Aside from defending yourself against USPAP violations, there is a lot that appraisers and their attorneys often don’t understand about the regulatory/enforcement process and how to achieve the most favorable result.

Editor’s Note: Despite the many challenges appraisers face, there is always help available. See the free webinar offer below.

Complaints: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
By Bob Keith, MAA, IFA

Republished from WorkingRe.com

If you’re like me, you’ve probably never chosen to sky dive out of an airplane or bungee jump off a bridge. But if you had to jump out of an airplane or off a bridge, you’d probably choose to be with an expert right? Sometimes we don’t get a choice.

Sometimes we are forced into unfamiliar and dangerous territory. In these instances, what you don’t know can hurt you and that’s when it’s good to have an expert along.

Imagine you are forced to participate in defending yourself against a complaint that is being investigated by your state appraiser licensing board. You didn’t choose to participate in the process; you don’t really know anything about it and refusing to participate is not an option! In this event, what you don’t know can and probably will hurt you!

Aside from defending yourself against USPAP violations, there is a lot that appraisers and their attorneys often don’t understand about the regulatory/enforcement process and how to achieve the most favorable result.

I was a practicing appraiser for over two decades before becoming an AQB-Certified USPAP Instructor and subsequently the Executive Director of the Oregon Certification and Licensure Board. I served in that position for more than a dozen years and in that capacity I had Board-delegated authority to investigate complaints, determine USPAP violations, negotiate settlement terms with appraisers or their attorneys, and if necessary, pursue disciplinary actions through administrative hearings. I have been involved with hundreds of cases that were brought against appraisers.

Since my departure from the Oregon Board’s staff, I have counseled many appraisers across the country who were responding to complaints from their state appraiser licensing boards. My advice to them often involves not only USPAP compliance, but many times I am able to give advice of a different nature. …continue reading the rest of this post: Webinar on handling appraiser complaints

Editor’s Note: Real estate attorney Todd Stevens sees a trend in real estate law: attorneys are waking up to the potential liability of review appraisers. Couple this with the common misunderstanding among review appraisers that their risk is less than the author of the original report, and you get a burgeoning new area of litigation.

Review Appraisal Liability
By Todd Stevens
WorkingRE.com

In my practice, review appraisers increasingly are being named as defendants in lawsuits. In the typical transaction, the review appraiser has a contractual relationship with the lender while the original appraiser, retained by the mortgage broker or Appraisal Management Company (AMC) to perform the original report, does not. Lenders usually include language shifting some of the risk of loss to the reviewer. Lender/reviewer contracts often contain provisions permitting the party prevailing in a lawsuit to recover court costs as well as the fees paid to lawyers. Carefully read any contract you are asked to sign by a lender who is hiring you for review work. You may be able to negotiate out some of the more onerous provisions.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Review appraisers increasingly are being named as defendants in lawsuits

CHICAGO, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ The number of active real estate appraisers in the United States fell less than 1 percent in the first half of 2014, the Appraisal Institute announced today, lower than the average annual decrease of 2.6 percent over the past six years.

Research conducted by the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers found that as of June 30, the total number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. stood at 80,500, down from 81,050 on Dec. 31, 2013. A broader analysis suggests the rate of decrease could rise sharply over the next five to 10 years due to retirements, reduced numbers of new people entering the appraisal profession, economic factors and greater use of data analysis technologies, Appraisal Institute research found.

“As appraisers leave the profession, the Appraisal Institute is preparing the next generation through its education, publications and other training,” said Appraisal Institute President Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA. “As the real estate valuation profession’s leader, we will continue to ensure that we are preparing tomorrow’s appraisers today.”
The Appraisal Institute’s research also found that the proportion of licensed appraisers in the U.S. continues to decrease and stands at 11.3 percent as of June 30. The proportions of certified residential appraisers (56.7 percent) and general/commercial appraisers (32 percent) increased slightly from year-end 2013. Also, 18.5 percent of appraisers held a license or certification in one or more states outside their home state. That number increased slightly from 18.2 percent in 2013 and 17.2 percent in 2012.

Appraisal Institute surveys also found:

• Two-thirds (66 percent) of appraisers have spent at least 15 years in the valuation profession.
• Thirty-nine percent work as sole proprietors (no employees/partners), and another 22 percent are an owner or partner in a firm.
• Forty-one percent work as commercial appraisers, while 31 percent are residential appraisers.
• Seventy-five percent work for an appraisal services firm.
• More than half (51 percent) are ages 51 to 65, and another 11 percent are 66 or older.
• Fifty-eight percent hold a bachelor’s degree, and another 20 percent hold a master’s or doctoral degree.
• Forty-seven percent of Appraisal Institute professionals earn more than $100,000 per year, compared to 22 percent of non-AI professionals.

U.S. appraiser population statistics were derived from the Appraisal Subcommittee National Registry as of June 30, 2014. Demographic statistics were derived from Appraisal Institute studies conducted in 2014 of 1,451 randomly selected AI professionals and non-AI individuals. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.

The Appraisal Institute is a global professional association of real estate appraisers, with nearly 22,000 professionals in almost 60 countries throughout the world. Its mission is to advance professionalism and ethics, global standards, methodologies, and practices through the professional development of property economics worldwide. Organized in 1932, the Appraisal Institute advocates equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the appraisal profession and conducts its activities in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Individuals of the Appraisal Institute benefit from an array of professional education and advocacy programs, and may hold the prestigious MAI, SRPA, SRA, AI-GRS and AI-RRS designations. Learn more at www.appraisalinstitute.org.

The annual Voice of the Appraiser survey is open again and I suggest you give your input to the profession. It provides a lot of really great insight when the results are published.

http://www.valuationreview.com/vr/voice-of-the-appraiser-survey.aspx

I came across this post the other day:

http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/chase-calls-it-quits/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

I am really wondering if they are calling it quits in the home loan industry.  If anyone has any additional information on this, I would love to hear it!

The short article goes in to some information about how Chase is getting out of lending, but all I could find was some information that they are getting out of the student loan business last year.

With all the ups and down in the home loan industry and how they have a really bad relationship with real estate appraisers, I would really love to know if they are getting out of home lending completely!

Bryan

http://appraiserincome.com

Editor’s Note: A federal court in California has certified a class action challenging Bank of America’s failure to pay overtime to staff appraisers. In another case, staff review appraisers stand to receive a settlement averaging over $10,000 each from BOA/LandSafe.

Court Certifies Class and Approves Nationwide Class Settlement for Review Appraisers
by Bryan Schwartz

http://workingre.com

United States District Court for the Central District of California, Hon. David O. Carter, certified a class action challenge on behalf of hundreds of real estate appraisers employed by Bank of America and its appraisal subsidiary, LandSafe Appraisal Services, around California, seeking back wages for unpaid overtime, meal and rest period premiums, and other wages and penalties

Judge Carter also granted his preliminary approval to a $5.8 million settlement on behalf of another group in the case, called Review Appraisers – who verify the Residential Appraisers’ reports. Approximately 370 review appraisers nationwide will soon receive notice of the settlement, which is expected to receive final approval in November 2014, barring any successful objections. Each participant, on average, will net a payment of over $10,000 in the settlement, and the position will be reclassified in 2014 so that Bank of America’s Review Appraisers will be paid overtime going forward.

Boyd, et al., v. Bank of America, et al
The case in question, Boyd, et al., v. Bank of America, et al., was brought by San Francisco Bay Area attorney Bryan Schwartz along with Schonbrun, Desimone, Seplow, Harris & Hoffman of Los Angeles. The action alleges that Bank of America wrongly called appraisers exempt from wage laws based upon the notion that they were company administrators or policy-makers (like human resources officials) or learned professionals (like attorneys and doctors), who must undergo a prolonged course of specialized academic instruction. …continue reading the rest of this post: Court Certifies Class and Approves Nationwide Class Settlement for Bank of America Review Appraisers

The Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers would like to remind all Licensees and potential licensees that the Appraiser Qualification Changes become effective on January 1, 2015.  These changes affect the minimum education requirements and mandate courses for those in a supervisory or trainee role.  If you or someone you know is planning on submitting an initial or upgrade license application before the January 1, 2015, deadline, the application must be complete, which means that the applicant MUST PASS THE EXAM prior to the January 1, 2015 deadline —THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!

EDUCATIONAL CHANGES

…continue reading the rest of this post: Appraiser Qualification Changes for 01/01/2015