The Real Estate Commission and Appraisal Committee coordinated a Forum for Appraiser Regulatory Officials in Washington, D.C. on February 23 - 25. Members and administrators of state agencies responsible for licensing/certifying and regulating real estate appraisers were invited to attend the Forum. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia were represented.
The purpose of the Forum was to afford the delegates an opportunity to exchange ideas and information and to be briefed by key federal officials on vital matters affecting the development and administration of state programs to license and certify real estate appraisers. Among the speakers were David S. Bunton, Executive Vice-President of The Appraisal Foundation, Miles M. Etter, Vice-Chairman of the Foundation's Appraiser Qualifications Board, former Capitol Hill Legislative Staffer Peter Barash, and [Federal1 Appraisal Subcommittee Member Robert Miailovich	.

Presentations were also made by Ren Liner, Director of the Texas Real Estate Appraisal Certification Committee, Jane H. Moody, Executive Director of the Louisiana Real Estate Commission and Appraisal Subcommittee, Michael L. Austin, former Chairman of The Appraisal Foundation and current Chairman of the Maine Real Estate Appraiser Board, and Georgia Real Estate Commissioner Charles Clark, President of the National Association of Real Estate License Law Officials. Mark Stauffer, Legal Counsel to the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, presided over the Forum. North Carolina Real Estate Commission Executive Director Phillip T. Fisher and Education and Licensing Director Larry A. Outlaw also addressed the Forum participants.

The Forum was a big success both in terms of the number of delegates in attendance and the quality of the programs presented. The Commission and Appraisal Committee received glowing accolades from the participants for their efforts in arranging the meeting, and special thanks were extended to the Commission's Director of Appraiser Licensing and Certification,James E. Poole, Jr., Appraiser Secretary Sylvia Samsel and Clerk Sheryl Richards, and to Fran Whitley, the Commission's Director of Administration, for their special contributions to the success of this event.

Federal law requires that beginning July 1, all appraisals in federally-related transactions must be performed by either state-licensed or state-certified appraisers.

The Real Estate Commission and Appraisal Committee are pleased to report that North Carolina's real estate appraisers are responding to this deadline by completing the requirements for licensure and certification, including satisfying the education and experience requirements and passing their licensure and certification examinations.

The Commission's Appraisal Division reports that through the February examination, approximately 1,100 appraisers have been licensed or certified in North Carolina. It is projected that there may be as many as 2,000 North Carolina State-licensed and State-certified appraisers by the July I deadline.

Persons interested in pursuing appraiser licensure or certification should contact the Real Estate Commission's Appraisal Division for further information.