The Hotline is an information resource to help complainants determine the appropriate legal authority to receive their complaint involving allegations of non-compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) or appraisal independence requirements.
How it works:
You may contact the Hotline through the website, email, or call center. The Hotline provides referral information to complainants based on responses to a series of questions and drop-down menu selections. The complainant is provided with agency contact information for filing of a complaint. The website also offers tools and resources to enable complainants to determine the nature of their complaint, as well as other helpful information. If you seek to file a complaint against more than one party, proceed with a separate referral request for each party.
Access the Hotline at:
http://refermyappraisalcomplaint.asc.gov/
Toll free number: 877-739-0096
From the Appraisal Foundation:
The Appraisal Foundation is conducting its annual search for qualified candidates to serve on the Appraisal Practices Board and the Board of Trustees. The deadline for completed applications is fast approaching on April 2, 2013.
Details for each are outlined below. Please note, however, that an individual may submit an application for the Appraisal Practices Board or the Board of Trustees, but not both boards at this time.
Appraisal Practices Board
There are four vacancies on the Appraisal Practices Board (APB). The APB is charged with the responsibility of issuing voluntary guidance on recognized valuation methods and techniques, which may apply to all disciplines within the appraisal profession. The APB meets periodically through WebEx meetings and conference calls. In addition to these calls, there may be one to two in-person meetings each year. Individuals serving on the board are compensated for their time and reimbursed for travel expenses. Those selected for APB positions will serve a one-, two-, or three-year term commencing on July 1, 2013.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of The Appraisal Foundation is charged with funding the work of and appointing members to the APB, AQB and ASB, as well as providing oversight of these three Boards. The Board of Trustees meets twice a year, in the spring and fall. Trustees are reimbursed for travel expenses and are not compensated for their time. The individuals selected for positions on the Board of Trustees will serve three-year terms commencing January 1, 2014.
Application packages and additional details for the At-Large Trustee vacancies are available here.
Questions? Please contact Arika Cole, councils administrator, at arika@appraisalfoundation.org.
In 2011 the Appraisal Institute released one work-around to address three major sticking points that have made it difficult to appraise high-performance or “green” homes.
The first problem has been that the most important features of these homes are often invisible during a typical appraisal — either packed into the attic or programmed into appliances and other systems. The second problem has been that the standard Form 1004 includes one small box for “energy efficiency features” which is far too small to capture any important points about either the subject property or the comparables. Finally, while the appraisal industry has been providing a growing number of courses and certifications for appraisers working with high-performance homes, there has been no simple way to match these competent appraisers to assignments for high-performance homes.
That all changed 18 months ago when the Appraisal Institute introduced the Residential Green & Energy Efficiency Addendum. Things got better once again with their release of v 2.0 of the Addendum last week.
The first version of the tool has been extremely well-received; it has worked magic to simplify how information is presented to or gathered by an appraiser, serving as a means to verify opinions of value for High Performance Homes and helping to identify competency requirements. Version 2.0 is very consistent with the first release, simply clarifying some field names and some organization tweaks that make it easier to use. Perhaps the biggest change for the appraiser is that it spells out an answer to the question: Who should complete this addendum?
The answer is clearly this: whoever has the most first-hand knowledge with the performance and features of this home. Continue reading »
