As a follow up to my last post I thought I would provide practical ways for users of appraisal services to find out the qualifications of the appraiser they want to use before they retain them for services. By doing this first you will not have to regret hiring an appraiser after the fact. Let’s face it; every profession has members that are more qualified than others. By being more knowledgeable about the qualifications of the appraiser you choose you can save yourself from a headache before it’s too late.
According to their website, the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) states the following:
“The ASC’s mission is to ensure that real estate appraisers, who perform appraisals in real estate transactions that could expose the United States government to financial loss, are sufficiently trained and tested to assure competency and independent judgment according to uniform high professional standards and ethics”.
By logging onto the ASC website you can search to see if the appraiser you want to use is AQB compliant. According to the ASC website this means that “the appraiser met the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s Real Property Appraiser Qualifications criteria (“AQB criteria”) on education, experience, and examination, when obtaining and/or maintaining the credential”. If the appraiser is not AQB compliant this could indicate two things: “A “no” in the column typically means the appraiser was not required to demonstrate the hours of experience set forth in the AQB criteria for the credential level. It, however, may also mean the appraiser failed to demonstrate the hours of education or continuing education set forth in AQB criteria”. This site can help identify those appraisers who have not provided proof.
The quality of work provided and/or integrity of the mortgage transaction can be increased when you know that the appraiser you want to use has demonstrated his competency by providing his credentials to the Appraiser Qualifications Board.
Appraisers can be retained for various reasons. They can provide appraisals for home purchases, refinances, construction loans, marketing (FSBO), PMI reduction, estate planning, and litigation. You can check to see if the have met the requirements set forth by the Appraiser Qualifications Board by clicking the following link.
http://www.asc.gov/content/category1/nr_intro.aspx?id=10
In addition, ask for references from past clients. You can only make informed decisions when you have all the facts.
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