HUD Asked To Oust Appraisers
February 1, 2002
Appraisal Groups Call For Removal Of ?Unqualified? FHA Appraisers From Roster
Inman News Features
Two national appraisal associations have asked the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove hundreds of appraisers they consider to be "unqualified" from the Federal Housing Authority?s single-family housing appraiser roster.
Appraisal Institute President Thomas A. Motta and American Society of Appraiser President Michael L. Austin pointed to an internal HUD analysis indicating that 330 of the appraisers on the FHA?s roster don?t have state licenses that conform to the standards issued by the Appraiser Qualifications Board, the appraisal industry's qualifications setting body. The roster contains approximately 22,160 appraisers.
"Hundreds of unqualified appraisers have been accepted on the FHA appraiser roster and HUD should take steps to remove them," said Motta, speaking on behalf of the two associations. "To ensure the competency of the program, HUD should immediately remove the 330 appraisers not conforming to the minimum standards issued by the Appraisal Qualifications Board."
A new rule proposed by HUD would require appraisers seeking acceptance to meet minimum standards issued by the board. But the proposed rule doesn?t set forth any course of action for removing currently listed appraisers who fail to meet this standard.
In a letter to HUD, Motta and Austin said an accurate appraisal is paramount to a successful and fair mortgage transaction, particularly in light of recent mortgage fraud cases throughout the country.
The letter stated that HUD should ensure that only qualified appraisers are performing appraisals for FHA and that improving the quality and accuracy of FHA appraisals can be accomplished only through higher standards for qualification and agency specific-specific education.
Copyright: Inman News Service
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