Update 08/22/2019 at 2:30 p.m. PT
Clear Capital is now registered as an AMC in Alaska, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia and can provide AMC services for all types of transactions, including FRTs.
The U.S. territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have elected not to register AMCs and there is no indication that this decision will change in the near future. AMCs can provide appraisal management services in the U.S. territories on all transaction types except FRTs.
If you have questions about this issue, please contact us at 530-550-2525.
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Update 08/09/2019 at 9 p.m. PT
Massachusetts
Clear Capital is now registered in the state of Massachusetts and can provide AMC services for all types of transactions, including FRTs.
District of Columbia
Clear Capital is now registered in the District of Columbia and can provide AMC services for all types of transactions, including FRTs.
Alaska
Clear Capital is now registered in the state of Alaska and can provide AMC services for all types of transactions, including FRTs.
New Jersey
The state is actively receiving and reviewing AMC registration applications. Clear Capital has submitted its registration application in New Jersey and expects to hear back shortly. As of August 10, we have not received a provisional license. We can continue to provide AMC services for all transactions, except FRTs.
U.S. Territories
The territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have elected not to register AMCs and there is no indication that this decision will change in the near future.
Updated Terms of Use
We have updated our terms of use for your clearcapital.com account with the following language regarding AMC services in these states:
Appraisal Order Restriction: Federal law prohibits an appraisal management company from performing appraisal management services for federally related transactions in a State (defined as the 50 states, District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) in which Clear Capital is not or cannot be registered by August 10, 2019. A State that does not register appraisal management companies is considered a “non-registering state.” Clear Capital can continue to provide appraisal services in non-registering states for non-federally related transactions as well as non-appraisal services for all transactions. Account Holder understands this restriction and agrees it will not place an order on ClearCapital.com for appraisal services for a federally related transaction in a non-registering state.
If you have questions about this issue, please contact us at 530-550-2525.
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Update 08/07/2019 at 5 p.m. PT
Massachusetts
Clear Capital is now registered in the state of Massachusetts and can provide AMC services for all types of transactions, including FRTs.
New Jersey & District of Columbia
Both states are actively receiving and reviewing AMC registration applications. Clear Capital has submitted its registration application in each of these states and expects to hear back shortly. The time frame to review our application may vary by state, and it remains uncertain whether we can be registered (provisionally or otherwise) in these states before August 10.
Alaska
Alaska’s AMC registration has become a risk over the last few weeks. Clear Capital submitted our application back in April, but Alaska has not reviewed our application nor the applications of many other AMCs. We are actively working with Alaska to expedite our application; however, there is a risk we will not be registered by August 10.
U.S. Territories
The territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have elected not to register AMCs and there is no indication that this decision will change in the near future.
Updated Terms of Use
We have updated our terms of use for your clearcapital.com account with the following language regarding AMC services in these states:
Appraisal Order Restriction: Federal law prohibits an appraisal management company from performing appraisal management services for federally related transactions in a State (defined as the 50 states, District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) in which Clear Capital is not or cannot be registered by August 10, 2019. A State that does not register appraisal management companies is considered a “non-registering state.” Clear Capital can continue to provide appraisal services in non-registering states for non-federally related transactions as well as non-appraisal services for all transactions. Account Holder understands this restriction and agrees it will not place an order on ClearCapital.com for appraisal services for a federally related transaction in a non-registering state.
If you have questions about this issue, please contact us at 530-550-2525.
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Update 07/22/2019 at 7 a.m. PT
Dodd-Frank amended the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) in 2010 to prohibit appraisal management companies (AMCs) from performing services related to Federally Related Transactions (FRTs) in a state (50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia) that does not regulate appraisal management companies.
After minimum AMC registration requirements were passed by federal regulators, states had until August 10, 2019 at the latest to pass an AMC registration program and register AMCs.
If a state chooses not to participate and supervise AMCs, then under FIRREA, an AMC cannot provide appraisal management services for FRTs in that State. The same would apply if a state wanted to supervise AMCs, but did not have a program in place to register AMCs.
Clear Capital (specifically, ClearCapital.com, Inc.) is an AMC. As a result, this restriction applies to states where Clear Capital is not registered by August 10, 2019.
As of July 10, 2019, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia have not registered AMCs. We believe this issue is temporary and are actively working with the states, trade associations, and other stakeholders to finalize legislation and/or registration programs.
But we believe Clear Capital may be unable to be registered as an AMC in these states until after August 10, 2019. The U.S. territories have not registered AMCs since August 2018 and will continue not to do so. Until we are registered in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, Clear Capital cannot provide appraisal management services related for FRTs in these states on and after August 10, 2019.
Importantly, the above requirements do not apply to appraisal management services provided by an AMC for non-federally related transactions as well as non-appraisal products (such as broker price opinions, and others). More information regarding FIRREA is available on the Appraisal Subcommittee’s website.
We will update this blog post as we learn more about the AMC registration programs in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
If you have questions about this issue, please contact us at 530-550-2525.
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