The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board met in early May and heard updates from staff, a presentation on Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA), and proposed and adopted rules.

PAREA Update

Brad Swinney, Acting Chair of The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) provided the Board with information on the status of its Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) program, which is for licensed residential and certified residential appraisers and provides an alternative to the traditional supervisor-trainee model for appraiser training. PAREA was put in place to address the difficulty of appraisers finding supervisors. “We do want the appraisal profession to reflect the population of the United States, and the current supervising model is hindering that as well,” says Swinney.

Provider Expectations

Swinney says PAREA providers must offer training on all topics, provide participants access to data, research, MLS, environmental information, and must ensure their program is accepted in the state. The PAREA program providers are also responsible for providing an adequate number of mentors. However, there is not a geographical competency requirement within PAREA, so mentors do not need to be licensed in the states where they are mentoring participants.

Participant Expectations

Participants must complete all qualifying education prior to entering a program, be periodically mentored, produce USPAP-compliant appraisals, complete the PAREA program in its entirety before earning the completion certificate, and still pass the national licensing exam. Participants must complete at least a minimum of three USPAP Compliant Reports, but providers can require more reports. Swinney says there will be many iterations of covering items, like highest and best use, sections on each of the approaches, or sections of the approaches.

When Will PAREA Programs Be Available?

Swinney says the AQB expects to see a program available for participants sometime in 2022. If you want to be notified when a PAREA program becomes available, fill out the AQB’s survey.

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this process, the Board reviews all currently enacted rules to determine if they should be continued, amended, or repealed.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

All adopted rules are part of the agency’s quadrennial rule review for Chapters 155 and 157 and are effective May 26, 2022. Most changes reflect current TALCB procedures, new division name or title, or general cleanup.

• Section 157.4, Computation of Time; Mailbox Rule: Amendments account for circumstances when our building is physically closed, but the agency is otherwise open for business.
• Section 157.18, Motions for Rehearing: Provides for ways a respondent may file a Motion for Rehearing.
• Section 157.33, Mediation: Clarify the equal splitting of fees between parties attending mediation.

Proposed Rules

All proposed 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.

Section 153.5, Fees: The proposed 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 proposed 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 program.

Section 153.21, Appraiser Trainees and Supervisory Appraisers: The current process requires applicable trainees to submit work product for voluntary appraiser experience review, and the proposed rule changes the process for progress monitoring for trainees under the supervision of an appraiser with four to five trainees. The proposed change requires supervisory appraiser to submit a supervision plan, progress monitoring, and to make progress reports available for inspection for a set time period.

You can comment on proposed rules using our online tool through June 20.

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 August 19, 2022, at 9 a.m. CT.