ASC OKs North Dakota Request for Temporary Appraisal Waiver
July 10, 2019 12:30 PM
The Appraisal Subcommittee on July 9 approved a request from North Dakota for a temporary waiver from appraisal licensing requirements, declaring a scarcity of appraisers. The ASC granted the one-year waiver from licensing requirements by a 5-2 vote; an additional year is possible if state officials again seek a waiver based on the scarcity argument.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council still needs to approve the decision, which is expected to happen at its July 19 meeting. It’s important to note that the temporary waiver is not a waiver from appraisals, but from appraisal licensing requirements. All appraisals still need to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
The waiver will cover both residential and commercial appraisals; however, the residential waiver could be sunset 60 days after banking regulators raise the appraisal threshold, if they choose to do so. A decision by the regulators on the threshold could come as soon as this month.
During the ASC’s special meeting, North Dakota Appraisal Board Chair Corey Kost, MAI, argued against granting the temporary waiver, citing no evidence of a scarcity of appraisers. He also argued that Congress has already addressed this issue with the rural appraisal waiver granted in the regulatory relief bill signed by President Trump last year.
Arguing for the waiver were North Dakota State Banking Board Commissioner Lise Kruse and members of the North Dakota Association of Bankers. They blamed a lack of appraisers in rural areas for the slow turnaround times for loans — despite little evidence supporting their argument.
Representatives of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development voted “no.” Representatives of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency voted “yes.”
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The Appraisal Institute is a global professional association of real estate appraisers, with nearly 18,000 professionals in almost 50 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.
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