisal report the actual fee they were paid. In 2014, the Virginia Center for Housing Research and the Virginia Tech...
I Did Not Quit when HVCC, UAD and CU Came Along. I Do Not Quit, Not Ever! I do not quit. Not ever. I have a different perspective based on lifelong lessons from my father. I did not quit when a lost helmet in the last play of the season made it painful to block during high school football. That effort got me my school letter despite being 3 quarters short. It was worth the headache. I did not quit Boot Camp in 1969 when at 129 pounds and six feet, very few thought I’d make it. To this day I...
Call to Action in Support of Virginia Senate Bill Requiring AMCs to Pay Appraisers C&R Fees Appraiser Colleagues, Finally, you have an opportunity to get what you have been screaming for: customary and reasonable fees for your work. On January 23, 2015, Senator Martin offered Senate Bill NO. 1445, requiring appraisal management companies to pay appraisers customary and reasonable fees. The bill mirrors the language in Dodd-Frank. A copy of SB 1445 as introduced is attached. Please contact your legislative representatives in support of this important legislation. VAR’s support will be important to the success of this bill. Please include VAR...
Some Good News…For a Change? – 2nd Annual List (A Work-In-Progress) Last year, around Thanksgiving, I had put together a list of some positive things going on for appraisers. It was/is all-too-rare that we hear positive news regarding the appraisal profession. There is an awful lot of complaining that goes on, most of it justifiable, but little good news that gets shared. Part of the problem is that there is no central source for information regarding our profession which appraisers might utilize in order to find out what is going on across the country and affecting our profession, and could be used to...
