Federal Appraisal Subcommittee to conduct full compliance review in Connecticut on April 22

Maria Brown, program manager for the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC), told the Connecticut Appraisal, Real Estate Appraisal Commission that the ASC will conduct a biannual on-site compliance review in Connecticut on April 22, 2025. "We are conducting the biannual compliance review for the state of Connecticut, later this month on April 22," Brown said.

The review will include preliminary document review, selection of files for on-site inspection, interviews with staff and board members, and a closing meeting before ASC staff draft a preliminary report for the state. Brown summarized the federal framework that governs the ASC's work, saying the subcommittee was created under Title 11 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 and that the ASC monitors state appraiser and appraisal management company (AMC) regulatory programs and the Appraisal Foundation.

Brown explained the sequence after an on-site visit: ASC staff draft a preliminary report that is not public; the state has 60 days to respond (the response is optional but encouraged); ASC produces a public final report that carries a rating determining how soon ASC will return for another review. "The preliminary report goes out to the state. The state has 60 days, to respond to that preliminary report... and from that, we draft the final report. And then that's, what's a public record," Brown said.

Brown described common issues the ASC sees in its nationwide reviews, including staff turnover at state programs, mismatches between a state's list of registered AMCs and the National Registry, typos or name mismatches on AMC lists, and an uptick in enforcement cases driven by tips and complaints. She said ASC staff will compare the state's AMC list to the national registry and may request corrections prior to the on-site portion.

Commission members asked questions about topical issues the ASC is seeing nationally. Commissioners noted efforts to adopt a bias-awareness course for license renewal; Brown said that states are updating laws and regulations to add bias instruction because it is now part of the Appraiser Qualifications Board's criteria and that enforcement cases tied to bias complaints still occur.

Brown said two ASC staff will be on-site for Connecticut's full compliance review and that preliminary document work has already begun. She offered the commission availability for questions prior to the visit and said she would schedule an opening conference with state staff.

The ASC visit is administrative and evaluative; Brown emphasized that the ASC's final rating affects the review cadence (typically every two years for states in good standing). She invited commission members and staff to contact her with questions and said she was available as the new ASC program manager working with Connecticut.