§ 20-529b — Appraisal management company prohibitions and requirements. Payment to appraisers.

(a) No appraisal management company applying for a certificate of registration shall: (1) Be owned by any person who has had an appraiser license or certificate denied, refused to be renewed, suspended or revoked in any state; (2) Be owned by any partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation in which an ownership interest is held by any person who has had an appraiser license or certificate denied, refused to be renewed, suspended or revoked in any state; (3) Employ any person to perform job functions related to the ordering, preparation, performance or review of appraisals who has had an appraiser license or certificate denied, refused to be renewed, suspended or revoked; or (4) Enter into any contract, agreement or other business arrangement, written or oral, for the procurement of appraisal services in this state, with (A) any person who has had an appraiser license or certificate denied, refused to be renewed, suspended or revoked, or (B) any partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation that employs or has entered into any contract, agreement or other business arrangement, whether oral, written or any other form, with any person who has had an appraiser license or certificate denied, refused to be renewed, suspended or revoked. (b) Any employee of an appraisal management company or any contractor working on behalf of such company who has any involvement in the performance of appraisals in this state or review and analysis of completed appraisals in this state shall be certified and in good standing pursuant to the provisions of sections 20-500 to 20-528 , inclusive. This subsection shall not prohibit an individual who is not so certified from performing job functions that (1) are confined to an examination of an appraisal or an appraisal report for grammatical, typographical or clerical errors, and (2) do not involve the formulation of opinions or comments about (A) the appraiser's data collection, analyses, opinions, conclusions or valuation, or (B) compliance of such appraisal or appraisal report with the USPAP. (c) Except in cases of breach of contract or substandard performance of services or where the parties have mutually agreed upon an alternate payment schedule in writing, each appraisal management company, other than a federally regulated appraisal management company, operating in this state shall make payment to an appraiser for the completion of an appraisal or valuation assignment not later than forty-five days after the date on which such appraiser transmits or otherwise provides the completed appraisal or valuation study to the appraisal management company or its assignee. (d) No employee, owner, controlling person, director, officer or agent of an appraisal management company that is not a federally regulated appraisal management company shall intentionally influence, coerce or encourage or attempt to influence, coerce or encourage, an appraiser to misstate or misrepresent the value of a subject property, by any means, including: (1) Withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment for an appraisal; (2) Withholding or threatening to withhold business from, or demoting, terminating or threatening to demote or terminate, an appraiser; (3) Expressly or impliedly promising future business, promotion or increased compensation to an appraiser; (4) Conditioning an appraisal request or payment of a fee, salary or bonus on the opinion, preliminary estimate, conclusion or valuation to be reached by the appraiser; (5) Requesting that an appraiser provide a predetermined or desired valuation in an appraisal report or estimated values or comparable sales at any time prior to the completion of an appraisal; (6) Providing to an appraiser an anticipated, estimated, encouraged or desired value for a subject property or a proposed or target amount to be loaned to the borrower, except that a copy of the contract to purchase may be provided; (7) Providing or offering to provide to an appraiser or to any person or entity related to the appraiser stock or other financial or nonfinancial benefits; (8) Removing an appraiser from an appraiser panel without prior written notice to such appraiser as set forth in section 20-529c ; (9) Obtaining, using or paying for a subsequent appraisal or ordering an automated valuation model in connection with a mortgage financing transaction unless (A) there is a reasonable basis to believe that the initial appraisal was flawed or tainted and such basis is clearly noted in such transaction file, or (B) such subsequent appraisal or automated valuation model is performed pursuant to a bona fide prefunding or postfunding appraisal review, loan underwriting or quality control process; or (10) Using any other act or practice that impairs or attempts to impair an appraiser's independence, objectivity or impartiality. (e) Nothing in subsection (d) of this section shall be construed to apply to a federally regulated appraisal management company or prohibit an appraisal management company from requesting that an appraiser provide additional information about the basis for a valuation or correct objective factual errors in an appraisal report.

Legislative History

(P.A. 10-77, S. 4; P.A. 13-135, S. 18; P.A. 14-52, S. 25; P.A. 19-177, S. 33; P.A. 21-37, S. 4; P.A. 24-142, S. 9.) History: P.A. 13-135 amended Subsec. (c) to change “sixty days” to “forty-five days”; P.A. 14-52 amended Subsec. (b) to delete “licensed or”, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 19-177 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by deleting “more than ten per cent”, effective July 9, 2019; P.A. 21-37 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to replace reference to more than 10% ownership with “an ownership interest”, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 24-142 amended Subsecs. (c) to (e) by adding provisions re federally regulated appraisal management companies, effective June 6, 2024.