On July 29, the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) voted 6-1 to extend an existing commercial appraisal waiver originally granted to the state of North Dakota.
Originally, the temporary waiver was approved in 2019 upon determination by the ASC there was a scarcity of appraisers in the state, leading to significant delays and performance in appraisals, the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) announced on its website.
The original waiver covered both residential and commercial properties, but the residential waiver sunsetted upon the increase in the federal appraisal threshold.
“While the ASC concluded that turnaround times on commercial property appraisals have improved over the past year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they want to afford parties in the state more time to continue to improve the situation,” the ASA said.
The ASC voted in favor of the temporary waiver extension request for one year with the following conditions:
- North Dakota must continue to develop with the North Dakota Appraiser Board and stakeholders a plan to identify solutions to appraiser scarcity and delays, where they exist; and,
- The ASC may terminate the extension at any time if they find that delays in appraisals no longer exist.
The North Dakota Appraiser Board, which opposed the original waiver request, also opposed the grant of an extension, citing improved performance and a lack of engagement by the state with impacted stakeholders.