“Appraisal Discrimination Investigation Training” at AARO

On October 7, I presented a 4-hour class entitled “Appraisal Discrimination Investigation Training” to state appraiser regulators (board members, administrators and counsel) at the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) meeting in Salt Lake City. My goal was to offer guidance as specifically relevant to investigating alleged appraisal discrimination as Read more…

The Most Significant Appraisal Discrimination Case Doesn’t Name an Appraiser as a Defendant

How many discrimination cases have been filed against appraisers? What’s really happening in the courts and in investigations with respect to alleged bias? Those are questions I cover in my presentations and classes for appraisers. But, I will tell you here that the most significant pending case about alleged appraisal Read more…

VA Appraisal Request Form at Heart of Appraisal Independence Class Action – Court Rules Borrower May Pursue Claim Against Mortgage Lender

When a mortgage lender seeks to make a Veterans Administration-backed home loan, the lender requests an appraisal from the VA’s appraiser panel by using a form entitled Request for Determination of Reasonable Value. For many years, until it was revised in July 2022, this form had a box labelled “Refinancing-Amount Read more…

California Appraisers – Are You Required to Use Engagement Letters for Appraisal Assignments?

Under California appraiser law, does an appraiser have to use an engagement letter for each appraisal assignment? The answer is “no.” A California appraiser is not obligated to use an engagement letter or other agreement for any kind of assignment (lending or non-lending) under the Real Estate Appraisers’ Licensing and Certification Law or any Read more…

Will the ABC Test for Contractor Classification Become Law in Michigan?

Appraisal management companies (AMCs) and appraisal firms with independent contractors in Michigan: it would be wise to pay attention to Michigan House Bills 4390 and 4391. These bills seek to bring California’s famous “ABC test” to contractor classification in Michigan and would create substantial penalties for noncompliance. In particular, HB4390 Read more…

“Appraiser Law in the Real World”
7-Hr CE Class in Anchorage, Alaska, April 21, 2023

I am offering my new 7-hour CE class Appraiser Law in the Real World on April 21, 2023, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the Coast Inn at Lake Hood in Anchorage, Alaska. The offering of this class is specifically and only for Alaska and Washington appraisers. The Alaska Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers has approved the class Read more…