No. 27788 (Amendment): R162-107. Unprofessional Conduct

DAR File No.: 27788
Filed: 04/01/2005, 08:44
Received by: NL

 

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

It has come to the attention of the Division of Real Estate investigators that unlicensed persons are getting around appraiser licensing requirements by acting as trainees and accepting appraisal assignments (and payment for those assignments), doing the appraisals, and then hiring a properly licensed appraiser to sign their appraisal reports. Prohibiting a trainee from accepting an appraisal assignment and prohibiting the trainee from accepting payment for appraisal work from anyone other than his supervising appraiser should help to curb this abuse.

 

Summary of the rule or change:

Appraisals trainees would be forbidden from accepting appraisal assignments, and would be forbidden from being paid for their services performed in connection with appraisals by anyone other than their supervising appraisers or the supervisors' appraisal firms.

 

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Subsection 61-2b-6(1)(l)

 

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

None--A requirement that only the supervising appraiser may accept an appraisal assignment instead of the supervisor's trainee, and a requirement that a trainee may only receive payment from his supervisor will neither cost the State nor save the State on any appraisals it may order.

 

local governments:

None--Local governments who use appraiser trainees in their assessors' offices would already pay those trainees through the "firm" (the local government). Appraisers who work for county assessors' offices do not solicit appraisal work in their capacity as government appraisers, and so the part of the rule regarding accepting appraisal assignments does not apply to trainees who work for local government agencies.

 

other persons:

The only persons affected by this rule change are supervising appraisers and their trainees. It is not anticipated that there will be either cost or savings from requiring that the trainee's compensation is paid to him by his supervisor. The trainee is already forbidden by the licensing law to appraise on his own, and therefore should not be accepting appraisal assignments anyway, and therefore the part of the rule forbidding the trainee from accepting assignments does not impose any new requirements on the supervisor or the trainee.

 

Compliance costs for affected persons:

This rule amendment should not cost appraisers or appraiser trainees any money since all the rule amendment does is clarify what the licensing law already requires: that it is the supervisor who must accept the appraisal assignment. It is not anticipated that requiring the trainee to be paid by his supervisor, as opposed to the party who pays for the appraisal, will impose any compliance costs on either the supervising appraiser or their trainees.

 

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

This rule filing defines "unprofessional conduct" to include allowing a non-appraiser to accept an appraisal assignment and requires any payment to trainees to be made directly by the licensed supervisor. This definition is a further clarification of the existing provisions prohibiting unlicensed practice by trainees. Therefore, there is no anticipated fiscal impact to businesses as a result of this rule filing. Russell C. Skousen, Executive Director

 

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Commerce
Real Estate
HEBER M WELLS BLDG
160 E 300 S
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84111-2316

 

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

Shelley Wismer at the above address, by phone at 801-530-6761, by FAX at 801-530-6749, or by Internet E-mail at [e-mail]

 

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

05/16/2005

 

This rule may become effective on:

05/17/2005

 

Authorized by:

Dexter Bell, Director

 

 

RULE TEXT

R162. Commerce, Real Estate.

R162-107. Unprofessional Conduct.

R162-107-1. Unprofessional Conduct.

107.1 Unprofessional conduct includes the following specific acts or omissions:

107.1.1 Violating or disregarding a disciplinary order of the Utah Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board or the division;

107.1.2 Signing an appraisal report containing a statement indicating that an appraiser has inspected a property if the appraiser has not inspected the property;

107.1.3 Signing an appraisal report as the supervising appraiser without having given adequate supervision to the registered appraiser or the unclassified assistant;

107.1.4 Allowing an appraiser in his employ, or an appraiser whom he is otherwise responsible to supervise, to:

(a) exceed the authority of the subordinate appraiser's classification;

(b) engage in conduct which is a violation of Title 61, Chapter 2b.

107.1.5 Allowing a non-appraiser to:

(a) exceed the authority granted to an unclassified person by these rules;

(b) engage in conduct which would be a violation of Title 61, Chapter 2b if done by an appraiser; or

(c) accept an appraisal assignment.

107.1.6 Splitting appraisal fees with any person who is not a State-Licensed Appraiser or a State-Certified Appraiser, except that an appraisal trainee may be paid a reasonable salary or a reasonable hourly rate for lawful services actually performed in connection with appraisals. Such payment must be paid to the trainee by the trainee's supervisor or the supervisor's appraisal firm and not by any other person or entity.

107.2 The Board may appoint members of the appraisal industry to serve as a Technical Advisory Panel to provide advice to the Division concerning technical appraisal issues and conduct constituting unprofessional conduct.

 

KEY: real estate appraisals, conduct

[September 10, 2004]2005

Notice of Continuation January 21, 2003

61-2b-8