The year 2002 will be one of change for Licensed Illinois Appraisers. On July 1, 2002 the current Illinois Appraiser’s Law will be no more and in its place will be a new Appraisal Law. The new law will bring Illinois licensed appraisers into compliance with the regulations set forth by the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB), the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) and standards established for all Illinois regulatory statutes. Illinois licensed appraisers will find that the changes will clarify and in many cases simplify the appraisal process. Outlined below are the major changes to Illinois Appraisal Law.

· The new law will restore the AQB Criteria to appraisal regulation. That means that each rank of license will be restricted in the type of appraisal that they may do. Currently any rank of license can value any property in the state. On July 1st each rank will return to the restrictions contained in the AQB Criteria. In addition, the education and experience requirements of the AQB will automatically become part of Illinois Appraisal Law as they change. Each of the three appraisal ranks will be required to complete the same amount of continuing education per license period.

· The State Licensed Appraiser rank will be eliminated as of July 1, 2002. Those licensed appraisers who hold the rank of State Licensed Appraiser will be allowed to continue to practice under that rank for the duration of the licensing period, i.e. September 30, 2003. No new State Licensed Appraiser licenses will be issued after July 1, 2002. The rank was established as an entry-level rank, with the hope that beginning appraisers would find a more experienced appraiser to help them through the difficult and often confusing early stages of Real Estate Appraisal. This has not happened and the rank finds itself the subject of 46% of the complaints filed against appraisers in the State of Illinois. What is even more disturbing, State Licensed Appraisers received 58% of the Orders written by the Appraisal Division. We are returning to the entry- level concept that will require beginning appraisers to gain experience before being allowed to value real estate alone.

· The new law will establish the License Rank of Associate Real Estate Appraiser.  This rank will be an entry level appraiser rank that will require the Associate Real Estate Appraiser to have their reports supervised and signed by a licensed Certified Illinois Appraiser. As of September 30, 2003 the license rank of State Licensed Appraiser will be no more. The State Licensed Appraiser (#154) has always been an entry level license rank. The Associate rank further defines the limits of the entry-level appraiser classification. Licensees who currently hold the rank of State Licensed Appraiser are encouraged to work toward the Certified rank before the mandated change in September 2003.

· A Supplemental Standard has been adopted for all Illinois Licensed Appraisers beginning July 1, 2002. As of that date all reports by licensed Illinois Appraisers must identify the person ordering the appraisal in the client section of the report. In addition to naming the client as XYZ Mortgage, etc, all reports must have the name of the person ordering the appraisal. An example would be: Client…John Doe, of XYZ Bank.

· The new law adopts the current USPAP regulations as of the date of the report. The current law in some sections makes the 1998 version of USPAP the controlling edition of USPAP. This has caused some confusion for Illinois appraisers. As of July 1st , appraisers will be bound by the USPAP Standards that are in force as of the time the report is done.

· The new law will bring Illinois into compliance with all Appraisal Foundation and ASC regulations as well as compliance with all other Illinois laws. This will mean that Temporary Practice regulations will conform with the rest of the states. It will mean that those Licensees who are not current with Child Support, Student Loans and Illinois Income Taxes will not be allowed to hold an Illinois Appraisal License.

· Illinois Appraisal Board is not effected by the new law. Their powers and duties remain unchanged.

· Illinois licensed appraisers will find that the renewal and license fees will be reduced by 10% beginning with the 2003 renewal.

We would like to thank OBRE Director Mike Brown for providing us with this summary - overview of the new law.

There are of course many other changes to the law that are designed to clarify the practice of real estate appraisal in our state. You may view the law in it entirety by clicking on the link below.

VIEW REAL ESTATE LICENSING ACT OF 2002