North Carolina Appraisal Board
Complaint Handling Program
Fairness and due process are fundamental concepts in the Complaint Handling Program.
All complaints must be in writing. No verbal complaints will be received or investigated by the Board. Anonymous complaints will not be opened. In addition, the Board may, on its own motion, decide to open a complaint. See Board Complaints Policy.
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When a complaint is received by the Board it shall be considered an allegation. The Board staff shall review the allegation to determine whether it shall be investigated, including examination of the appraisal report, if applicable, which shall be requested from the appraiser, and if based on this information there appears to be no violations of USPAP or any of the Board rules or statutes, then the allegations shall not be further investigated and will be dismissed. A three-panel committee of the Board shall review this decision.
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If Board staff determines that the matter rises to the level of complaint and warrants investigation, a letter is sent to the complainant acknowledging the complaint. The person filing the complaint is not considered to be a party to the complaint; he or she does not have any control over the course of the case. A letter of inquiry (and a copy of the complaint) is sent to the respondent requesting a response. The Board investigator requests a copy of the appraisal report and the work file (if it has not previously been received in determining whether the matter rises to the level of a complaint). Upon receipt of the response, the complaint is more thoroughly investigated.
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The nature of the investigation is determined by the type of complaint received. The scope of the investigation may be expanded as more details are received about the case.
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When warranted, the investigator may conduct a comprehensive investigation of the respondent’s other appraisal work. Some reasons for a comprehensive investigation may include when there is an allegation or evidence of fraud or a pattern or practice of negligent or intentional violation of standards. During the investigation, the following may occur - documents may be gathered, appraisals may be evaluated, and witnesses may be interviewed. The respondent and complainant may be contacted in each case, when possible. Often a trip is made to the area where the subject property is located in order to obtain tax cards and sales data and to view the property. See Investigations Policy.
A sanitized version of the results of the investigation are presented to the Board at a regularly scheduled meeting for a determination as to whether probable cause exists that the appraiser has violated the Appraiser Act. A summary of the facts and a recommendation are presented to the Board. The facts are sanitized so that the names of the parties and area of the state involved are kept anonymous. If it appears that a Board member may have some information that would prevent him or her from rendering an impartial decision concerning the case, that Board member may recuse himself or herself from the discussion and the vote on the matter. At the Probable Cause stage, the Board may dismiss the case, dismiss with a letter of warning, dismiss with the condition that the respondent takes further education (see Conditional Dismissal Policy), ask the staff to further investigate, or find probable cause and request a hearing. The respondent and complainant are notified of the outcome. See attached Appraiser Disciplinary actions and AMC Disciplinary Actions.
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If a hearing will be held, additional investigation may place, records may be subpoenaed, and witnesses may be interviewed. Depositions may also be taken. Board counsel may attempt to informally resolve the matter through a consent order. If the matter is not resolved through a consent order, a Notice of Hearing, outlining the facts and charges, is sent to the respondent at least fifteen days before the hearing. The only issues that may be considered at the hearing are those listed in the Notice of Hearing. If a continuance is requested within a reasonable period of time, it is routinely granted if it is the first such request. The Executive Director has the authority to sign the first Notice of Continuance issued in a case. Only the Board may grant any further continuances.
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If the matter is resolved, a consent order is presented to the Board at its next meeting. The Board may accept the consent order, or request modifications to the Consent Order, or reject the consent order. Final decisions which result in at least a reprimand are published in the North Carolina Appraisal Board Newsletter; those which involve suspension or revocation are often sent to newspapers, trade journals, and Superior Court. See Publication Policy.
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When a final decision is rendered by the Board, a respondent may file a petition for judicial review of the Board’s decision, in the Superior Court of Wake County or in the county where the respondent resides.
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There are other circumstances under which the Board will hear cases. An application may present a character issue. If that is the case, the Board has the option of accepting the applicant, deferring the application for a hearing in front of the full Board, or holding the application for a Character Conference. See Character Conference Policy. Other cases might involve decisions of the Board such as not approving an application if the applicant does not appear to possess the requisite knowledge and competence for registration, licensure, or certification. In these cases, if the matter goes to a hearing before the Board, the applicant or appraiser has the right to due process.
Board Complaints
​The North Carolina Appraisal Board has the statutory authority to investigate a complaint against an appraiser upon the receipt of a written complaint against the appraiser or upon its own motion (a Board complaint). Anonymous complaints are not accepted.
In some instances, staff may believe it is necessary to request the Board to open a complaint upon review of an appraisal report during the routine course of business or upon receipt of information regarding an appraiser or appraisal management company.
Some of those instances are:
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1. When looking at sample appraisal reports as part of the upgrade process or during an audit of an appraiser’s office, staff may see issues that require further investigation.
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2. In investigating a complaint against an appraiser, staff may receive a copy of an appraisal report or review performed by another appraiser on the same or another property that shows some areas of concern.
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3. Staff may receive information regarding the character of an appraiser, such as the loss of another occupational license or a criminal conviction.
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4. Staff may be contacted by another agency, such as law enforcement, and asked to investigate a matter.
Should one of these circumstances exist, staff will prepare an Investigation Request to be presented to the Appraisal Board to be voted upon at its next meeting. If the request is granted, the case will be opened and investigated pursuant to the Board’s Complaint Process.
In some instances, staff may believe that the Complainant in a complaint may have violated the Appraisers Act, rules, or standards. In that case, a request for a Board investigation will not take place until the original complaint is closed absent special circumstances, such as imminent danger to the public interest.
Investigations Policy
The North Carolina Appraisal Board employs investigators who are state-certified real property appraisers. It may be necessary, on a case-by-case basis, to solicit and use other individuals representing other disciplines if circumstances are discovered that require special investigative knowledge outside the scope of services for a real property appraiser. The Board’s investigators will concentrate their duties on matters of appraisal that pertain to the North Carolina Appraisers Act, Appraisal Board rules, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and state law.
The investigators provide information that the Appraisal Board uses in forming its opinion of whether a violation has occurred.
The investigators employed by the Appraisal Board provide factual information, utilizing objective reporting procedures. Opinions given by the investigators, whether verbally or in writing, will only be those logically flowing from the factual data contained in the investigation file. Such opinions, which may be given in testimony or during discussion of probable cause or consent orders, are not considered to be appraisal reviews.
USPAP defines an appraisal review as “the act or process of developing and communicating an opinion about the quality of another appraiser’s work that was performed as part of an appraisal, appraisal review, or appraisal consulting assignment.” The beginning of Standard 3 of USPAP states “In developing an appraisal review assignment, as appraiser acting as a reviewer...”
The investigators employed by the Appraisal Board do not develop opinions as to the quality of another appraiser’s work. They are not given appraisal review assignments as part of their investigations, and they are not acting as reviewers. From the definition of appraisal review and from Standard 3, it is clear that the requirements of Standard 3 do not apply to appraisers who are employed by occupational licensing boards to investigate complaints against appraisers. Standard 3, therefore, is not considered applicable to investigative services and testimony by investigators employed by the Appraisal Board who are also state-certified real estate appraisers.
The Appraisal Board is given the authority to prescribe the standards of practice for its licensees pursuant to G.S. 93E-1-10. Appraisal Board Rule 21 NCAC 57A .0501 adopts certain portions of USPAP as the Board’s standard of practice. This rule applies to Appraisal Board licensees only when they are performing the acts and services of a real estate appraiser. It does not apply to licensees who are providing investigation services for the Appraisal Board. The services of the Board’s investigators are therefore not subject to the provisions of Standard 3 of USPAP.
Conditional Dismissal
During Board meetings, a recommendation is made to the Board that the case should be dismissed, dismissed with a letter of warning, dismissed with conditions, or should proceed to a hearing. Under the conditional dismissal, the Board decides that the case against the respondent be dismissed once the respondent successfully completes a specified continuing education or prelicensing class. The respondent is given a finite amount of time, usually six months, to complete the course; if the course is completed, the case is then dismissed with no further Board involvement. If the course is not completed, the matter is brought back to the Board for further consideration.
A conditional dismissal is not considered a disciplinary action.
Board Member Participation at Probable Cause
If deemed necessary, the Board Chair will assign one or two Board members to go over any or all of the probable cause summaries with staff before each Board meeting. The assigned Board member can look at the entire file and ask questions of the investigator. If the Board member is not satisfied with staff’s recommendation, he or she can ask staff to do further investigation and bring the case back in the future. If the Board member agrees with the staff recommendation, staff will do a cursory statement at the Board meeting, including a recommendation to the Board. The meeting with staff will take place at a time determined by the Board member. The Board member who assists with this process shall recuse himself or herself from deliberations or voting during the Probable Cause process or a hearing.
Publication of Disciplinary Actions
All disciplinary actions will be published in the North Carolina Appraisal Board Newsletter.
When the Board accepts a consent order that allows the sanction to be reduced upon some action of the respondent (e.g., suspension reduced to a reprimand if respondent completes a standards course), notification will be done according to the lesser sanction. If the respondent does not take the action necessary to reduce the sanction, the notification will take place at that time. For example, if the respondent accepts a two-month active suspension which will be reduced to a reprimand if he takes a standards course by September 1, publication of the disciplinary action will take place only in the Newsletter. If the respondent fails to complete the course by the deadline, the full sanction will be imposed and notification of the suspension may be sent to the press and court, as well as published in the Newsletter.
The publication will contain the name of the respondent, the respondent’s city or town of residence, a brief summary of the facts, and the disciplinary sanction imposed. No publication will take place until the time for appeal of the Board’s actions has passed. If the Board’s decision is appealed, publication will not take place until a final decision has been received.
Character Conference Policy
Applications that involve an applicant’s fitness for licensure may go before the Board for consideration. Character matters will appear on the agenda in a generic manner with the names of the individual applicants not shown.
At the first consideration by the Board, the Board may approve the application, table the application and offer the applicant a character conference, or defer the application and notify the applicant of his right to a hearing before the Board. If the applicant chooses not to request a hearing within 60 days, the application is considered denied.
Two Board members (scheduled on a rotating basis) and one or two staff members will meet with the applicant to discuss the application. Conferences will usually be no more than 30 minutes in length. They are informal in nature, with no court reporter and no witnesses. The applicant may have legal counsel and others with him and may present written documents such as reference letters and court records. The panel will ask questions of the applicant for the purpose of assessing his credibility and fitness for licensure. After each conference, the panel will determine its recommended action on the applicant.
The panel will present a list of the applicants that they considered at a conference and the recommendation for each. The full Board will then vote whether to accept or reject the panel’s recommendations.
After the Board meeting, candidates are notified of the Board’s decision. If the matter does go to a hearing, the Board members who served on the conference panel may hear the case. The applicant, however, may elect to not have these Board members participate. Such an election must be made in writing and presented to legal counsel at least 5 calendar days prior to the hearing.
Appraiser Disciplinary Actions
Options at Probable Cause:
1. Dismiss
There are no violations
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2. Dismiss with warning
There are violations, but there are mitigating circumstances
3. Conditional Dismissal with education
There are violations, but there are mitigating circumstances and the potential for a reoccurrence of a violation.
4. Call to a hearing
There are violations, and the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances.
After Probable Cause:
1. Reprimand – conditions*
2. Inactive suspension/Probation – conditions*
3. Active suspension – conditions*
4. Revocation
5. Voluntary surrender
*Conditions may include:
1. Additional education
2. Submitting a log for a specific period of time in the future
3. Limiting the scope of practice
4. Requiring the respondent to retake the state examination
AMC Disciplinary Actions
Options at Probable Cause:
1. Dismiss
There are no violations
2. Dismiss with warning
There are violations, but there are mitigating circumstances
3. Dismiss with conditions*
There are violations, but there are mitigating circumstances and the potential for a reoccurrence of a violation.
4. Call to a hearing
There are violations, and the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances.
After Probable Cause:
1. Reprimand - conditions*
2. Fine - The amount will vary based on the percentage of the assignments that were affected.
3. Inactive suspension/Probation - conditions*
4. Active suspension - conditions*
5. Revocation
6. Voluntary surrender
*Conditions may include:
1. Submitting a log for a specific period of time in the future showing appraisal assignments, the date transmitted, and date paid.
2. Submitting other information as agreed to for a specific time in the future.
Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances
An aggravating factor is any information or evidence regarding the deficiency that might result in an increased sanction. Aggravating circumstances may include, but are not limited to:
• Prior deficiencies of another type that have not been corrected
• Prior deficiencies of the same type
• Refusal to acknowledge the deficiency
• Lack of cooperation with the Board staff
• A lack of willingness or ability to correct deficiencies
• Deficiencies that are material and, if not corrected in a timely manner, pose a potential risk
• Submission of false statements or documents, or other deceptive practices A mitigating factor is any information or evidence regarding the deficiency that might result in a decreased sanction.
Mitigating circumstances may include, but are not limited to:
• No prior deficiencies of any type
• Prior deficiencies of another type that were minor and have been corrected
• Understanding and acknowledging the deficiency
• The respondent notified the Board of the deficiency when it occurred
• Immediate steps taken to correct the issue
• Personnel issues such as loss of a key staff member