Altus Group, US, Inc.; The Notice of Petition for Declaratory Statement was published in Vol. 40, No. 40, of the February 27, 2014, Florida Administrative Register. The Board considered the Petition at a duly-noticed public meeting held on April 7, ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board has issued an order disposing of the petition for declaratory statement filed by Altus Group, US, Inc. on February 6, 2014. The following is a summary of the agency’s disposition of the petition:

The Notice of Petition for Declaratory Statement was published in Vol. 40, No. 40, of the February 27, 2014, Florida Administrative Register. The Board considered the Petition at a duly-noticed public meeting held on April 7, 2014. The Petitioner sought the Board’s opinion of Title XXXII, Chapter 475, Sections 475.611 and 475.6235, F.S., regarding whether licensure as an appraisal management company is required in connection with limited appraisal consulting services with the following functions: consults on appropriate policies and procedures to comply with the various regulatory bodies; consults on the scheduling or property appraisals to assure compliance; reviews independent third-party appraisals on behalf of client; facilitates consulting process by providing client access to web-based software that automates information exchange between various parties; house client databases, and provides industry benchmarking capabilities; and periodically complete appraisal complete appraisal engagements directly for the client with no outside assistance. The Board’s Order, filed on May 16, 2014, answers the petition finding several of the services provided by the Petitioner described in the Petition does constitute “appraisal management services” as defined in Section 475.611(12)(d)2., Florida Statutes, which states that “’Appraisal management services’ means the coordination or management or appraisal services for compensation by…2.Action as a broker or intermediary between a client and one or more licensed or certified appraisers to facilitate the client’s employing, contracting with, or otherwise retaining the appraisers.” The Board’s response to this Petition is based on the Petitioner’s particular set of circumstances set forth in the Petition and only answers the questions raised related to the particular set of circumstance as stated in the Petition, and is not a policy statement of general applicability.

A copy of the Order Disposing of the Petition for Declaratory Statement may be obtained by contacting: Juana Watkins, Division Director, Division of Real Estate, 400 West Robinson Street, Hurston Building, North Tower, Suite N801, Orlando, Florida 32801.