THE SIGNAGE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE, INC.

For the last 30 years, land use decisions have involved three general types of practitioner or professional: 1) the land use planner and the transportation engineer, who are specialists in neighborhood and district land use patterns, 2) the public appraiser, usually identified as the county tax assessor, and 3) the private appraiser, who is employed by private parties, financial institutions and government lenders or loan guarantors, e.g., the federal Veterans' Administration or HUD. Prior to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980's, members of these three groups could express an opinion about the value of real estate interests without benefit of specific training or expertise. In the wake of the crisis, the federal government learned that flawed appraisals or value determinations contributed significantly to loan foreclosures and financial institution failures. In response, the federal government enacted the 1989 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) -- a consumer based legislative effort which subjects the appraisal profession and American financial institutions to extensive regulation regarding appraisal valuation and evaluation processes.

Professional real estate appraiser conduct, standing (licensure and certification) and education are under the control and supervision of the states, the Appraisal Foundation, and the federal Appraisal Subcommittee -- a regulatory body created by FIRREA legislation. The Foundation Appraisal Standards Board is responsible for "Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice" (USPAP); USPAP applies to all real estate appraisers undertaking assignments in federally referred transactions, and sets out the data and research methodology to apply to the task. All states have adopted USPAP for real estate appraisers practicing within their jurisdiction. An appraiser licensed or certified under USPAP risks both civil and criminal sanctions for failure to follow USPAP requirements.