(a)        The Board may take disciplinary action against registered trainees and State-licensed or State-certified real estate appraisers. Upon its own motion or the complaint of any person, the Board may investigate the actions of any person registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser under this Chapter, any person who performs appraisals without an appropriate registration, license, or certificate, or any person who holds himself or herself out to be registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser when the person holds no registration, license, or certificate. Under no circumstances shall the Board investigate any person registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser under this Chapter upon an anonymous complaint. If the Board finds probable cause to believe that a person registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser under this Chapter has violated any of the provisions of this Chapter, the Board may hold a hearing on the allegations of misconduct.

The Board may suspend or revoke the registration, license, or certificate granted to any person under the provisions of this Chapter or reprimand any registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder if, following a hearing or by consent, the Board finds the registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder to have:

(1)        Procured registration, licensure, or certification pursuant to this Chapter by making a false or fraudulent representation;

(2)        Made any willful or negligent misrepresentation or any willful or negligent omission of material fact;

(3)        Accepted an appraisal assignment when the employment is contingent upon the appraiser reporting a predetermined result, analysis, or opinion, or when the fee to be paid for the performance of the appraisal assignment is contingent upon the opinion, conclusion, or valuation reached or upon consequences resulting from the appraisal assignment;

(4)        Acted or held himself or herself out as a registered trainee or a licensed or certified real estate appraiser when not so registered, licensed, or certified;

(5)        Failed as a licensed or certified real estate appraiser to actively and personally supervise any person not licensed or certified under this Chapter who assists the licensed or certified real estate appraiser in performing real estate appraisals;

(6)        Failed to make available to the Board for its inspection without prior notice, originals or true copies of all written contracts engaging the person’s services to appraise real property, and all reports and supporting data assembled and formulated by the appraiser in preparing the reports;

(7)        Paid a fee or valuable consideration to any person for acts or services performed in violation of this Chapter;

(8)        Acted as a real estate appraiser in an unworthy or incompetent manner as to endanger the interest of the public;

(9)        Violated any of the standards of practice for real estate appraisers or any other rule promulgated by the Board;

(10)      Performed any other act which constitutes improper, fraudulent, or other dishonest conduct; or

(11)      Violated any of the provisions of this Chapter.

The Executive Director of the Board shall transmit a certified copy of all final orders of the Board suspending or revoking registrations, licenses, or certificates issued under this Chapter to the clerk of superior court of the county in which the licensee or certificate holder maintains the person’s principal place of business. The clerk shall enter these orders upon the judgment docket of the county.

(b)        Following a hearing, or by consent, the Appraisal Board may also suspend or revoke any registration, license, or certificate issued under the provisions of this Chapter or reprimand any registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder when:

(1)        The registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder has been convicted of or has entered a plea of guilty or no contest upon which final judgment is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction in this State, or any other state, to an offense which involves moral turpitude, in which an essential element is dishonesty, fraud, or deceit, or which, in the discretion of the Board, would reasonably affect the performance of the registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder in the real estate appraisal business;

(2)        A final civil judgment has been entered against the registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder on grounds of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit in the making of any appraisal of real estate;

(3)        The trainee, licensee, or certificate holder has violated any of the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 93E-1-13(a) when appraising his own property;

(4)        The trainee, licensee, or certificate holder has had a real estate trainee registration or its equivalent, real estate appraiser license, or real estate appraiser certification suspended, revoked, or denied by a real estate licensing board in another state;

(5)        The trainee, licensee, or certificate holder has had any disciplinary action taken against any other professional license in North Carolina or any other state;

(6)        The trainee, licensee, or certificate holder has been adjudged mentally incompetent by a court; or

(7)        The trainee, licensee, or certificate holder performs any of the duties of a real estate appraiser, including, but not limited to, site inspection and public records checks, while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

(b1)      If any of the actions taken in subdivision (1), (2), or (4) through (6) of subsection (b) of this section are taken against a trainee, licensee, or certificate holder, the trainee, licensee, or certificate holder must report such actions within 60 days of the final judgment or final order in the case.

(c)        When a person registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser under this Chapter is accused of any act, omission, or misconduct which would subject the person to disciplinary action, the registered trainee, licensee, or certificate holder, with the consent and approval of the Board, may surrender his or her registration, license, or certificate and all the rights and privileges pertaining to it for a period of time established by the Board of at least five years. A person who surrenders his or her registration, license, or certificate shall not thereafter be eligible for or submit any application for registration, licensure, or certification as a real estate appraiser during the period that the registration, license, or certificate is surrendered.

(c1)      During the course of an investigation of a person registered as a trainee or licensed or certified as a real estate appraiser under this Chapter, the Board may send to the trainee or licensed or certified real estate appraiser a letter of inquiry asking the trainee or licensed or certified real estate appraiser to respond to the inquiry. The letter of inquiry shall state the subject matter being investigated. Upon receipt of the letter of inquiry, the trainee or licensed or certified real estate appraiser shall respond to the Board within 30 calendar days. A trainee or licensed or certified real estate appraiser shall include in the written response copies of all documents requested by the Board in the letter of inquiry.

(d)       The Board shall have the power to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of persons and the production of papers and records before the Board in any hearing, investigation, inquiry, or other proceeding conducted by it. Upon the production of any papers, records, or documents, the Board shall have the power to authorize true copies thereof to be substituted in the permanent record of the matter in which the books, records, or documents shall have been introduced in evidence.

(e)        No appraiser shall be disciplined for completing an appraisal that includes a reduced scope of work or reporting level as long as it is appropriate for the intended use and is performed in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. ?(1993, c. 419, s. 6; 1995, c. 482, s. 9; 2001-399, s. 1; 2007-447, ss. 1, 2; 2007-506, ss. 10, 11; 2012-163, s. 5.)