Highlander416
Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Massachusetts
Here is a newsletter item from the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers.
"On Monday, August 8th, representatives of the MBREA met with Congressman Barney Frank at his district office in Newton, MA. We had two items on our agenda and appreciated the time he gave us to discuss both.
The primary focus of our discussion centered around the Federal Reserve's Interim Final Rule's application of customary and reasonable compensation language contained in the Dodd-Frank Act. Congressman Frank acknowledged he had questions for the Fed and has been in contact with them.
He pointed out the Fed staff expressed concern that AMCs are not fully complying with the requirements for establishing fees under the first presumption. According to Fed staff, some AMCs may not be adjusting their fees by the required adjustment factors, such as scope of work, complexity of the assignment, etc. As a result the Fed believes some AMCs are not paying reasonable compensation reflective of a particular assignment. The Fed told Congressman Frank they plan to step up their examiner's efforts to enforce compliance with the customary and reasonable fee requirements.
Congressman Frank asked our assistance by providing concrete examples of non-compliance. We have heard from many of you about situations that would make good examples and ask thet you do the following (we will black out your name and other identifying information before we send your communications to Congressman Frank):
* Forward to Steve Sousa any assignment request that includes a fee not commensurate with the scope and complexity of the assignment. These are assignments that due to location, uniqueness, influences or other factors require greater competency, experience, skill and time to complete.
* Forward to Steve Sousa examples of AMCs attempting to influence the outcome of an assignment. This might include a request for a "professional reconsideration" that may or may not include a desired value outcome.
While we love to hear anecdotal stories about AMCs they are valuable only if they are documented so we can pass them along to the Congressman. That's why we are asking you to forward emails you receive together with a brief explanation of the facts.
Sincerely,
Allan Cohen, Chair
MBREA Government Affairs Committee"
"On Monday, August 8th, representatives of the MBREA met with Congressman Barney Frank at his district office in Newton, MA. We had two items on our agenda and appreciated the time he gave us to discuss both.
The primary focus of our discussion centered around the Federal Reserve's Interim Final Rule's application of customary and reasonable compensation language contained in the Dodd-Frank Act. Congressman Frank acknowledged he had questions for the Fed and has been in contact with them.
He pointed out the Fed staff expressed concern that AMCs are not fully complying with the requirements for establishing fees under the first presumption. According to Fed staff, some AMCs may not be adjusting their fees by the required adjustment factors, such as scope of work, complexity of the assignment, etc. As a result the Fed believes some AMCs are not paying reasonable compensation reflective of a particular assignment. The Fed told Congressman Frank they plan to step up their examiner's efforts to enforce compliance with the customary and reasonable fee requirements.
Congressman Frank asked our assistance by providing concrete examples of non-compliance. We have heard from many of you about situations that would make good examples and ask thet you do the following (we will black out your name and other identifying information before we send your communications to Congressman Frank):
* Forward to Steve Sousa any assignment request that includes a fee not commensurate with the scope and complexity of the assignment. These are assignments that due to location, uniqueness, influences or other factors require greater competency, experience, skill and time to complete.
* Forward to Steve Sousa examples of AMCs attempting to influence the outcome of an assignment. This might include a request for a "professional reconsideration" that may or may not include a desired value outcome.
While we love to hear anecdotal stories about AMCs they are valuable only if they are documented so we can pass them along to the Congressman. That's why we are asking you to forward emails you receive together with a brief explanation of the facts.
Sincerely,
Allan Cohen, Chair
MBREA Government Affairs Committee"