HB 967 -- Real Estate Appraisal Management Companies

Sponsor:  Hobbs

This bill establishes laws to regulate real estate appraisal
management companies.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Makes it unlawful, beginning January 1, 2010, for any person
to act as a real estate appraisal management company, to directly
or indirectly engage or assume to engage in the business of real
estate appraisal management, or to advertise or hold himself or
herself out as engaging in or conducting the business of real
estate appraisal management without being registered with the
Division of Finance within the Department of Insurance, Financial
Institutions and Professional Registration;

(2)  Allows the division to adopt rules necessary to implement,
administer, and enforce the provisions of the bill and to:

(a)  Prescribe forms and procedures for submitting information to
the division;

(b)  Prescribe standards of practice for registered companies;
and

(c)  Prescribe standards for the operation of real estate
appraisal management companies;

(3)  Requires appraisal management companies to make written
application to the division for the registration of the company
accompanied by the $5,000 required fee.  No company may be owned
by a person who has had an appraiser license or certificate
refused, denied, canceled, or revoked.  Anyone with more than 10%
ownership in an appraisal management company must be of good
moral character and submit to a background investigation at his
or her own expense.  Once the division has received all the
required information and fees, a certificate of registration
authorizing the company to act as an appraiser management company
will be issued unless the division finds reason to deny.  An
applicant who is denied will be given the opportunity for a
hearing before the division;

(4)  Allows the division to take disciplinary action for
violations of the provisions of Sections 339.1000 - 339.1045,
RSMo, as specified;

(5)  Requires registrants who believe a real estate appraiser has
violated any applicable law or the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) to file a complaint with
the division against the appraiser;

(6)  Requires fees charged by a real estate appraiser to comply
with USPAP standards and not to contain hidden charges.  Fees
must be paid within 30 days to the appraiser;

(7)  Requires an applicant who is not a resident of this state to
also submit with his or her application an irrevocable consent
that service of process in any action against the applicant
arising out of the applicant's activities as an appraisal
management company be made by delivery of the process on the
division director and to submit the name and address of its
registered agent;

(8)  Requires registrants to maintain complete records of all
appraisal information and allows the division to inspect the
records periodically without prior notice or when pertinent to an
investigation;

(9)  Requires each real estate appraisal management company to
designate a managing principal who is responsible to assure that
the company is in compliance with these provisions.  An
individual registrant operating as a sole proprietorship will be
considered the managing principal.  Anyone not complying with
this provision will have his or her registration suspended until
compliance has been achieved;

(10)  Specifies that registrations will expire June 30 of every
year and become invalid unless renewed by filing an application
and paying a $2,000 renewal fee.  Additional fees will be charged
if the application is late, except that any registrant failing to
reinstate within six months will be required to file a new
application for registration.  Reinstatement is not retroactive;

(11)  Prohibits anyone under a real estate appraisal management
company, third party acting as joint venture partner, or
independent contractor from influencing or attempting to
influence the development, reporting, result, or review of an
appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation,
inducement, intimidation, bribery, or any other manner as
specified in the bill;

(12)  Requires the division to keep records relating to all
applicants for registration whether granted or refused.  The
division will also keep a current roster of all appraisal
management companies registered and will file the roster with the
Secretary of State on or before November 1 of each year; and

(13)  Requires a surety bond of $1 million to accompany each
registration.

The bill contains an emergency clause.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:26 am