AQB Update On Proposed Changes To Appraiser Qualifications

[Dale Floyd]

I think the argument about the need for college or not is a valid one, but it can also be made for a number of professions today. (for or against)

A few years back, one of the most prestigious attorneys I've ever known passed. He was trained by a School of Law, but never went to college.

My grandfather was a school teacher, and never went to college. He was considered a master in mathematics and algebra back in those days.

LPN's and RN's come out of Tech Schools everyday without a college degree.

Surveyors who used the long path of apprenticeship for many years, have qualified to sit for their licensing exams without becoming an engineer in some states. No college.

Insurance agents, Real Estate Brokers, Bankers, etc. - None require college degrees to attain high levels of expertise, respect, and money.

College will not make better appraisers but it does put a staple on the level of effort required to become an appraiser. It has certainly weeded out many who probably shouldn't seek out an appraiser
license in the first place.

In saying that, having politics in the profession is a slippery slope in my opinion. I worry that having a school without a real apprenticeship requirement will become a generator of unskilled and unworthy analysts in this profession.

I think the path to becoming a licensed appraiser, with real restrictions of practice, should have the least resistance. Perhaps we look back to the entry requirements when this first began for the licensed appraiser.

Then I think the prohibition of licensed appraisers from FHA work, WITHIN LIMITATIONS, should be removed. That will help some.

Then a sensible path from licensed to certified should be in place. The path may be longer than college, but will keep motivation alive.

If the ability to attain a license can be done without college, and an eventual path to certification can be obtained afterward with time and work, then college level entry for certification can remain as long as it is also within a sensible set of parameters.

I'm sure there are flaws to my logic, but none that can't be tweaked which I can see.

 

[J Grant]

The appeal to authority (I deserve your trust because of my job title) doesn't work. I don't respect anyone in the appraisal business on the basis of their title or their designations or whatnot. It's their work and their reasoning and their professionalism that resonate with me.
The appraisal profession's image to the public is based solely on their perceptions of our performance. Period. Nobody on the outside knows or cares what it takes to get an appraisal license, nor should they. Our credibility is built one assignment at a time. Ain't none of us any better or worse than our last assignment.
In terms of extending our remaining economic life our adherence to the ETHICS RULE is significantly more critical than adherence to the COMPETENCY RULE. Stupidity is curable, dishonestly is incurable.

I disagree with nobody on outside knows or cares...the public esp these days with internet, has an idea what it takes to get an appraisal license, or a license/degree in any field. Which, for better or worse, influences their perception .People are aware of the difficulty of obtaining a pilot license, or a medical license, thus they trust and respect those in those fields. While a self taught pilot or healer might be great at what they do, the fact that they did not get the license/degree will not accord them the same level of trust, and respect , or commensurate pay.

A college degree does not mean one is smarter than a person without a degree. People have varying levels of innate intelligence. A degree does show the person was able to study and focus to get passing grades and have the tenacity to accomplish it. Good qualities for an appraiser.

As far as ethics, a college degree can not guarantee ethics, but neither does not attending college guarantee ethics, which makes it a silly comparison.

I don't agree that stupidity is curable. Ignorance is curable, but not stupidity. A degree of intelligence , or at least education, makes someone better able to recognize an ethical dilemma.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

For me, doing review work on a regular basis between 2005-2007 was a truly eye-opening experience. While I didn't know the educational background of many of these appraisers, it was readily evident that most of these people did not have college in their background (unless the college they went to was an abject failure). Many of these people didn't have basic writing skills, nor the ability to reason (including demonstrating a logical train of thought), nor the ability to do basic research. And it was more than a small handful of people; it was dozens. That's a major problem, given the relatively small area I was reviewing in. Education isn't the end-all, but the college degree requirement will solve the problem of 8-9th grade reading and writing skills that seemed prevalent a decade ago.

 

[J Grant]

David, I had the same experience reviewing here. It was frightening to read some of the reports- it is not just your area, my appraiser friend in California experienced the same. Using canned comments can mask the ability to write part; the fact that a report consists of canned comments speaks for itself.

 

[Mr Rex]

For me, doing review work on a regular basis between 2005-2007 was a truly eye-opening experience. While I didn't know the educational background of many of these appraisers, it was readily evident that most of these people did not have college in their background (unless the college they went to was an abject failure). Many of these people didn't have basic writing skills, nor the ability to reason (including demonstrating a logical train of thought), nor the ability to do basic research. And it was more than a small handful of people; it was dozens. That's a major problem, given the relatively small area I was reviewing in. Education isn't the end-all, but the college degree requirement will solve the problem of 8-9th grade reading and writing skills that seemed prevalent a decade ago.

Unless they are NCAA Division 1 athletes/graduates.

 

[timd354]

Some appraisers are professionals but a very large percentage are not. A big reason for this is because we had low barriers to entry. You might like to think that public image and credibility is based only on performance but it is not. In the real world, qualifications and even a individuals appearance plays into public image and credibility.

Rightly or wrongly, there is a lot of truth to this statement. When an appraiser shows up to the property inspection wearing shorts or jeans and other casual wear like a polo shirt embroidered with the appraisal company name/logo like a plumber or other blue collar worker would wear, that does not convey a professional image to many people...again, that may not be how things should work, but it is how things do work. Additionally, prior to the bubble bursting, the entry requirements to become an appraiser were very low resulting in a good number of people becoming appraisers who really were not properly qualified and had very low levels of educational attainment. In some cases, some of these people cannot write a coherent sentence, which reflects poorly on the profession when borrowers and others try to read some of the very sloppy and poorly written reports that are produced by these people.

 

[timd354]

In terms of extending our remaining economic life our adherence to the ETHICS RULE is significantly more critical than adherence to the COMPETENCY RULE. Stupidity is curable, dishonestly is incurable.

This statement cannot be repeated often enough (although stupidity is not curable in all cases). I can certainly deal with an uniformed, but honest appraiser but I have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for a dishonest appraiser, especially a dishonest & stupid appraiser who apparently is too stupid to realize that Google Earth and Bing Maps exist and we are going to see those high tension power lines, gas stations or the freeway, etc. that is located adjacent to the subject property that the appraiser conveniently did not bother to mention in the appraisal report.

 

[TRESinc]

Some appraisers are professionals but a very large percentage are not. A big reason for this is because we had low barriers to entry. You might like to think that public image and credibility is based only on performance but it is not. In the real world, qualifications and even a individuals appearance plays into public image and credibility.

i know lots of appraisers who were appraising before there was licensing, probably more than i know who came in post-licensing, and i think they all would have an issue with your statement. to say that we have more respect after the degree requirement is complete BS. i am willing to bet that in more than 95% of all the residential appraisals you perform no one has a clue that a degree is now a requirement, and that extends to the banking side as well. no one outside of our profession, with the exception of some on the lending side, have the slightest clue what it takes to become an appraiser so stating that we are somehow more respected now that a degree is required is garbage.

 

[gregb]

Every bank client im my experience asks on the application to their appraiser panel for a list of appraisal education courses plus education level, including proof of a college degree.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

i know lots of appraisers who were appraising before there was licensing, probably more than i know who came in post-licensing, and i think they all would have an issue with your statement. to say that we have more respect after the degree requirement is complete BS.

There is a big difference between pre-licensing and post-licensing. FWIW, I came in pre-licensing. Appraiser organizations were much more prominent. Designation was important back then. Many chief appraisers and those in their department were designated appraisers, and great emphasis was placed on designations when using outside appraisers/firms, notably the AIREA and SREA designations, and NAIFA designations in many areas. Even if one was not designated, they often worked for or trained under such an individual. The designated individuals typically had a college degree; either 2 or 4 years, depending on the requirements at the time they were designated (requirements often changed over time).

And, FWIW, there were some appraisers with no real training and no designations back then. I saw some of their reports. Some of those reports were astoundingly terrible; just incoherent jibberish that made no sense.