The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board met in August and heard updates from staff, approved a new process for Volunteer Appraisal Reviewers, and adopted and proposed changes to rules.
Current Edition of USPAP Effective Through 2023
Commissioner Chelsea Buchholtz shared that The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board announced the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) will be extended and effective through December 31, 2023. The extension does not affect appraiser continuing education requirements. Future editions of USPAP will have only an effective date but no scheduled end date.
Appraisal Bias and PAVE
Board Members Rolando Castro and Stephanie Robinson attended the Spring 2022 Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials Conference and shared some of their takeaways. Robinson discussed PAVE, a federal interagency task force dedicated to ending bias in home valuation. She encouraged Board members and appraisers to review the PAVE Action Plan to address appraisal bias.
Quadrennial Rule Review
Texas law requires state agencies, including the Board, to undergo a comprehensive rule review every four years. During this process, the Board reviews all currently enacted rules to determine if they should be continued, amended, or repealed.
Adopted Rules and Approved Forms
All adopted rules are part of the agency's quadrennial rule review for Chapter 153. Most of the changes better reflect current TALCB procedures, new division name or title, remove references to outdated fees or outdated processes, or update definitions to coincide with changes to Appraiser Qualifications Board's Criteria. Adopted rules become effective on September 8, 2022.
Section 153.5, Fees: The adopted rule change increases the fee for voluntary appraiser experience reviews from $75 to $100 to ensure program continuity.
Section 153.15, Experience Required for Licensing: The adopted changes reorganize the rule and consolidates sections related to first-time applicants and existing credential holders seeking to upgrade. Changes also address experience obtained through the forthcoming PAREA programs.
Section 153.21, Appraiser Trainees and Supervisory Appraisers: The adopted changes update the process for progress monitoring for trainees under the supervision of an appraiser with four to five trainees. Trainees of supervisory appraisers who fall into this category are no longer required to submit their work product to TALCB for review. Instead, supervisors will submit a supervision plan for progress monitoring and to make progress reports available for inspection for a set time period. Supervisors may use the use TALCB’s Supervision Plan template, which will be available on talcb.texas.gov on September 8, or submit their own supervision plan.
AMC Voluntary Relinquishment: The Board approved a new Appraisal Management Company (AMC) Request for Voluntary Relinquishment form (TALCB AMCVR-0) for Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) to relinquish their registration in Texas at any point if they are no longer doing business in Texas. This form is effective immediately.
Proposed Rule Changes
All proposed rule changes are part of the agency's quadrennial rule review for Chapter 159. The proposed amendments better reflect TALCB procedures and division names and simplify and clarify where needed. Proposed changes include:
159.52, Fees: The proposed amendments to 159.52 clarify the applicability of the online convenience fee required by the Department of Information Resources.
159.201, Guidelines for Revocation, Suspension, or Denial of a License: The proposed amendments to 159.201 clarify the guidelines apply to all disciplinary actions and are not limited to revocation, suspension or denial, correct a reference to the Texas Appraisal Management Company Registration and Regulation Act; specify who can sign an agreed order in lieu of the chair of the Board, should the chair not be available or need to recuse him or herself; and provide for the Commissioner to designate who may sign an agreed resolution on his or her behalf.
159.3, Appraisal Management Company Advisory Committee: The proposed amendments to 159.3 extend the date for the AMC advisory committee to continue to exist to coincide with the next deadline to complete the quadrennial rule review.
You can comment on the proposed rule changes using our online tool through October 3, 2022.
Updates to the Volunteer Appraisal Review Process
Committing to serve as a Volunteer Appraisal Reviewer is a way for experienced appraisers to serve the public interest and contribute to the appraisal profession. Volunteer Appraisal Reviewers assist TALCB in performing appraisal reviews for experience audits, work product review requests, or complaint investigations.
The Board approved changing the program to accept applications on a rolling basis to increase resources and support the health of the program. In addition, the Board delegated the authority to approve reviewers to the Executive Committee to further streamline the approval process. These changes are effective immediately. If you are interested in applying to serve as a Volunteer Appraisal Reviewer, follow the instructions and submit your application.
Previously, only the Board could approve applicants and accepted applications only before the Board’s February meeting. Late or off-cycle applications were not considered.
Where to Find Meeting Materials
View the agenda, meeting materials, and recording of the meeting on our website. The next TALCB Meeting is in Austin on December 2, 2022, at 9 a.m. CT.