This Appraiser Panel Registration Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into by and between Crest Appraisal Management, LLC (“Crest”) a California Limited Liability Company, having an office at 2135 Butano Drive, Ste. 100, Sacramento, California 95825, and the Appraiser executing this Agreement below, on behalf of yourself as Individual, and/or as the Authorized Agent for the registering apprasier, together collectively referred to as the “Parties” throughout this Agreement.

WHEREAS, Crest is duly authorized, licensed or registered as may be required as an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) to perform services to creditors or secondary mortgage market participants in connection with valuing a consumer's principal dwelling as security for a consumer credit transaction, including consumer credit transactions incorporated into securitizations, by contracting with licensed and certified appraisers to perform appraisal assignments and managing the process of having an appraisal performed, providing administrative duties such as receiving appraisal orders and appraisal reports, submitting completed appraisal reports to creditors and underwriters, collecting fees from creditors for services provided, and reimbursing appraisers for services performed; review and verify the work of appraisers, ensure compliance with applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank Act, section 129E(a)-(i) of the Truth in Lending Act; the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) pursuant to Title XI of the Federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 USC 3331 et seq.), and the collective guidelines of the Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) pertaining to federally related mortgage loans.
WHEREAS, the Appraiser is duly qualified, certified or licensed as the case may be, and in good standing in the jurisdictions as authorized to perform written or oral analysis, opinion or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real estate, competently and in a manner that is independent, impartial, and objective under USPAP, applicable federal law, including but not limited to Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank Act, section 129E(a)-(i) of the Truth in Lending Act; the laws of the states in which Appraiser is authorized to conduct appraiser services, and the collective guidelines of the GSEs pertaining federally related mortgage loans.
WHEREAS, the Appraiser shall be deemed part of Crest's panel of appraisers (the Panel) as of the date on which Crest approves the Appraiser to the Panel as eligible to conduct future appraisal assignments on behalf of Crest.
The Appraiser acknowledges and consents to the Appraiser's standards of review by Crest and the obligations of the Appraiser upon approval to the Panel, including but not limited to strict compliance with Crest's policies and procedures, the foregoing laws, regulations, and professional standards governing appraisal services. Further, the Appraiser acknowledges and consents to Crest's supervision of the Appraiser's activities, and further acknowledges that it is the duty and responsibility of both Crest and Appraiser, to respectively protect and preserve the overall public trust in appraisal practices by the Parties' observation of the highest standards of professional ethics. Appraiser agrees to conduct appraisal services in a manner that is competent, independent, meaningful and not misleading.
 
TERMS OF AGREEMENT
Section I

GENERAL STANDARDS OF COMPLIANCE UNDER USPAP
a. Appraiser shall comply with USPAP, Appraiser Independence Rule (AIR) all applicable federal laws and regulations, state laws and regulations, GSE appraisal guidelines and standards, lender assignment requirements (which shall not violate the Law), Crest’s policies and standards of conduct, and standards of professional appraisal services to include, but not limited to the following:
1. Conduct appraisals in a competent, independent, impartial, and objective manner;
2. Provide competent appraisal products, even where the assignment is considered “rushed” or “priority” based on lender timeframe or other appropriate limitations;
3. Comply with USPAP Rules on Ethics, Record Keeping, Competency, Scope of Work, in all aspects of appraisal practice, including when providing an opinion about the quality of another appraiser's work performed as part of an appraisal or appraisal review assignment;
4. Maintain the data, information and analysis necessary to support opinions for appraisal and appraisal review assignments;
5. Comply with Appraiser Independence Rule, Fair Lending Laws, Fair Housing Laws, Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) rules, including but not limited to Appraiser's obligation to:
i. perform assignments without bias, or reliance on unsupported conclusions relating to characteristics such as race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, familial status, age, receipt of public assistance income, handicap, or an unsupported conclusion that homogeneity of such characteristics is necessary to maximize value;
ii. refrain from advocating the cause or interest of any party or issue;
iii. refuse assignments that include the reporting of predetermined opinions and conclusions;
iv. not misrepresent his or her role when providing valuation services that are outside of appraiser practice;
v. not communicate assignment results with the intent to mislead or to defraud;
vi. not use or communicate a report that is known by the appraiser to be misleading or fraudulent;
vii. not knowingly permit an employee or other person to communicate a misleading or fraudulent report;
viii. not perform assignments in a careless, negligent or grossly negligent manner;
ix. not engage in criminal conduct; and
x. not willfully or knowingly violate any laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies or standards of conduct governing the appraisal service profession.

Section II

GENERAL STANDARDS OF COMPLIANCE APPRAISER INDEPENDENCE REQUIREMENTS
a. Crest is responsible for compliance with The Appraiser Independence Requirements (“AIR”) for consumer credit transactions secured by the consumer's principal dwelling under the terms of the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”).
This section is included to ensure that, as with USPAP, the Appraiser is expected to understand the obligations to Crest and the Appraiser, respectively, under AIR: and comply with AIR.
b. Prohibited Conduct under AIR. To maintain appraiser independence, TILA prohibits the following actions in consumer-credit transactions secured by a consumer's principal dwelling:
1. Causing or attempting to cause the value assigned to the property to be based on a factor other than the independent judgment of the Appraiser, by compensating, coercing, extorting, colluding with, instructing, inducing, bribing, or intimidating a person conducting or involved in an appraiser;
2. Mischaracterizing, or suborning any mischaracterization of, the appraised value of the property securing the extension of credit;
3. Seeking to influence an Appraiser or otherwise encourage a targeted value to facilitate the making or pricing of the transaction;
4. Withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment for an appraisal report or for appraisal services rendered when the appraisal report or services are provided for in accordance with the contract between the Parties.
c. Crest May Engage In The Following Permissible Conduct under AIR:
1. Asking an Appraiser to consider additional, appropriate property information, including information regarding additional comparable properties to make or support an appraisal;
2. Asking an Appraiser to provide further detail, substantiation, or explanation for the value conclusion;
3. Asking an Appraiser to correct errors in the report;
4. Withholding compensation due to breach of contract or substandard performance of services;
5. Taking action permitted or required by applicable federal or state statute, regulation or agency guidance.
d. AIR applies to the following:
1. Covered Persons
i. Creditors;
ii. Appraiser Management Companies (AMC);
iii. Appraisers;
iv. Mortgage Brokers;
v. Realtors
vi. Title Insurers, and
vii. Other settlement service providers (as defined under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act RESPA).
2. Covered Transactions
i. Closed end credit transaction secured by consumer's principal dwelling;
ii. Open end credit transaction secured by consumer's principal dwelling;
iii. Home equity plans secured by a consumer's principal dwelling.
e. Appraiser Disclosure Requirements. AIR prohibits a person from preparing a valuation or performing valuation management functions for a covered transaction if he or she has a direct or indirect interest in the property or transaction. CREST WILL NEVER ENGAGE IN MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS INVOLVING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND REQUIRE ALL APPROVED APPRAISERS TO AFFIRM THAT THE APPRAISER HAS NO CONFLICT WITH RESPECT TO THE SUBJECT PROPERTY. THE APPRAISER IS REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE THE FOLLOWING TO CREST AT THE EARLIEST TIME THAT THE APPRAISER IS AWARE OR SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THE MATTER TO BE DISCLOSED EXISTS:
1. Conflict of Interest. Under AIR, no Appraiser or AMC may have a direct or indirect interest, financial or otherwise, in the property or transaction involving the appraisal. The Appraiser must disclose to Crest any conflict or potential conflict of interest, if known prior to accepting an assignment, and, or if discovered at any time during the assignment, after the assignment, and in each subsequent report certification, including but not limited to the following:
i. any current or prospective interest in the subject property or parties involved, such as whether appraiser is related by familial status, prior or present business relationships, present or former employer, present or former business partnership or other interests, current or ongoing negotiations concerning future relationships, or other factor whatsoever, in any manner or form, that Appraiser could be connected with the property, or in any manner or form that may suggest impropriety, or may tend to cause the appearance of impropriety, or actual impropriety, including but not limited to relationships, familiarity, prior or present partnerships, prior or present or other relationships with the:
(1) mortgage loan originator/mortgage broker;
(2) mortgage lender's production-based employees;
(3) real estate agent;
(4) closing attorney;
(5) property owner/seller/purchaser; and
(6) any other real estate settlement services provider connected with the subject property.
2. Three Year Rule for Subject Property Appraiser Disclosure. If known prior to accepting an assignment from Crest, or if discovered at any time during the assignment, the Appraiser must disclose to Crest, and in each subsequent report certification as follows:
i. Any current or prospective interest in the subject property or parties involved; and
ii. Any services regarding the subject property performed by the Appraiser within the three-year period immediately preceding acceptance of the assignment, as an Appraiser or in any other capacity;
iii. The Appraiser is not obligated to disclose where such disclosure would violate UPSPAP privacy requirements such as in the case where the Appraiser has agreed with a lender or other client to keep the mere occurrence of a prior assignment confidential as follows:
(1) If an Appraiser has agreed with a lender or other client not to disclose that the Appraiser has appraised the subject property, the Appraiser must decline all subsequent assignments on the subject property from Crest for any assignment that falls within the three-year period subject to the agreement with the Lender; and
(2) In assignments in which there is no appraisal or appraisal review report, only the initial disclosure to Crest is required.
f. Impairment of Appraiser Independence. Crest is responsible for compliance with the Appraiser Independence Rule, as such, Crest will never coerce or attempt to coerce, or engage in in extortion, inducement, bribery, intimidation, compensation or instruction to, or collusion with the Appraiser, directly or indirectly, to assign a value based on any other factor other than the Appraiser's independent judgment.
1. To protect the Appraiser from any unlawful influence in violation of the AIR, the Appraiser must disclose to Crest whether the Appraiser is asked to perform appraisal services by any party, such as a mortgage broker, loan originator, any member of a mortgage lender's production staff, any person who is compensated on a commission basis upon the successful completion of a mortgage, in any manner, or by the Realtor®, the borrower, homeowner, employees of Crest, or otherwise, contingent upon contingent on any of the following:
i. a predetermined result (e.g., opinion of value);
ii. a direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the Lender;
iii. the amount of a value opinion;
iv. the attainment of a stipulated result (e.g., that the loan closes, or taxes are reduced); or
v. the occurrence of a subsequent event directly related to the appraiser's opinions and specific to the assignment's purpose.
2. Failure to disclose as required may subject the Appraiser to removal from the Panel. Crest shall comply with applicable law and USPAP standards in removal of an Appraiser from the Panel.

Section III

APPRAISER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND APPRAISAL PANEL PROCEDURES
a. General Standards of Competence and Professionalism. The Appraiser must be licensed, certified or registered, as the case may be, and in good standing to perform appraisal services in compliance with the laws of the state where the assigned property is located.
At a minimum, Crest will review Appraiser's work for compliance with all laws, USPAP appraisal standards of accuracy, and other professional requirements including, but not limited to:
1 . Appraiser's ability to meet due dates and deadlines;
2 . Appraiser's level of responsiveness and communication with stakeholders (Lenders, Crest, borrowers, as appropriate) throughout the appraisal process;
3 . Responsiveness to requests for additional information from Lenders' underwriters, as applicable;
4 . Quality of work product and attention to the details of any Lender specific requirements, or level of communication and clarity in explaining when those Lender requests could not be met.
b. Panel Approval Is Not a Guarantee of Assignments. In order to prevent any future misunderstandings concerning the Appraiser's expectation of work assignment, Crest hereby clarifies that the Appraiser's approval or admission to the Panel is not a guarantee and is not intended to be construed as a guarantee that the Appraiser will receive assignments within a specified time frame, if ever, from the date Crest approves the Appraiser to the Panel. The Panel is designed to preserve the public trust and to assure fairness and independence in appraisal assignments. Assignments are based on a Panel Rotation method by which Crest's AIR trained appraisal coordinator selects the most competent appraiser for an assignment, including but not limited to the following factors:
1. The Appraiser's geographic competence and geographic proximity to the subject property;
2. Appraiser's experience of competence concerning a particular type of property;
3. Appraiser's experience with the property in the last three years;
c. Geographic Proximity Selection Method. When an appraisal order is received, our Panel rotation system will automatically identify Appraisers in rotation that are eligible for the assignment based on the Appraiser's geographic proximity to the subject property.
1. This method ensures that eligible Appraisers have the requisite knowledge required to perform a professional quality appraisal for the specific geographic location and particular property type, the requisite knowledge about, and access to, the necessary and appropriate data sources for the area in which the appraisal assignment is located;
2. Fannie-Mae guidance informs that, “Appraisers that are not familiar with specific real estate markets may not have adequate information available to perform a reliable appraisal. Although the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) allows an appraiser that does not have the appropriate knowledge and experience to accept an appraisal assignment by providing procedures with which the appraiser can complete the assignment, Fannie Mae does not allow the USPAP flexibility.” (Fannie-Mae Selling Guide - B4-1.1-03; 04/15/2014) ;
3. Crest will assign Appraisers to the geographic locations in which the Appraiser indicates competence and requisite experience only. Trainee Appraisers must be supervised and sponsored by an experienced Appraiser who is competent and experienced as indicated above.
d. Volume of Orders Disclaimer. The Volume of orders received by Crest within a certain geographic location may impact the number of orders available to the Appraiser on the Panel. Crest cannot control how many orders or when orders will be received from Lender/Clients for a particular geographic location. For this reason, Crest cannot, and does not guarantee, that the Appraisers will receive assignments within a specified time frame, if ever, from the date Crest approves the Appraiser for the Panel.
e. Quality Control Review of Appraisals. To ensure the highest quality of appraisal reports, Crest conducts detailed Quality and Compliance reviews prior to delivery of at least 10% of appraisals to a Lender or other client.  Appraisers who consistently fail to meet the standards of performance required by Crest, or who demonstrate an unwillingness to improve may be removed from the Panel.
f. Professional Standing and Disclosure Requirements. The Appraiser shall disclose to Crest any adverse condition pertaining to the Appraiser's certification or licensing, such as whether the Appraiser has been, or is currently subject to any form of administrative action, suspension, restriction, or whether the Appraiser has been notified of pending or potential adverse administrative action against the Appraiser such as indicated below, but not limited to:
1 . Termination by any other AMC, suspension or removal from an AMC Panel;
2 . Removal from a Lender's appraiser panel;
3 . Administrative notice from any real estate settlement services provider, such as a lender, Securitize, GSE such as Fannie-Mae, Freddie-Mac, HUD/FHA, or any state housing authority;
4 . Consumer complaints;
5 . Enforcement or disciplinary actions by any state or federal regulator, consumer protection agency;
6 . Suspension of license or certification whether or not published on the National Appraiser Registry;
7 . Inclusion on the HUD's Limited Denial of Participation list (LDP); the General Services Administration's (GSA's) "Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs; the Federal Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS);
8 . Inclusion on any Lender/Investor Exclusionary List;
9 . Notification from Fannie Mae concerning warnings or suspension based on Fannie-Mae review of Appraiser's work product on the Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®) as applicable.
g. Failure to disclose any of the foregoing information to Crest as required may subject the Appraiser to removal from the Panel. Crest shall comply with applicable law and USPAP standards in removal of an Appraiser from the Panel.

Section IV

PANEL REMOVAL PROCEDURES
a. Crest will not remove an Appraiser from the Panel in a manner that violates USPAP, AIR, state or federal law, GSE standards, nor deny the Appraiser an assignment in a manner that violates the foregoing laws and standards.
1. It is the policy of Crest to notify the Appraiser in writing concerning the reasons why the appraiser is being removed; and
2. Provide the Appraiser with an opportunity to respond to such notice;
3. An Appraiser may be removed from the Panel for alleged illegal conduct, violation of the USPAP, AIR, or state licensing standards:
i. Crest will notify the Appraiser in writing concerning the nature of the alleged misconduct or violation, and Crest's intention to remove the Appraiser from the Panel;
ii. Under no circumstance shall Crest remove an Appraiser from the Panel, or otherwise refuse to assign orders within the first one hundred-eighty (180) days (or longer if required under the laws of the state in which Appraiser is licensed or certified) after an appraiser is initially added to the Panel for appraisers without notification in writing and informing the Appraiser of the file a complaint with the state licensing authority or commissioner to request a review of the removal decision.
4. Crest will notify all Appraisers subject to removal for issues pertaining to appraisal quality and standards of performance;
5. Prior to removing from the Panel, Crest will provide the Appraiser the opportunity to correct performance or quality standards, as applicable;
6. Appraisers who are notified of deficient standards of performance by Crest, but who refuse to take corrective action will be removed from the Panel;
7. Crest exercises a zero-tolerance policy for violations of law or matters involving fraudulent conduct, and in such instances will exercise our obligation to promptly notify the appropriate regulatory authority as applicable;
8. Any Appraiser who is removed from the Panel for alleged illegal conduct, violation of the USPAP or violation of state licensing standards may file a complaint with the state licensing authority commissioner to request a review of the removal decision related to the allegations of Appraiser misconduct;
9. Crest complies with all orders and decisions of such state licensing authorities and will never engage in retaliatory conduct such as refusal to issue assignments or other actions that would violate USPAP, AIR or other applicable law.

Section V

APPRAISER COMPENSATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
a. Crest complies with AIR, as established under Section 129E of the Truth in Lending Act, including the requirement that appraisers be compensated at a customary and reasonable rate by the AMC.
1. It is the policy of Crest to provide each Appraiser with our detailed policy concerning compensation for assignments, at the time of approval for our panel, and with each assignment on our Portal;
2. Crest recognizes that Appraisers are the key to our success and therefore should paid accordingly;
3. Crest charges reasonable fees to Lender/clients and believes that Appraisers should be compensated as promptly as possible upon completion of assignments as outlined in this policy;
b. Engagement Letter, Appraisal Order and Terms of Compensation. In addition to terms set forth in this Agreement, prior to acceptance or performance of each assignment, the Appraiser must read and consent to the terms of the Engagement Letter and the Appraisal Order specific to each assignment, which includes the scope of work, any Lender/Client requirement, specific delivery requirements, and specific amount and terms of compensation. The Appraiser must not accept assignments without acceptance of the terms. By accepting the terms of the Engagement Letter and Appraisal Oder, the Appraiser is affirming his or her competence to perform the assignment, or the competence of any supervised Appraisers or trainees in compliance with USPAP, and the USPAP Competency Rule. The Appraiser shall not accept any assignment for which the Appraiser is unable to meet USPAP standards in the entirety.
c. Independent Contractor Relationship. The Appraiser's relationship to Crest in providing appraisal services are that of an independent contractor. Approval for the panel or assignments of work, is not intended to create a partnership, joint venture or relationship of agency or employment between Crest and the Appraiser. When performing appraisal services assigned by Crest, the Appraiser must inform third parties that the Appraiser is an independent contractor to Crest and must not imply that the Appraiser is an employee of Crest, or that the Appraiser is authorized to obligate Crest in any manner whatsoever.
d. Expected Availability and Expected Turn Times. It is the responsibility of the Appraiser to notify Crest whether the Appraiser is available for assignments. If the Appraiser is unable to accept an assignment for any reason, for example if the Appraiser is “out-of-office”, or otherwise unavailable, the Appraiser must be marked as unavailable on Crest's Portal.  Frequent unacceptance of orders by “available” Appraisers may impact the Appraiser's selection for future assignments. The Appraiser will have 4 business hours to accept or decline an assigned order it is reassigned and unavailable to the originally  assigned Appraiser.
1. If the Appraiser fails to accept the assignment within 4 business hours, Crest may reassign the order to the next Appraiser in rotation;
2. Appraisers are required to contact the point of contact within 24 hours of accepting an assignment;
3. Crest requires submission of the appraisal report within 48 hours after inspection and/or the Appraiser agrees to have the appraisal report submitted by the due date required;
4. If the Appraiser is unable to meet the due date requirements, the Appraiser shall notify Crest promptly upon realizing the possibility of any delay in submission of the report to Crest.
e. Acceptance of Order and Standard Schedule of Fees. Crest's schedule of fees includes clear and conspicuous compensation based on the State in which the subject property is located, the property type, and type of report required. Acceptance of the appraisal order includes acceptance of the fee for any required additional updates, conversions and or completions associated with the original report. Our schedule of fees can be viewed once logged into the system;
1. The fee is also prominently displayed on the Appraisal Order;
2. If the Appraiser believes that a change of compensation is warranted based on the particulars of the assignment, the Appraiser must notify Crest immediately prior to accepting the assignment;
i. The Appraiser must indicate the specific reasons that justify the change of fee request;
ii. Crest will endeavor to accommodate such requests, where reasonable, applicable and compliant with                USPAP and applicable law;
3. If the Appraiser believes that a change of compensation is warranted after the Appraiser accepted the assignment:
i. The Appraiser must notify Crest as soon as possible thereafter; and
ii. Crest will review requests for changes in fees after acceptance of the assignment on a case-by-case basis.
f. Appraisers Are Paid for Completed Work. Completed Work is defined as a completed appraisal submitted to Crest through the Portal, accepted by Crest after achieving a “pass” under Crest's initial QC process as indicated above.
g. Payment Schedule for Completed Work. The Appraiser is paid on a “Net 15-day period” which means that:
1. When Crest accepts the Appraiser's completed work, the invoice for payment is queued for automatic disbursement to the Appraiser in the next weekly pay cycle after the acceptance date;
2. The actual date that the Appraiser receives the payment may be impacted by Crest's weekly payment cycle;
3. Crest will disburse the payment to the Appraiser on the next scheduled weekly pay date after the request is entered into the payment queue. For example: Crest accepts the appraisal report on Monday. Crest queues the appraiser’s payment within one business day of the date that Crest accepts the appraisal report, Tuesday. Crest disburses the payment promptly the following Tuesday. depending on the weekly schedule. Should an invoice miss the weekly pull it will be placed into the following weeks regularly scheduled pay cycle. The foregoing dates are intended for demonstration purposes only.
4. Crest will disburse all payments to the Appraiser's name as provided by the Appraiser on the IRS tax form W-9 submitted to Crest;
5. For this reason, and as required by law, all Appraisers must have a W-9 form on file with Crest;
6. The Appraiser is an independent contractor and is therefore responsible for all tax related obligations, whether state, federal or otherwise.
h. Incomplete Work and Payment to Appraiser. It is the policy of Crest to compensate the Appraiser fairly, as a matter of company policy and in accordance with AIR. Crest is aware that occasions may arise where the Appraiser is unable to complete the work through no fault of the Appraiser. Crest's policy is to compensate the Appraiser for the portion of the work completed as may be reasonable and practical under the particular circumstance, as follows:
1.  You may provide an invoice within 3 business days of cancellation notice if fees are due. Invoices received after the 3 business days may not be paid.
                2.  A cancellation fee can be incurred pre- or post-inspection. Cancellation fees may be incurred for reasons including but not limited to:
                                i.  research being completed prior to inspection;
ii.  inspection being complete prior to cancellation; and
iii.  research, inspection, and partial completion of appraisal report.
3.  Crest will not attempt negotiation of trip or cancellation fee unless the fee requested is greater than 25% of the total appraisal cost and the appraiser is unable to provide appropriate and acceptable documentation as required by Crest. Documentation required may include either an UNSIGNED/NO OPINION OF VALUE incomplete report (PDF) OR an electronic copy of the research work file completed.
i. Portion of Fees Retained by Crest. Crest retains a portion of all appraisal fees for actual services related to the ordering, processing and QC of appraisals, not exceeding the customary and reasonable fees for such services provided in the market area of the property being appraised.
j. System and Portal Access. Crest never charges the Appraiser any fees, including but not limited to application fees, panel fees, membership fees, access charges or other fees for access to Crest's System or Portal. Crest's goal is to make it as easy as possible for Appraisers to:
1. Gain access to our Panel;
2. Keep Crest updated at every step of the appraisal process, and as such:
i. Approved Appraisers are provided a login and password to Crest's proprietary appraisal management system;
ii. Crest's System and Portal is available 24/7; and
iii. Crest will notify the Appraiser in advance regarding any systems maintenance, technological upgrades or interruptions to service.
k. Crest License and Contact Information. The Appraisal Order includes Crest's license number and license expiration for the state in which the subject property is located, contact information for Crest's representative on the assignment; contact information is available at Crest's website at www.crestamc.com.

Section VI

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
a. Effective Date. The Effective Date of this Agreement shall be the date on which it is signed by the Designated Agent of Crest. Schedules and Attachments shall be effective as of the effective date of this Agreement, whether or not such Schedule or Attachment is signed by Designated Agent of Crest.
b. Integration. This Agreement and all Schedules included herewith, supersedes any and all other agreements, either oral or in writing, between the Appraiser and Crest with respect to the Appraiser's performance of appraisal services on behalf of Crest, and contains all the covenants and agreements between the Parties with respect to all such services in any manner whatsoever.
c. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed according to the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of laws principles. However, as applicable, performance of appraisal services may be governed by and construed according to the laws of the states in which such appraisal is performed, in addition to applicable federal law such as The Dodd-Frank Act, and applicable consumer protection laws referenced in this Agreement.
d. Captions and Section Headings. Captions and section headings used in this Agreement are for convenience only and are not part of this Agreement and shall not be used in construing this Agreement.
e. Waiver. A waiver of any of the terms and conditions by Crest shall not be construed as a waiver of any other provision, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver or commit Crest to provide a waiver in the future.
f. Survival. The covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made in this Agreement shall survive the termination of this Agreement, unless the context clearly provides otherwise.
g. Severability. If a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction finds any provision in this Agreement to be invalid, illegal, or otherwise unenforceable, that determination will not affect any other provision of this Agreement. The invalid provision will be severed from this Agreement and all remaining provisions will continue to be enforceable by their terms and of full force and effect.
h. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, whether by hardcopy paper form or by electronic format, each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The Parties agree that a signed copy of this Agreement transmitted by one Party to the other by facsimile transmission shall be binding upon the sending Party to the same extent as a signed original of this Agreement.
i. USPAP and Regulatory Compliance. Crest reserves the right to amend this Agreement as necessary, in its reasonable discretion, to ensure full compliance with USPAP, and all state and federal laws, rules and regulations. Any such amendment shall become a part of this Agreement immediately upon the Appraiser's receipt of notice of same.
j. Consent to E-Signature: Appraiser acknowledges and agrees that you have provided Crest with your consent to electronic communications in connection with a transaction affecting interstate commerce that is subject to the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, and that both the Appraiser and Crest intend that the Act apply to the fullest extent possible to validate the Appraiser's ability to conduct business by electronic means. Electronic Signature Agreement.

APPRAISER ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE AGREEMENT
I HAVE READ THE FOREGOING AGREEMENT AND AGREE AND CONSENT TO ITS TERMS, CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS. I HAVE READ CREST'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES INCLUDED WITH THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING THE GENERAL COMPLIANCE WITH USPAP STANDARDS, GENERAL STANDARDS OF COMPLIANCE APPRAISER INDEPENDENCE REQUIREMENTS, APPRAISER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND APPRAISAL PANEL PROCEDURES, THE APPRAISER COMPENSATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES, THE PANEL REMOVAL PROCEDURES, THE MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS INCLUDING E-SIGN AGREEMENT, AND I AGREE AND CONSENT TO THE REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH THEREIN. I understand this Agreement is effective upon countersignature by a Designated Agent of Crest. Furthermore, I understand that at such time that this Agreement is signed by Crest's Designated Agent I will be granted status as an Approved Appraiser authorized to accept appraisal assignments pursuant to Crest's Appraiser Panel Procedures. As an Independent Contractor, I acknowledge and understand that Crest does not guarantee any volume or type of business. Furthermore, I am the supplier of the appraiser products and services I deliver, and therefore indemnify and hold Crest and its Lenders, affiliates, or otherwise, harmless from any and all losses claims, expenses, or damages arising from negligence or willful misconduct of an appraisal assignment prepared by me for Crest and its Lender/Clients. I also understand that this Agreement may be terminated by either party upon written notice.

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