54-14-38. Improper influence on real estate appraisals prohibited--Grounds for discipline.
No mortgage lender, mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator, required to be licensed or registered by this chapter, with an interest in a real estate transaction or the financing of any loan secured by real estate involving an appraisal assignment may improperly influence or attempt to improperly influence the development, reporting, result, or review of a real estate appraisal by:
(1)Coercion, extortion, or bribery;
(2)Withholding or threatened withholding of payment for an appraisal fee;
(3)Conditioning of the payment of an appraisal fee upon the opinion, conclusion, or valuation to be reached;
(4)Requesting that the appraiser report a predetermined opinion, conclusion, or valuation or the desired valuation of any person; or
(5)Any other act or practice that impairs or attempts to impair an appraiser's independence, objectivity, and impartiality.
A violation of this section may constitute grounds for discipline against a mortgage lender, mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator who is licensed or registered pursuant to this chapter.
Source: SL 2009, ch 192, §3.