Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-4. Requirements for registration
(a) Appraisal management companies shall provide the following information upon registration:
(1) Name and contact information of the entity seeking registration;
(2) Name and contact information of the controlling person for the entity;
(3) If the entity is not a corporation domiciled in this state, the name and contact information for the company’s agent for service of process in this state; and
(4) Name, address, and contact information for any individual or any corporation, partnership, or other business entity who or that owns 10% or more of the appraisal management company.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-4
- analysis: is a study of real estate or real property other than estimating value. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Appraisal: means an analysis, opinion, or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value, or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real estate. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Appraisal management company: means :
(i) In connection with valuing properties collateralizing mortgage loans or mortgages incorporated into a securitization, any 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 fifteen (15) certified or licensed appraisers in Rhode Island or twenty-five (25) or more nationally, excluding those appraisers who do not provide appraisal services for covered transactions, within a given year to:
(A) Recruit, select, and retain appraisers;
(B) Contract with licensed and certified appraisers to perform appraisal assignments;
(C) Manage the process of having an appraisal performed, including providing administrative duties such as receiving appraisal orders and appraisal reports, submitting completed appraisal reports to creditors and underwriters, collecting fees from creditors and underwriters for services provided, and reimbursing appraisers for services performed; or
(D) Review and verify the work of appraisers. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Appraiser panel: means a group of independent fee appraisers that have been selected by an appraisal management company to perform residential real estate appraisal services for the appraisal management company. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Controlling person: means :
(i) An owner, officer, or director of a corporation, partnership, or other business entity seeking to offer appraisal management services in this state; or
(ii) An individual employed, appointed, or authorized by an appraisal management company who has the authority to enter into a contractual relationship with clients for the performance of appraisal management services and has the authority to enter into agreements with independent appraisers for the performance of residential real estate appraisal services; or
(iii) An individual who possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of an appraisal management company. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Director: means the director of the department of business regulation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
- Real estate appraisal services: means the practice of developing an appraisal by a licensed or certified appraiser in conformance with the USPAP. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on Source: OCC
(b) Contact information shall include the entity’s business and mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, and electronic mail (email) address.
(c) An appraisal management company shall certify that the following is true upon its initial registration and upon each renewal of its registration:
(1) The registered entity has a system and process in place to verify that a person being added to the appraiser panel of the appraisal management company holds a certification or license in good standing in any jurisdiction to perform appraisals;
(2) The registered entity has a system in place to periodically perform a quality assurance review of the work of independent fee appraisers who or that are performing real estate appraisal services on its behalf to ensure that appraisal services are being conducted in accordance with USPAP;
(3) The registered entity maintains a detailed record of each service request that it receives for five (5) years;
(4) The registered entity maintains a system to assure that the appraiser selected for an appraisal assignment is independent of the transaction and has the requisite education, expertise, and experience necessary to competently complete the appraisal assignment for the particular market and property type; and
(5) The registered entity will have a system in place to ensure that real estate appraisal services are provided independently and free from inappropriate influence and coercion under the appraisal independence standards established under § 129E of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1639e, including the requirement that independent fee appraisers be compensated at a customary and reasonable rate when the appraisal management company is providing services for a consumer credit transaction secured by the principal dwelling of a consumer.
(d) Ownership requirements. An appraisal management company shall not be registered in this state if:
(1) Any person who owns, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, more than ten percent (10%) of the appraisal management company fails to submit to a background investigation, and/or is determined by the director not to have good moral character as determined by an analysis of the factors in § 28-5.1-14.
(2) The appraisal management company is owned in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by any person who has had a license or certificate to act as an appraiser refused, denied, canceled, surrendered in lieu of revocation, or revoked in this state or in any other state for substantive cause, as determined by the appropriate certifying and licensing agency. However, an appraisal management company is not barred from registration if the license or certificate of the appraiser with an ownership interest was not revoked for a substantive cause and has been reinstated by the state or states in which the appraiser was licensed or certified.
History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 14, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 26, § 1; P.L. 2023, ch. 163, § 2, effective June 20, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 164, § 2, effective June 20, 2023.