2015 not only brought changes to the FHA guidelines on appraisals, but also significant changes on who can obtain the appraisal certification.

For instance, when you would like to become a Licensed Residential Appraiser after January 15^th 2015 you must have 30 semester credit hours of college level education from an accredited college, junior college, community college, or university OR an Associate’s degree or higher (in any field). Prior to January 15^th 2015 there was not a minimum educational requirement to become a Licensed Residential Appraiser.

Another example is the Certified Residential Appraiser. Before January 15^th 2015 you had to have 21 semester credit hours in specified collegiate subject matter courses from an accredited college or university OR an Associate’s degree or higher. Now after January you have to hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher (in any field) from an accredited college or university.

There are many more changes to the appraiser and supervisory appraiser certification that will go into effect at the same time. They also added topics to their educational material like green building, seller concessions, and developing opinions of real property value in appraisals, which also include personal property and/or business value.

To find out about the changes on what it takes to become a certified appraiser or appraiser supervisor we included a link to a PDF published by the Appraiser Qualifications Board of The Appraisal Foundation. To read more about the Appraisal Foundation here is a link directly to their website.

When you would like to find out more about real estate in general contact the Settles Team.