March Update 
President's Message
Unfortunately, we have discouraging news to share.
Our Statute of Limitations bill did not make it out of the House Rules Committee prior to the deadline to move it to the floor for a vote. We were not alone as more than 100 bills suffered the same fate. The legislation session simply ran out of time while the speaker of the house advanced higher priority bills of her choosing.
Our lobbyist had many conversations with legislators, including leadership throughout the process, assuring us that there would be no problem with the bill. We were on the right track, and it all looked promising, right up to the 5pm deadline.
It is frustrating that the Rules Committee could not advance bills that came out of the various committees in good fashion.
However, we need to celebrate advancing the statute of limitations bill through the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee with a unanimous vote. This is a huge first-time accomplishment that gives us energy to reintroduce this bill in the longer 2027 session. We will re-engage with the trial lawyers, hone our strategies and work closely with our legislative champions to take it the rest of the way next year. We are in a good position to prefile the bill this November and will have our sponsors ready to go at the opening bell.
I want to commend the members of the Coalition who stood up to help us through this process with late night phone calls, last-minute emails to representatives and trips to Olympia. We appreciate all the effort you put in.
I also want to thank our friends in Olympia, including our lobbyist Tony Sermonti, the Department of Licensing, the Real Estate Appraiser Commission, as well as members of the Appraisal Institute Seattle chapter and the National Government Affairs committee for their support and guidance along the way. You all deserve to be recognized for your efforts to help Washington State appraisers. There is indeed power in numbers.
We will be back!
Kathy
PS. Hope to see you at ACTS.
News in the Profession
AQB Comments Deadline
The Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) is seeking comments and input from the appraisal community on the:
The deadline to comment is today, 3/3.
We encourage everyone to participate and provide their input on these important changes. Please click here to send the AQB your comments or email to [email protected].
The AQB will host its next virtual public meeting on 3/19 from 1-2 PM ET and you can register for that here.
UAD 3.6 - Did you know?
UAD 3.6 is so much more than a new way to fill out an appraisal report. We encourage every appraiser to familiarize themselves with all the changes coming in 2026. Over the next few months, our newsletter will highlight some of the largest changes published in the Selling Guide Supplement.
Did you know that documenting the assistance of a trainee appraiser is changing?
There is a new section to document significant assistance of your trainee. Here is the updated information provided by Fannie Mae: Fannie Mae's UAD 3.6 Policy Update. From page 49:
"Fannie Mae allows an appraiser trainee (or other similar classification) to perform a significant amount of the appraisal or the entire appraisal when they are qualified to do so.
When an appraiser trainee (licensed or unlicensed) has the requisite knowledge and develops the opinion of value, they must:
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sign the appraiser certification as the appraiser accepting responsibility for all elements of the report,
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indicate whether they did or did not personally inspect the subject property, and
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have a supervisory appraiser review their work and sign the supervisory appraiser certifications as acceptable under state law.
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When an appraiser trainee (licensed or unlicensed) provides significant real property appraisal assistance but does not develop the opinion of value, they must:
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work under the supervision of a state-licensed or state-certified appraiser as an employee or sub-contractor;
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be named in the appraiser certification, and the signing appraiser must certify that the individual named is qualified to perform the assistance;
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not sign the appraiser certification; and
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be acceptable under state law."
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Full information and posted updates can be found here:
Uniform Appraisal Dataset | Fannie Mae
UAD 3.6 Timeline: Phase 3 (Expected in April-June 2026)
Events and Education
ACTS Conference in Seattle
The two-day 2026 ACTS conference is right around the corner. This event is co-hosted by the National Appraisers Association and Appraiser e-Learning, and will be held April 11th through 14th at the Seattle Airport Marriott. As the State Organization host, we are very excited to see an event of this magnitude taking place in our beautiful city.
Note that there’s a registration deadline coming up on 3/15 for the current rate (prices go up after that) and that members of the Coalition receive the NAA member rate. Trainees, your rate is discounted even further, and there’s a really fun series of events that you can sign up for, including a Murder Mystery Night for you and Supervisors, plus a field trip to a new residential development community where you’ll get some hands-on experience with lots of tips, techniques, and tools to be shared, best practices while mobile, and a follow up after the conference on what importing all that data into a report looks like. For more information about these events, click the image below.
For information about the registration process and getting your discounted rate or visit the ACTS registration page.
Upcoming Class: Valuation Bias and Fair Housing
We'll be hosting another class with Attorney, Peter Christensen. Click the image below for more details and to register.
Appraisal Institute Updates
Are you ready for UAD 3.6? The Seattle Chapter of the Appraisal Institute is offering two courses for residential appraisers and reviewers of residential appraisal reports.
Reporting Market Analysis and Better Understanding the new URAR is intended to show appraisers how to complete a thorough and credible market analysis.
Supporting Adjustments and Reporting the Sales Comparison Approach in the new URAR focuses on an effective manner of developing and supporting the sales comparison approach section of the new URAR.
They are being offered in-person and synchronously on March 27, 2026.
You can find more information or register for one or both courses by clicking here.
Board of Directors Meeting
Our monthly board meeting will be held on March 10th, 2026 at 4:30 PM. Guests are welcome to attend.
Please register for attendance by clicking here. Your email confirmation will provide a Zoom link that requires a second registration which will provide call details and link that can be copied to your calendar to attend the meeting.
We Appreciate Your Support
Your membership supports the day-to-day functioning of the organization and, most importantly, our Lobbyist in Olympia. Along with our Lobbyist, our board of volunteers works with industry partners to protect and promote the interests of all Appraisers in Washington State.
Not a member yet? Click below to join us today.
