ICAP President’s 2019 Year End Letter-Rear View Mirror to Full Speed Ahead

Happy New Year to all ICAP Members!

A new year, the time one often looks both forward in hope and backward at what is left behind.

It has been a very busy year for ICAP.

2019, the year ICAP turned 25. ICAP is one of the longest running appraisal organizations in the country as well as one of the largest. ICAP proudly serves all real estate appraisers in Illinois, and owes that honor to all of you, our members, and those who have gone before you. Thank you!

YOUR MEMBERSHIP DOES MATTER!

On behalf of the ICAP 2019 Board of Directors, let me first say thank you to all our members for both your continued support and the privilege we have been given to serve you. Secondly, as President, let me thank each and every 2019 Director, who has voluntarily worked hard, diligently, proudly, and faithfully to fulfill this great responsibility to serve our membership. Serving you, our members, in 2019 are:

ICAP 2019 President and the Executive Committee Board of Directors:
Karen Emerle, Ron DeVries, Herbert Meyer, Lee Lansford, Ken Mrozek

ICAP 2019 Board of Directors:
Douglas Anderson, Tamara Bellisario, James Blaydes, George Collins, Patrick Felvey, Mark Gasick, TJ McCarthy, Jonathan Michie, Barbara Neal, Theodore Neff, John Satter, Susan Ulman, Brian Waibel

ICAP 2019 Legislative Chair:
Richard deVerdier

LA Anderson, our Executive Director, is officially retiring this January, 2020. LA has served and been an integral part of ICAP for 18 years. We wish her much happiness in her retirement years. We will miss her.

We welcome Sarah Walsh. Sarah joined the staff this past June, and upon LA’s retirement will be ICAP’s new Executive Director. Many of you have already met Sarah. We welcome Sarah, and look forward to working with her in the future.

The ICAP Board of Directors meet at the Downtown Chicago office five times during any typical year. The full Board meetings are open to the public. In 2019 public guests included ICAP members, former ICAP Board members, Franklin Law Group attorneys, and representatives from IDFPR. The Board was pleased to welcome at our final 2019 meeting in December, the IDFPR Director of the Division of Real Estate Mario Treto, Jr and members of his Department.

Since 2012, and to represent ICAP Illinois state appraisers, at least one if not more ICAP Directors regularly attend monthly IDFPR’s The Real Estate Appraisal Administration and Disciplinary Boardmeetings. The meetings are typically held on the second Tuesday of each month and are open to the public. ICAP encourages every Illinois appraiser who is able to attend at least one meeting.

The 2019 Illinois Appraisers Update Seminars were held in Springfield, Collinsville, and Lisle. ICAP is thankful to each of the speakers who graciously shared their appraisal experience, knowledge, and expertise, and to our members, approximately 440 in total, who attended the 2019 seminars. Thank you! We look forward to seeing you again in the summer of 2020!

On May 9th ICAP Directors and ICAP Members met in Springfield for ICAPs Annual Capitol Day event. This event provides ICAP members a chance to meet with their respective State senators and representatives. It’s a day to highlight important appraisal related legislation, request support for our positions on appraisal related legislation, and generally reminds the legislators of the importance and value a professional appraiser adds to the marketplace — providing a high level of appraisal professionalism and public trust protection to the consumer. We hope, as an Illinois appraiser and ICAP member, you will consider joining ICAP for the 2020 Capitol Day event.

ICAP’s Job Fair/Networking Event provides a venue whereby new people entering the profession and ICAP members in general have an opportunity to meet Illinois appraisal firms (employers). The event provides both prospective candidates for employers and prospective job opportunities for appraisers seeking work. Secondary, but just as important, is an opportunity to network with other appraiser professionals. The 2019 event’s guest speaker was IDFPR Director Treto.

ICAP has worked considerable long hours related to many of the changes the former Director of Real Estate made to our Illinois Appraiser Act and Administrative Rules. ICAP met with the new Department Secretary Hagan and Director Treto. As a result of our initial meeting, Director Treto issued two policy statements, published May 17, 2019. Policy Statement 2019-001 addressed implementation of CAS (Consent to Administrative Supervision) and Policy Statement 2019-002 clarified credit for continuing education courses taken between July 1, 2019 and September 20, 2019 (a.k.a. the “donut hole”). Additionally, following up to ICAPs concerns, Director Treto proposed amendments to our Rules which will bring the CE completion and license renewal deadlines back into the previously shared common September 30th date of each odd year. The second comment period ends this month. ICAP expects to see this amendment adopted by year end.

In 2019 ICAP drafted the following bills for the Illinois 101st General Assembly:

HB 2960 – Real Estate Appraiser License Bill (225 ILCS 458/5-5). As introduced, it would amend our licensing Act making it unlawful for anyone not having a license to develop a document that reports an opinion of value of real estate or uses the term “appraisal” or “market value.” Opposition to this bill from segments of the legal community has been significant.

HB2962 – Appraisal Management Recovery Fund Bill. (30 ILCS 105/5.891; 225 ILCS 459/55 459/56 459/57 459/65 459.50). Amends the AMC Registration Act to create the AMC recovery fund. It would set a maximum registration fee to be applied to the AMC Recovery Fund, regulate how remaining funds are carried forward each fiscal year, and requires a registrant to maintain a $25,000 bond.

HB2963 – Statute of Limitations/Repose Bill for Illinois Real Estate Appraisers (735 ILCS 5/13-214.5). Amends the Code of Civil Procedure regarding an action based upon tort, contract, or otherwise. A limitations/repose on appraisers while engaged in appraisal practice. Any action shall be commenced within two years from the time the person bringing an action knew or should reasonably have known of the act or commission. In no event shall an action be brought more than five years after the date the act or omission was committed. New provisions would apply to actions commenced on or after the effective date.

HB 2961 – Broker Market Analysis Bill (225 ILCS 454/10-45). The bill amends the language in the Real Estate License Act to read: “This is a broker price opinion/comparative market analysis, not an appraisal of the market value of real estate, and was prepared by a licensed real estate broker or managing broker who was  not acting as a State certified real estate appraiser, instead of: “managing broker, not by  a”…. The change in language assists the approximate 800 appraisers holding broker licenses to produce BPOs and CMAs; the statement MUST be included in the report. This passed the House, Senate, was signed into law by the Governor, and became effective July 12, 2019.

In light of President Cullerton’s recent resignation announcement, two ICAP Directors attended a fund raiser for Kimberly Lightford on December 12th.

Lobbyist Shaw DeCremer has been an integral part of our legislative efforts for the past four years. Shaw, on behalf of ICAP we thank you and are grateful for your hard work on our behalf. We wish you much success in your future endeavors.

ICAP participates in The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (TAFAC). An ICAP Director attends the TAFAC annual meetings.

ICAP is one of the founding state coalition members of the Network of State Appraiser Organizations (NSAO). Formed approximately six years ago, the original five have now become approximately 31 state coalitions Network affiliated members. ICAP works with the other state coalitions on appraisal related legislative issues and attends the Networks Work Group, held this year in Washington, DC.  In 2019 ICAP joined with these 30 other state coalitions in hiring an attorney to address the Appraisal Threshold proposal increasing the appraisal requirement from $250,000 to $400,000. Our request for a public hearing was denied. On August 20th, the FDIC approved a final rule officially raising the appraisal de-minimus threshold from $250,000 up to $400,000 regarding the minimum transaction amount below which an appraisal is not required for federally related residential real estate transactions. The Appraisal Institute and The Appraisal Foundation strongly object to the FDIC ruling.

ICAP joined 17 groups opposing the National Credit Union Administration proposal that would quadruple the appraisal threshold level from $250,000 to $1,000,000 for non-residential real estate transactions. The final rule was effective October 22, 2019.

The NCUA proposes to amend the agency’s regulation requiring appraisals for certain real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold level below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate related transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Consistent with the requirement for other transactions that fall below applicable appraisal thresholds, federally insured credit unions (FICUs) would be required to obtain written estimates of market value of the real estate collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices in lieu of an appraisal. For easier reference, the proposed rule would explicitly incorporate the existing statutory requirement that appraisals be subject to appropriate review for compliance with the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP).  Comments must be received on or before January 28, 2020.

ICAP is a member of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO). To represent Illinois appraisers ICAP sends a Director to the AARO Spring and Fall conferences. ICAP during 2018 and 2019 was given the honor to Chair AARO’s Professional Organizations Advisory Council. Coinciding with the Networks Work Group is the AARO Fall Conference, held in Washington DC. In addition to attending the 2019 AARO Fall Conference, while in Washington, DC ICAP also represented Illinois appraisers at the ASB Meeting, the Networks Work Group, and joined with other “Network” state coalition representatives in a meeting with a professional staff member for the Honorable Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services. Previously, ICAP met with U.S. Representative for Illinois’s 11th Congressional District, Congressman Bill Foster in July. The meeting centered on H.R. 3619 and H.R. 2852. Congressman Foster serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance which has been “reviewing the appraisal industry.”

ASB – ICAP Directors participated in and encouraged ICAP members to attend both the Third (January 10, 2019) and the highly unusual Fourth (March 14, 2019) Exposure Draft webinars and the live-streamed ASB Kansas City public meeting. Additionally, ICAP urged our membership to consider crafting an individual comment letter to the ASB either in support of or against any of the proposed changes to the 2020-2021 Edition of USPAP.

ICAP continues to monitor for legislation affecting the appraisal profession, threatens appraiser independence and/or the public trust in the appraisal system. ICAP will actively oppose such legislation.         As you can see, ICAP has had a busy year. But— the work is not done, it is only just beginning.

Looking forward to 2020 there are still bills to get passed, and the rewrite of the Illinois Appraiser Act will begin in earnest. ICAP will continue its “mission is to promote the appraisal profession and its image to the general public and to users of appraisal services. ICAP initiates discussion and analysis of issues affecting professional appraisers and monitors political action with the intent to influence legislation, regulation, and public opinion toward the appraisal profession.”

As we continue to promote and protect the interest of the appraisal profession in Illinois, we need your support. ICAP encourages all members to participate.

YOUR MEMBERSHIP DOES MATTER!

If you have not already renewed your 2020 membership, please do so today. And, please consider making a voluntary contribution to the ICAP-PAC Fund which provides necessary resources to ensure we continue to have a strong voice in Springfield. Volunteer to serve on a committee or assist with an event.

Your continued participation helps ICAP be successful in serving you and our collective profession as we continually look forward to and face the challenges ahead. We leave behind 2019, and usher in 2020 with a new ICAP 2020 Board of Directors. The 2020 Board is energized and already working. Additionally, ICAP 2020 is very fortunate to have an outstanding and strong leader in Ron DeVries.

The ICAP 2020 Board of Directors:

Ron DeVries, ICAP 2020 President.

Executive Committee Directors:
Ron DeVries, Herbert Meyer, Patrick Felvey, John Satter, Karen Emerle

Directors:
Douglas Anderson, Tamara Bellisario, Daniel Berenschot, James Blaydes, George Collins, Richard Knitter, TJ McCarthy, Jonathan Michie, Barbara Neal, Theodore Neff, Gina Reynolds, Susan Ulman, Brian Waibel

In closing, may I extend a heartfelt thank you to all our members! It has been a very special privilege to serve you!

Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous 2020,

Karen Emerle, SRA
ICAP 2019 President
ICAP 2020 Immediate-Past President
December 30, 2019