On September 19, the Alabama REALTORS® Public Policy team attended the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board (AREAB) meeting in Montgomery to monitor for impacts on the real estate industry and property owners. The Real Estate Appraisers Board is responsible for protecting public interest by ensuring that all consumers of real estate appraisal services receive such services from appraisers who are fully qualified in accordance with both Federal and State Law.

Business Meeting 

In the meeting, AREAB members adopted administrative rules to be consistent with the recently enacted legislation, which included the definition of evaluations. The legislation that passed in the 2019 Alabama Legislative Session established a state law definition for evaluations done by federal banking entities under federal guidelines. The evaluations are not subject to regulation by the AREAB. 

The Board reported that the renewal period for 2020 appraisal licenses began on August 1 with a deadline of September 30. After that, licensee renewals are subject to a late fee. There are 1,456 licensees, 880 of whom have renewed their license as of the date of the Board meeting, which is reportedly consistent with years past as many will renew just prior to the deadline. The Board also reported that formal complaints have been low since the last meeting in July. 

Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board Background 

The Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board was created by the State Legislature (ACT 90-639) in 1990, following the enactment of U.S. Public Law 101-73 in 1989, which required that each of the states establish an agency for the licensure, certification and regulation of appraisers. As such, the Board manages the testing of potential licensees, pre-license and continuing education requirements, investigation of complaints and disciplinary action against licensees as warranted.

The AAR Public Policy team will continue to monitor state regulatory agencies for potential impacts on REALTOR® members, the real estate industry and private property owners.