(As
of November 15th, 2007 the Bill has already passed the House of
Representatives, however, it has not been voted on by the Senate. So
please continue to spread word of this petition, and please sign if you
have not already done so.)
To: U.S. Congress
We believe to be true that Section 203(k) in H.R.3837 will invalidate
12 U.S.C. 3351(d) which states: (not to)"exclude a certified or
licensed appraiser for consideration for an assignment solely by virtue
of membership or lack of membership in any particular appraisal
organization". We regard this as a restraint of trade and in violation
of existing antitrust laws; therefore we must oppose the passing of
such legislation.
Click Here To Read & Sign Our Petition! (Please see other petitions under Current Petitions)
You may also view comments from those who have already signed before you yourself sign.
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Here is a sample letter, feel free to use this or edit it with your own comments/concerns.
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All of us have heard of FIRREA, but very few had any idea
what it contained regarding the relationships between lenders
and appraisers.
In a short span of time, I have gained substantial knowledge concerning
the intricate details of FIRREA and the protection it provides to the Appraisal
profession. For those who are not aware
of the laws in place to safeguard the appraisal/banking industry I ask you to please
read the FIRREA attachment.
As soon as I discovered the current FIRREA law stated shall not exclude (blacklist) a certified or licensed appraiser for consideration for an assignment solely by virtue of membership or lack of membership in any particular appraisal organization, I was exposed to a bill - H.R.3837 (just introduced) in the House of Representatives that will reverse the previous language, and allow for discrimination of all who are or are not a member of an appraisal organization (i.e. - the Appraisal Institute, which by far is the largest appraisal organization in the country). Please read below:
The law as it stands today:
(** 1122 (d) Prohibition against discrimination Criteria established by the Federal financial institutions regulatory agencies, the Federal National Mortgage association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Resolution Trust Corporation for appraiser qualifications in addition to State certification or licensing shall not exclude a certified or licensed appraiser for consideration for an assignment solely by virtue of membership or lack of membership in any particular appraisal organization.)
SEC. 203. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO APPRAISAL
SUBCOMMITTEE OF FIEC,APPRAISER INDEPENDENCE,
AND APPROVED APPRAISER EDUCATION.
(k)
Consideration of Professional Appraisal Designations- Section 1122(d) of the
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (**12 U.S.C. 3351(d)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `No provision of this subsection
shall be construed as prohibiting consideration of designations conferred by
recognized national professional appraisal organizations, such as sponsoring
organizations of The Appraisal Foundation.'.
This amendment correlated to the section outlined above is
very disturbing, as it will perpetually effect how (and our ability) to do
business. As a result, I have created a website introducing the
formation of a union: www.AppraisalUnion.org
and www.REAUnion.org. The need for an antitrust attorney is eminent or we will be regulated
out of business. One of my administrative assistants is currently searching for
an antitrust attorney in DC, and will be on that mission full time until one is
found. I will pay for the attorney fees to
combat this amendment (if I can even begin to afford it).
My goal is to assemble appraisers like you to join me in the
formation of this union. In addition, I
ask for your support to join me in DC and be the voice of representation for
all appraisers. Please forward this information/link to every appraiser you know. If you can not attend the trip to
DC, please voice your concerns to your Senator. (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm).
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