CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Government e-mails turned over to The Associated Press last week revealed that the new executive director of the agency charged with regulating real-estate appraisers quit hours after AP exposed widespread problems with the agency Aug. 18.
It was Linda Nessi’s one and only day on the job at the appraisal subcommittee, and she left without warning or explanation, according to the e-mails, which were obtained by AP after a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
AP’s investigation illustrated why Nessi’s predecessors made a conscious decision since the agency’s inception never to take action against states that fail to discipline rogue appraisers.
The job remains vacant, and the agency is “working hard to fill the position as soon as possible,” said Deborah Lagomarsino, a government spokeswoman.
Dozens of messages left by telephone for Nessi during the past several weeks have gone unanswered. She remains in her original post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she is associate deputy assistant secretary for housing operations.
“She seemed upbeat,” said Jonnita Johnson, a human-resources assistant at the General Services Administration who helped Nessi fill out her first-day-on-the-job paperwork. “She seemed like she was ready to go. I was surprised when I heard she quit.”
The performance of the appraisal subcommittee was among the subjects detailed in a six-month AP investigation that identified key failings in the nation’s regulation of appraisers.
AP found that since 2005, more than two dozen states and U.S. territories have violated federal rules by failing to investigate and resolve complaints about appraisers within a year.
