AG: Basnight appointee meets law's requirementsBy Mitch WeissAssociated Press
The state attorney general's office said Tuesday the appointment of a real estate lawyer to the North Carolina Appraisal Board does not violate a state law that requires the seat be filled by someone not involved in the profession.
Senate leader Marc Basnight's appointment of Sidney Jessup, a lawyer from Kill Devil Hills, to the appraisal board was approved last week. The decision was immediately questioned by critics who believe the board hasn't done enough to protect consumers from rogue appraisers.
The North Carolina Appraisers Act states that seven of the board's nine members are to come from within the real estate industry. But the law says the two recommended by the Senate leader must not be involved in "real estate, real estate appraisal or the real estate lending industry."
Jessup's practice in Dare County includes real estate law. But Basnight staff said a previous opinion from the attorney general's office concluded the seat could be filled by anyone not identified with the appraisal industry - making Jessup eligible for the job.
Following an Associated Press report that the appointment appeared to violate the law's requirements, Basnight's office sought a new opinion from Attorney General Roy Cooper. Special deputy attorney general Thomas Miller wrote to Basnight office's Tuesday and reiterated that Jessup's practice of real estate law doesn't preclude her service.
"She is not a real estate broker, mortgage lender, or real estate appraiser. She has no ownership interest in a real estate brokerage or appraisal business," Miller wrote. He noted that while she owns a farm and "three or four income-producing properties," that also didn't disqualify her from service.
But former House Speaker Harold Brubaker, who helped write the North Carolina Appraisers Act, said the seat is meant to be filled by someone without any ties to the business of buying and selling homes.
"The intent was to bring someone in from the outside who would bring a common sense approach to the law. Sometimes with professional boards, you can have too many professionals," said Brubaker, R-Randolph.
"But if you put someone on from the outside, they'll ask: 'Is this the correct way to proceed? Is this what our purpose is for? We need to look at protecting the consumer.' You need that outside voice. It should be someone with no real estate ties."In his letter to Basnight's office, Miller wrote that if the General Assembly had wished to exclude attorneys from consideration to the board, "it could have done so."
"The attorney who represents real estate brokers, appraisers and lenders does not himself become directly or indirectly a broker, appraiser or lender," Miller wrote.
Other state agencies involved in real estate also have public seats, including the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. Miriam Baer, a commission spokeswoman, said her agency has nine members and two are public members who cannot be real estate agents.
"They have to be from outside the field. The intention is they represent the public interest rather than someone who is more in the industry itself," she said. "The goal is to help balance out the board."
The North Carolina Appraisal Board was among the subjects detailed in a six-month Associated Press investigation that identified key failings in the nation's regulation of appraisers. The AP's investigation found that since 2005, more than two dozen states and U.S. territories have violated federal rules by failing to investigate and resolve complaints about appraisers within a year.
Some complaints sat without being investigated for as long as four years. As a result, hundreds of appraisers accused of wrongdoing remained in business. Experts told the AP the failings helped contribute to the current crisis in America's housing market.
