(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to act as a real estate appraisal management company, or to directly or indirectly engage in the business of real estate appraisal management in this state, or to advertise or hold himself, herself, or itself out as engaging in the business of real estate appraisal management in this state, without first registering with the department under the provisions of this chapter.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-3

  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appraisal: means an analysis, opinion, or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value, or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real estate. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
  • Appraisal management company: means :

    (i)  In connection with valuing properties collateralizing mortgage loans or mortgages incorporated into a securitization, any external third party authorized either by a creditor of a consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's principal dwelling, or by an underwriter of or other principal in the secondary mortgage markets, that oversees a network or panel of more than fifteen (15) certified or licensed appraisers in Rhode Island or twenty-five (25) or more nationally, excluding those appraisers who do not provide appraisal services for covered transactions, within a given year to:

    (A)  Recruit, select, and retain appraisers;

    (B)  Contract with licensed and certified appraisers to perform appraisal assignments;

    (C)  Manage the process of having an appraisal performed, including providing administrative duties such as receiving appraisal orders and appraisal reports, submitting completed appraisal reports to creditors and underwriters, collecting fees from creditors and underwriters for services provided, and reimbursing appraisers for services performed; or

    (D)  Review and verify the work of appraisers. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Department: means the department of business regulation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2
  • Independent fee appraiser: means :

    (i)  A natural person who is a state-licensed or state-certified appraiser and receives a fee for performing an appraisal, but who is not an employee of the person engaging the appraiser; or

    (ii)  An organization that, in the ordinary course of business, employs state-licensed or state-certified appraisers to perform appraisals, receives a fee for performing the appraisals, and is not subject to § 1124 of the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA"), 12 U. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2

  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
  • Real estate appraisal services: means the practice of developing an appraisal by a licensed or certified appraiser in conformance with the USPAP. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.9-2

(b)  A partnership, limited-liability partnership, limited-liability company, or corporation that acts as an appraisal management company shall register with the department and shall renew the registrations of its members, officers, and directors for each registration period.

(c)  However, this chapter shall not be applicable to:

(1)  An agency of the federal government or any state or municipal government;

(2)  An appraisal management company that is a subsidiary owned and controlled by a financial institution regulated by a federal financial institution regulatory agency, provided the appraisal management company is in compliance with § 1124 of the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, 12 U.S.C. § 3353, and any rules promulgated pursuant to the authority granted in said § 1124;

(3)  Any domestic corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, subsidiary, unit, or other domestic business entity that exclusively employs persons in employer-employee relationships to perform residential real estate appraisal services in accordance with USPAP in the normal course of its business;

(4)  Any individual, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, subsidiary, unit, or other business entity who or that in the normal course of business enters into an agreement, whether written or otherwise, with an independent fee appraiser for the performance of residential real estate appraisal services shall, upon the completion of the appraisal, cosign the report with the independent fee appraiser with whom it or the individual subcontracted for the performance of the residential real estate appraisal service.

History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 14, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 26, § 1.