West Virginia Code 30-38A-14 – Unprofessional conduct
An appraisal management company commits unprofessional conduct if it:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 30-38A-14
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Appraisal: means an analysis, opinion, or conclusion prepared by a real estate appraiser relating to the nature, quality, value, or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real estate or identified real property. See West Virginia Code 30-38A-3
- Appraisal Management Company: means a person or firm that provides appraisal management services to creditors or to secondary mortgage market participants, including affiliates. See West Virginia Code 30-38A-3
- Appraiser: means a person licensed or certified, under the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 30-38A-3
- Client: means a person or firm that contracts or enters into an agreement with an appraisal management company for the performance of an appraisal. See West Virginia Code 30-38A-3
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- USPAP: means the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. See West Virginia Code 30-38A-3
(1) Requires an appraiser to modify an aspect of an appraisal which modification is not related to substandard performance or noncompliance with the terms of a contract or agreement;
(2) Requires an appraiser to prepare an appraisal when the appraiser believes, in his or her own professional judgment and notifies the appraisal management company in a timely manner, that the appraiser does not have the necessary expertise for the specific geographic area or is otherwise not competent to perform the appraisal;
(3) Requires an appraiser to prepare an appraisal under a certain time frame that the appraiser believes, in his or her own professional judgment and notifies the appraisal management company in a timely manner, that the appraiser does not have the necessary time to meet all the necessary and relevant legal and professional obligations;
(4) Prohibits or inhibits communication between an appraiser and any other person from whom the appraiser, in the appraiser's own professional judgment, believes information would be relevant;
(5) Requests an appraiser to do anything that does not comply with:
(A) The USPAP; or
(B) The requests of the client; or
(6) Makes any portion of the appraiser's fee or the appraisal management company's fee contingent on a favorable outcome, including:
(A) A loan closing; or
(B) An appraisal for a specific dollar amount.