Appraisal Institute Praises House for Passing Valuation-Related Bills
CHICAGO (Sept. 20, 2019) – (RealEstateRama) – The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, today applauded the U.S. House for passing consumer-friendly legislation that will address long-standing concerns surrounding residential appraisals.
“These two bills will have a very positive impact on consumers and appraisers,” said Appraisal Institute President Stephen S. Wagner, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS. “We look forward to their passage in the Senate and eagerly anticipate them being signed into law by the president.”
The Appraisal Reform Act (H.R. 3619), which passed Sept. 19, requires full consumer disclosure of appraisal management company fees, separating them from the appraisal fee in the homebuyer’s Closing Disclosure Form. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 authorized, but did not require, separation of appraisal and appraisal management fees on these loan documents.
“This legislation would increase consumer awareness around the appraisal process,” Wagner said. “The Appraisal Institute recommended and supported this provision, and we are extremely gratified to see the legislation passed by the House.”
The bill amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, known as FIRREA, to provide the Appraisal Subcommittee with the authority to modify annual registry fees for appraisal management companies, to maintain a registry of trainees and to charge a lower trainee registry fee. It also allows grants to states to assist appraiser and potential appraiser compliance with the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria.
The Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2019 (H.R. 2852), which passed Sept. 10, would allow state-licensed appraisers to perform appraisals for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. In amending the National Housing Act, the bill would require compliance with existing appraiser education requirements.
“We support this bill because it addresses long-standing concerns about the implementation of pre-existing FHA appraisal requirements, which differ from those of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and of the conventional market,” Wagner said.
During his testimony at a June 20 Capitol Hill hearing, Wagner told the House Financial Services Committee’s Housing, Community Development and Insurance Subcommittee that the Appraisal Institute supports passage of both bills.
H.R. 2852 was sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, and co-sponsored by Reps. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, and Van Taylor, R-Texas. A vote has not yet been scheduled on a similar bill in the Senate.
Sponsored by Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, H.R. 3619 was co-sponsored by Reps. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri. There is currently no corresponding legislation in the Senate, but discussions are ongoing.
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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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