ASC leery of lagging adoption of AQB criteria by states; Appraisal Foundation task force will help

Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) Executive Director Ben Henson told a panel discussion at the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) last month that prior to 2003, the ASC had warned six states about their appraiser licensing and certification programs, but in the past 18 months alone, 10 jurisdictions have been warned about some aspect of their regulatory program being out of compliance with a potential to affect ASC recognition.

Intuitively, a historic mortgage activity boom not accompanied (in most cases) by expansions of state regulatory boards would lead to longer timeframes for resolution of complaints against appraisers, which Henson said was a concern. But, to the consternation of some state regulators, he said the ASC was more concerned about states' failure to adopt revised Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) criteria in a timely fashion.

In most cases, adoption of new AQB criteria requires an act of the state's legislature, which is often less motivated to pass laws requiring compliance with the AQB than appraisal boards or the ASC would like.

This year, the AQB adopted its most ambitious change to its qualifications criteria yet, with a deadline for implementation and compliance of January 1, 2008. In response to concern at the state level (and from the ASC) that The Appraisal Foundation should provide support to the states in their efforts to square their state laws with the new criteria, we've learned that Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Nardie Vine is appointing a Qualifications Criteria Implementation Task Force. The Task Force will assist in the implementation of the new criteria through educational efforts, though any criteria policy related matters will continue to be addressed solely by the AQB.

The Task Force will be charged with developing documents in layman's or practical terms which assist in clarifying the understanding of the new AQB criteria, to include an historical perspective as well as rationale for the changes. In addition, it will develop seminars to be provided to appraiser regulators and educational providers on a regional basis, and provide direct assistance to states that may request specific help in implementing the new criteria in their jurisdiction.

The deadline for documentation and seminars is March 31, 2005. The Task Force will be chaired by Lee Hackett, 2005 Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, and will include two AQB representatives, the Chair of the Educational Council of Appraisal Foundation Sponsors, an AARO representative, a representative of the Foundation's State Regulator Advisory Group, and the Chair of the Foundation's Publications Committee.

In other Appraisal Foundation news, Sandra Guilfoil was re-appointed to a three year term to the AQB, and will serve as its 2005 Chair. Carla Glass will serve as 2005 Chair of the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB), and Peter Clark will Chair the Appraisal Foundation Board of Trustees.