Re-Blogged from the Appraisal Institute's Appraiser News Online Headlines:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed Senate Bill 138 into law March 1. S.B. 138 will require that appraisal management companies post a surety bond or equivalent means of security with the Regulation and Licensing Department in order to operate in the state. The legislation will also require AMC employees who review appraisals be geographically competent to complete the review. See references to this bill on Appraisal Scoop - click here.
S.B. 138 also adopts fee disclosure requirements that are very similar to those adopted by the Federal Housing Administration in late 2009. Furthermore, it prohibits AMCs from including “hold harmless” provisions in their contracts with appraisers, or from requiring appraisers to indemnify the AMC against liability.
Minda McGonagle, lobbyist for the Rio Grande Chapter in Santa Fe, said, “This is a big step forward in requiring that AMCs are more responsible to consumers for the product they play a huge role in producing. Hopefully, the AMCs and the lenders that use them will be answering tougher questions from consumers. We could not have been successful if not for the support of New Mexico’s real estate sales professionals, mortgage bankers, credit unions and community banks.”
The provisions of the new law will become effective on July 1. A final version is not yet available, but previous versions of the legislation can be viewed at http://legis.state.nm.us/LCS/_session.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=%20138&year=10 .
Re-Blogged from the Appraisal Institute's Appraiser News Online Headlines
Recent Comments