Two New Florida Bills - Amendments to Chapter 475

Two nearly identical bills have been filed for the 2017 Session of the Florida Legislature. On the House side, HB 927 was filed by Rep. Bob Rommel on February 21, 2017. Senator Kathleen Passidomo filed SB 716 of February 16, 2017. The bills are nearly identical, and appear to be attempts to amend Chapter 475, Part II to conform with the Final Rule on Minimum Requirements for Appraisal Management Companies. 

The major difference in the bills appears to be:

• The Senate Bill requires AMC compliance with the Truth in Lending Act (customary and reasonable fees). The House Bill does not have the same language. (see lines 503 - 505 of SB 716).
• The House Bill tightens up the restrictions on registration of AMCs by removing the FREAB's discretion to grant registration "after a lapse of time and subsequent good conduct and reputation" for individuals (officers, directors, general partners, managing partners, owners, or persons with 10% or more ownership interests) associated with an AMC applicant. (see lines 297 - 300 of HB 927). The Senate Bill deals with applicants in Section 475.6245 - Discipline of appraisal management companies, and grants the FREAB discretion to deny an application or renewal in the event the above named individuals is guilty of or committed listed violations. (see lines 306 - 323 and 332 - 505 of SB 716).

The filed bills each limit the responsibility of AMCs to their activities related to "covered transactions" or appraisals for "secondary mortgage market participants". This is troubling as the "covered transaction" is means a consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling. (See lines 154 -155 HB 927 and lines 157 - 158 SB 716).

Language repealing the Post License Education Requirement for Registered Trainee Appraisers is in both bills. As a result of the most recent Appraiser Qualifications Board Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, the post license education requirement had outlived its usefulness. It was confusing to licensees, costly for course providers, and is an unnecessary barrier for trainee appraisers. 

We've got a starting point, and can expect some amendments. Give the bills a close look and let me know what you think. I'll try to keep up with them when they start going through the committee process.

Valuation Expo

Promotion of Appraisal Conferences and events is not a usual topic on Appraiser Active. Breaking a bit with tradition here because the upcoming Valuation Expo is in Florida, and your truly will be participating as a panelist. 

A number of interesting topics and speakers are on the schedule. On Monday, March 20, 2017, from 1:30 P.M until 5:00 P.M, along with  David Berenbaum and Bob Parson, I will be presenting Role of the Appraiser in the 21st Century.The Valuation Expo will be presented at the Caribe Royal in Orlando. Reserve your room here. 

Appraisal Buzz posted a brief preview of the presentation in their email blast today. Take a look. At the link, there is also information about registration, schedule of events, and even a 15% discount by using the code GREGOIRE with your registration. It will be nice to see folks in real life.

Season's Greetings

Appraiser Active to you

...and one more thing

Wishing you all the best in the New Year.

Donald K. Gregoire, IFA - January 14, 1930 - November 12, 2016

The name of the company is Gregoire & Gregoire, Inc. The first “Gregoire” in the company is my father, Donald K. Gregoire, IFA. Although retired from active appraisal work since 1995, he continued to offer business advice, counsel, mentoring, and fatherly advice. Donald K. Gregoire, also known as Big Daddy, BD, and Kem, passed from this life to the next on Saturday, November 12, 2016. His love and wisdom will be sorely missed. His dogged persistence, enthusiasm for life, and commitment to doing the right thing will continue serve as an example for all fortunate to have met and worked with him.

After his retirement from active appraisal work, his condominium association published a profile with a brief history of his life. Please take a look.

Don achieved, continuously during his time on earth. Among his earliest:

Rest in peace, Big Daddy.

Tips in the Mailbox

Over the weekend, along with a stack of the regular mix of bills, political advertisements, and solicitations for contributions, I found the Second Edition, Spring, 2016, APPRAISALBUZZ Magazine.

Quite a mix of articles, some written by folks I've met and know, as several by folks I know from other forums and events. It's different, and worth a read.

The purpose of this post is  to add one additional suggestion to the article authored by yours truly "Litigate This, Five Things to Think About Before Taking the Plunge". As noted in the piece, the list is not exhaustive, and many more points could be added, but I was on a work count limit.

Here's the addition. When working on the terms of your engagement, make sure to negotiate a records retention agreement. The closing orders for some cases require all parties to return or destroy their records related to the case. Of course, this will cause an appraiser trouble with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, and in some instances, their state law. Make sure the terms of your engagement allow retention of records in such as way to permit you to comply with the Record Keeping Rule, and your state law.

Remembering Jon, Six Years Later

Note: In honor of my nephew, Jon, this a repeat of a post from March 15, 2010. We think of you every day.

It's a sad day in the Appraiser Active family. My nephew, Jonathan Porto, a Marine, was killed yesterday in a non-combat accident in Afghanistan, near Marjah. My sister, Rachel, his mother, Jon's wife, Rachel Jewell Porto, and their two month old daughter, Ariana, could use your prayers. Jon was 26.




The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office provided an escort for the motorcade from MacDill Air Force Base to St. Petersburg. The Tampa Bay Community showed their respect for Cpl Jonathan Porto.

Still Kicking

Believe it or not, I'm still kicking. There is much to come in the Appraisal World for the New Year. In the meantime......

Home Valuation Code of Conduct?

Since it has been so long since the last post, I should have been able to come up with something more more applicable to the current state of the appraisal profession, but this is in interesting piece. The Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published this nifty little study of the impact on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) on Appraisal and Mortgage Outcomes.

According to the study, despite all the claims by Fannie and Freddie, touting the benefits, research of the effects since implementation is nearly non-existent. The authors claim this study is the first empirical examination of the impact of the first major appraisal rule, the now sunset, Home Valuation Code of Conduct. It measure the share of "low" appraisals (as compared to the purchase price) from the first quarter of 2006 through the third quarter of 2012. There is also a chart on page 23 of the study showing the distribution of high and low appraisals pre- and post-HVCC. The study defines Significantly High Appraisals as those 5% of more above the contract price, and Significantly Low Appraisals as one which is at least 5% below the contract price.

One aspect of appraisals NOT examined pre- and post-HVCC, is appraisal quality.

The Study is at THIS LINK on the Philadelphia Fed site, and just below. Here is one of the graphs.

The Impact of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct on Appraisals and Mortgage Outcomes

Appraisal Subcommittee for Development of Regulations

The Appraisal Subcommittee Advisory Committee for the Development of Regulations will hold its next meeting on July 22-23, 2014 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, VA 22314.  

The Meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. on both days. The Meeting Notice will be published in the Federal Register at least 15 days prior to the Meeting.  The first Meeting was held on April 16-17, 2014 in Washington, DC.  The October Meeting will be held on October 15-16, 2014 in Washington, DC (location to be determined) and the January 2015 Meeting dates and location are to be determined. 

Here is the Agenda for the meeting.

Minutes of the April 16 - 17, 2014 meeting are here.

The meetings are open to the public. With a new laptop and a twitter account, I'll make an attempt to provide some updated.

See You in Washington, D.C. - April 16 - 17, 2014

Tucked into page 816 of the Dodd-Frank Act is a little noticed amendment to the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989.

(d) REGULATIONS.—Section 1106 of the Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3335)
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘prescribe regulations in accordance with
chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred
to as the Administrative Procedures Act) after notice and opportunity
for comment,’’ after ‘‘hold hearings’’; and
(2) at the end by inserting ‘‘Any regulations prescribed
by the Appraisal Subcommittee shall (unless otherwise provided
in this title) be limited to the following functions: temporary
practice, national registry, information sharing, and enforcement.
For purposes of prescribing regulations, the Appraisal
Subcommittee shall establish an advisory committee of industry
participants, including appraisers, lenders, consumer advocates,
real estate agents, and government agencies, and hold meetings
as necessary to support the development of regulations.’’.

Just short of four years after the Dodd-Frank Act became law, the Appraisal Subcommittee has created the Appraisal Subcommittee for Development of Regulations. Members have been appointed by the ASC Chairman, Arthur Lindo. Imagine my surprise to find the letter below in my email. We have our first meeting April 16 - 17, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Details at this LINK.

Francois Gregoire - Appointment Letter by Frank Gregoire