Earlier this month, the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) adopted sections 1, 2, and 4 of the Fourth Exposure Draft of Proposed Changes to the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria at a public AQB meeting in Washington, DC.
Here is an overview of the adopted sections:
Section 1. Revisions to the college-level education requirements for Licensed Residential and Certified Residential.
• No longer require a Bachelor's degree for Licensed Residential
• Certified Residential requires one of the following:
• Bachelor's Degree in ANY field
• Associate's Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or Real Estate
• Completion of 30 hours of (1) relevant coursework, or (2) College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams (3) or some mix of both
Section 2. Alternative to Bachelor's Degree requirement for Licensed Residential to become Certified Residential
• Must have 5 years’ experience
• No disciplinary action within the past 5 years
• Completion of specific additional education
Section 4. Reduction of Experience Hours
• Licensed Residential: 1000 hours in 6 months
• Certified Residential: 1500 hours in 12 months
• Certified General: 3000 in 18 months
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) previously submitted a comment letter to the AQB in response to its draft, concerning some of the proposed changes. NAR agreed with the removal of the degree qualification and replacing it with the core curriculum credit hours, as well as the education requirements for certified residential appraisers. However, NAR expressed concern that a reduction in experience hours could have an impact on the quality of incoming appraisers and has asked that prior work experiences count towards education requirements.
The implementation date of the changes to the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria is set as May 1st, 2018.