In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly amended N.C.G.S. 93E-2-4 to require that appraisal management companies post a North Carolina appraisal management company surety bond in the amount of $25,000 bond. The law went in to effect on January 1, 2014, and states that, “Each applicant for registration or for a renewal of a registration shall post with the Board and maintain a surety bond in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in a form satisfactory to the Board of Appraisal and must accrue to the Board for the benefit of a claimant against the registrant to secure the faithful performance of the registrant’s obligations under the Article and to a real estate appraiser who has performed an appraisal for the registrant for which the appraiser has not been paid”. The bond obligation is not cumulative, the aggregate liability of the surety not exceeding the principal sum of the bond. A third party having a claim against the registrant may bring suit directly on the surety bond, or the Board may bring suit on behalf of the party having a claim against the registrant, either in one action or in successive actions. Any claim reducing the face amount of the North Carolina appraisal management company bond must be increased at renewal of the registrant’s registration so that the bond amount restored to $25,000. The obligation is continuous, remaining in effect until surety’s cancellation, which may occur only after 90 days written notice to the Board. Cancellation does not affect any liability incurred or accrued during the bonded period. The surety bond shall has a two year tail after the registrant ceases operations in this State however the Board may permit the surety bond to be reduced or eliminated prior to that time to the extent that the amount of the registrant’s outstanding obligations to appraisers is reduced. The appraisal management company surety bond and application materials should be submitted to:
North Carolina Appraisal Board
North Carolina Appraisal Management Company Surety Bond
5830 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27609
Subsequent to the enactment of the new statute the Board issued new rules implementing the changes. While most of the rules are based on the law which adopted the new AQB criteria, added the Licensed Residential credential and added a surety bond requirement for AMCs, there are also terminology changes from “prelicensing” or “precertification” education to “qualifying” education and administrative directives pertinent to instructors and trainees. The the A.R.s may be viewed at http://ncappraisalboard.org/RuleMaking.pdf.
North Carolina surety leader, Surety One, Inc. is a specialist in the bonding needs of the appraisal profession. We offer both surety and fidelity bonds needed by these professionals in ALL fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visit us at SuretyOne.com, call (787) 333-0222 or (800) 373-2804, or email us at Underwriting@SuretyOne.com for a North Carolina appraisal management company surety bond application or information on ANY surety bonding need.
