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Appraiser organizations applaud emphasis on use of competent appraisersMortgagePress.comReal estate appraisals
The three largest professional appraisal organizations in the
United States penned a joint letter of appreciation to the federal
financial regulatory agencies, applauding them for their
recognition of the importance of appraiser competency. The letter
came in response to the June 22 statement, "The 2006 Revisions to
the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP),"
issued by the Federal Reserve Board, Treasury Department, Office of
Thrift Supervision, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and
National Credit Union Administration. The Appraisal Institute,
American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and American Society of Farm
Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) applauded the agencies for
their attention to the issue of scope of work—in particular,
appraiser competency. The statement served to notify financial
institutions regulated by the five agencies of the importance of
ensuring that appraisals supporting federally related transactions
adhere to the USPAP.
"We are pleased to see the agencies emphasize that clients
should consider appraiser competency and not allow lower cost or
reduced delivery time to compromise the determination of an
appropriate scope of work," said Don Kelly, vice president of
public affairs for the Appraisal Institute. "Inevitably, appraisal
quality suffers when these variables supersede other important
factors, including competency and consideration of professional
credentials and designations."
The topic of appraiser competency and qualification has been an
important industry issue since the enactment of the Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA),
which oversees the educational requirements, licensing and
certification of appraisers and the enforcement of such processes.
Of specific interest to the appraisal industry has been the
repeated misinterpretation of the anti-discrimination clause
contained in Section 1122(d), which has led numerous clients of
appraisal services to believe that they cannot use professionally
designated appraisers.
"Although FIRREA was created to increase appraiser competence,
in practice, it has led to an emphasis on maintaining only minimum
qualifications, curtailing the continuing development of
professionalism in the appraisal industry," noted Kelly. "It's
important that clients of appraisal services are cognizant of the
fact that they can and should be using appraisers with the highest
levels of education and experience."
For more information, visit www.appraisalinstitute.org,
www.appraisers.org or www.asfmra.org.