The Appraisal Institute is encouraging its members to write to Pennsylvania legislators to support a bill regulating “appraisal management companies.” Appraisal management companies are defined by the Bill as anyone “that provides appraisal management services and acts as a third-party intermediary between a person seeking a valuation of real estate and an appraiser or firm of appraisers.” The bill – known as the Appraisal Management Company Registration Act – was passed by the PA House and is currently pending in the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee.
AMCs operating in Pennsylvania are not currently required to register with any government agency. The bill requires, among other things, that AMCs operating in Pennsylvania that order appraisals to register with the State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers and prohibits AMCs from being owned and/or managed by individuals who have had an appraiser license or certification denied, refused, cancelled or revoked. It also requires AMCs to have systems in place to verify that they only utilize licensed or certified appraisers and ensure that all appraisals are in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.