Tomorrow at 11:00 I'm going to be in Bismarck ND for what may well be the final chapter in my fight with the ND Appraisal Board!
I beat them at the administrative level! They hired a new attorney and wrote their own opinion disregarding the findings of fact and conclusions of law. They required six (6) more appraisals for review. (I've now had close to 140 appraisals reviewed since 1993)
Three of the six were reviewed by a former member of the AQB and former chief appraiser for a government alphabet entity. One of the three he reported was 'very minimal', my sales comparison approach lacked documentation and support for qualitative adjustments, I had customized the certification with my name and company name and he didn't like it, and my comparable sales did not contain any info regarding if the sales were cash or other terms, needless to say all were recorded with a Warranty Deed, which in this area means they were cash or cash equivalent.
The second one I made some errors which he took me to the cleaners on! The third report he thought was not completed properly because I failed to provide some information he thought was necessary, yet the lender/client thought they got too much information!
He was very good at finding faults, yet his checklist is full of things I did right on the appraisal?
The second three were reviewed by a more typical reviewer the state hires. They are, in my opinion, hired to find errors, simple as that. In the three he reviewed I was found in error by not analyzing and commenting on Entreprenurial Profit in the Cost approach and on two of the appraisals I didn't properly (weak, in his words) analyze and reconcile market rent and didn't have any relevant analysis of vacancy and collection loss.
Is that enough to not allow me to go forward and become licensed again? I'm not too sure?
USPAP does not require perfection. I've appraised since March of 1979 and have NEVER had a client complain? I'm currently a certified general appraiser in Minnesota. I've continued on with this fight hoping I could outlive the board members. One of the board members (the chair and an MAI) has been there since 1992, a second (MAI) took over for me when I resigned in disgust in 1997 and is still there. The third is a residential appraiser who has been there the least amount of time, about two years. There is an attorney member (public) who has about five years or so on the board, and a lender member who has been there at least ten years if not longer!
I have empathy for Ray and his situation!
The majority of appraisers appear to be like ostriches, when things get kind of difficult, they put their collective heads in a hole in the ground and try to avoid any chance of being caught.
In North Dakota I know licensed and certified appraisers are afraid of the board. They know their knowledge of USPAP and compliance falls well below the level of the boards' hired guns. They prefer to go along and hope they don't do something that rises to the level of an investigation by the board.
I've reviewed literally hundreds of reports over the years and have yet to find one perfect, yet the board requires mine to be perfect.
