H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

My world was much different in the late 1980’s. Although I had been in the real estate and appraisal profession for a decade, political activity did not interest me. Here at Gregoire & Gregoire, we had been using a networked mini-computer for appraisal reporting since 1983, but I did not have an email account or address. I did not surf the web. Our clients were savings and loan associations, FHA lenders, loan discount companies (purchasers of privately originated first and second mortgages), real estate brokers, and several lawyers. All our research was completed through examination of paper and microfiche records. We went through Polaroid SX-70 film packs by the case and always kept a spare camera or two in the back seat or trunk of the car. Life was good. A career in the appraisal profession, at least here in the Sunshine State, was one coveted by many.

In-person networking with other appraisers was a regular activity, and usually accomplished at the monthly meetings of the local chapter of the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. My memory may be a little foggy, but I do remember sitting down with a few appraiser friends after a Society meeting to discuss the pending implementation of Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). Unlike most of my peers, I was not enthused or optimistic about the new law. It was difficult to see any upside for me or the profession by involving the federal government in appraisal regulation. I lost the argument with my friends, shouted down with comments about “professionalism” and “national standards”.

About 20 years after that discussion, technology has influenced many of the actions involved in the research, development and reporting of appraisals. Our ability and means to research and communicate has improved exponentially, and personally, my interest in regulation, government, and politics has become an obsession. The nature of some folks within the sphere of real property, loan origination, lending and banking is, unfortunately, just as it was. A mere 25 or so years after the disintegration of the savings and loans that prompted FIRREA, the country finds itself in the midst of an even worse financial mess. In response to crisis, and true to form, Congress has once again sprung into action to save us all. Their solution is H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

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