In August 1 989, Congress enacted the Financial Institutions
Recovery, Reform, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). Title Xl of
FIRREA mandated two categories of real estate appraisers: State licensed and state certified. The effective date of the Title Xl legislation was July 31, 1 991.
In 1 990, the AQB determined that its “residential” criteria would be used for state Licensure and its “general” criteria for state certification. As the magnitude of the process of identifying and regulating tens of thousands of appraisers became apparent to Congress, it delayed the effective date of Title XI on two occasions: first postponing it until December 31, 1991 and subsequently to July 31, 1992. Concern in the lending community of a shortage of state licensed and certified appraisers was also a factor in this delay.
In 1991, the AQB advised the Appraisal Subcommittee of the classification “gap” created by having only two credential levels. FIRREA prohibited licensed appraisers from valuing residential property over $1 million, and many General Certified appraisers were not competent to appraise residential property.
The Appraisal Subcommittee subsequently endorsed the idea of a new classification, known as Certified Residential. The concept of other specialty certifications (agriculture, timber, commercial real estate) was rejected.
The AQB then focused on enhancing its original 1989 Criteria, by adding specific appraisal course topics and issuing interpretations on the intent of the Board in other aspects of the Criteria.
It was at this time that the AQB adopted the philosophy that the Criteria should be reviewed approximately every five years and revised whenever appropriate.
After Title Xl had been fully implemented and it was determined there was no shortage of appraisers, the AQS decided to revisit the initial Criteria and make enhancements where necessary. In 1 994, the AQB reviewed and made revisions to the Criteria. The following changes were made with an implementation date of January 1, 1998:
• Continuing education was increased from ten hours to fourteen hours per year;
• The experience requirement for the Certified Residential classification was increased from 2,000 to 2,500 hours;
• The experience requirement for the Certified General classification was increased from 2,500 hours to 3,000 hours; and
• The USPAP education was further defined from “coverage of USPAP” to fifteen classroom hours.
In the late 1 990s, the AQB was made aware of concerns by appraisers, educational providers, and state appraiser regulators about the quality of USPAP education. In response to these concerns, the AQB made revisions to the Criteria to improve the overall quality of USPAP education. Known as the Program to Improve USPAP Education, it was adapted by the AQB in October 2000, with an effective date of January 1, 2003. The major components of the program were as follows:
• Requiring the 15-Hour National USPAP Course (or its equivalent) for individuals wishing to became credentialed;
• Requiring the 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course (or its equivalent) every two years;
• USPAP instructor competency: Generally, USPAP must be taught by an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor who is also a state certified appraiser; and
• Consistent course content: Qualifying and continuing education USPAP requirements must be met by attending the Notional USPAP Courses or their equivalents.
Following the adaption of this initiative in October 2000, the AQB then shifted its focus to making revisions to the Criteria that would be implemented later in the decade.
