Montana Code 37-54-514. Appraiser independence — prohibitions
37-54-514. Appraiser independence — prohibitions. (1) An employee, director, officer, or agent of an appraisal management company registered in this state may not influence or attempt to influence the development, reporting, or review of an appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation, inducement, intimidation, or bribery or in any other manner, including but not limited to:
Terms Used In Montana Code 37-54-514
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Appraisal: means the practice of developing an opinion of the value of real property in conformance with the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice as developed by the appraisal foundation. See Montana Code 37-54-102
- Appraisal management company: means , in connection with valuation of properties collateralizing mortgage loans or mortgages incorporated into a securitization, an external third party, authorized either by a creditor of a consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's principal dwelling or by an underwriter of or other principal in the secondary mortgage markets, that oversees a network or panel of more than 15 certified or licensed appraisers in this state or 25 or more nationally within a given year. See Montana Code 37-54-102
- Appraiser: means an individual who holds a license or certification to complete an appraisal assignment in the state where the real property that is the subject of the appraisal assignment is located. See Montana Code 37-54-102
- Appraiser panel: means a network of licensed or certified appraisers who are independent contractors with respect to an appraisal management company and who have:
(a)responded to an invitation, request, or solicitation from an appraisal management company to:
(i)perform an appraisal assignment for a client that has ordered an appraisal assignment through the appraisal management company; or
(ii)perform appraisal assignments for the appraisal management company directly as requested and assigned by the appraisal management company; and
(b)been selected and approved by an appraisal management company to perform appraisal assignments for any client of the company that has ordered an appraisal assignment through the company or to perform appraisal assignments for the appraisal management company directly on a periodic basis as assigned by the appraisal management company. See Montana Code 37-54-102
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity. See Montana Code 37-54-102
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(a)withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment for an appraisal;
(b)withholding or threatening to withhold future business for an appraisal assignment or demoting or terminating or threatening to demote or terminate an appraiser;
(c)expressly or impliedly promising future business, promotions, or increased compensation for an appraiser;
(d)conditioning the request for an appraisal or the payment of an appraisal fee, salary, or bonus on the opinion, conclusion, or valuation to be reached or on a preliminary estimate or opinion requested from an appraiser;
(e)requesting that an appraiser provide an estimated, predetermined, or desired valuation in an appraisal report or provide estimated values or comparable sales at any time prior to the appraiser’s completion of an appraisal;
(f)providing to an appraiser an anticipated, estimated, encouraged, or desired value for a subject property or a proposed or target amount to be loaned to the borrower, except that a copy of the sales contract for a purchase transaction may be provided;
(g)providing stock or other financial or nonfinancial benefits to an appraiser or a person related to the appraiser;
(h)allowing the removal of an appraiser from an appraiser panel without prior written notice to the appraiser; or
(i)performing any other act or practice that impairs or attempts to impair an appraiser’s independence, objectivity, or impartiality.
(2)Subsection (1) may not be construed as prohibiting an appraisal management company from requesting that an appraiser:
(a)consider additional appropriate property information that falls within the original scope of work for that appraisal service;
(b)provide additional information about the basis for a valuation; or
(c)correct objective factual errors in an appraisal report.