Integra’s Chairman On Current Appeal Of National Appraisal Firms As Acquisition Targets

[Terrel L. Shields]

The original licensing standard for appraisal is more like barber or plumber.

As a result, the initial tests were comically simple

I've taken easier tests than the one I did in 1992. The "easy" part was that experience could be non-USPAP because there was no USPAP prior to about 1989. The CG test was harder. You can make a test so hard no one could pass but it is meaningless. Are the best test takers also the most thoughtful appraiser? Rarely. In fact, the ultra smart can often have no common sense.

 

[Gobears81]

In your opinion, what caused this?

I appreciate RebelNYC's answer and agree with much of what he said. But I also feel that ethics are an issue at hand. That appraisers so frequently favor the client in cases of divorce, tax appeals, or nearly any other assignment where the client is angling for a certain value is unacceptable. One would project that, on average, two appraisals of the same property should be nearly consistent with each other, and in some cases, an appraisal for the client wanting the low value will be higher than the appraisal for the client wanting the high value. Sadly, this is not the case and reduces the integrity of our profession. Every Appraisal Journal that I read shows court decisions and not only are some of the appraisers favoring their client, they are outright changing their methodology to accommodate them. How can we be respected when so many in the profession are reduced to hired guns?

 

[djd09]

Who are you?

No quoting this one?

 

[PL1957]

I've taken easier tests than the one I did in 1992. The "easy" part was that experience could be non-USPAP because there was no USPAP prior to about 1989. The CG test was harder. You can make a test so hard no one could pass but it is meaningless. Are the best test takers also the most thoughtful appraiser? Rarely. In fact, the ultra smart can often have no common sense.

So did I, but they were in fourth grade. If you had been in real estate for more than a year and didn't pass the initial 1992 CG tests, you really didn't belong in the business.

 

[Deleted member 126639]

I've taken easier tests than the one I did in 1992. The "easy" part was that experience could be non-USPAP because there was no USPAP prior to about 1989. The CG test was harder. You can make a test so hard no one could pass but it is meaningless. Are the best test takers also the most thoughtful appraiser? Rarely. In fact, the ultra smart can often have no common sense.

Why do you feel it necessary to emphasize USPAP? The predecessor organizations of the Appraisal Institute had not dissimilar standards.

Further, you once again are confusing anecdotal stories with evidence and argument. Certainly, there is absolutely no way you can possibly support the claim that "the best test takers are also [rarely] the most thoughtful appraiser".

Putting that aside, would anyone make the same claim about law? or accountancy?

Both professions have required licenses with difficult exams since the 19th century.

What I am seeing here, quite frankly, is another problem with our profession: bull****. Only an appraiser could make such a preposterous claim with a straight face. But, that's a whole other story and not a problem we can address until the herd is thinned and fees are raised such that proper analyses can be done.

 

[djd09]

Must be agenda driven. Like a tax on soda pop.

 

[Eli]

 

[djd09]

Quote a lot of my comments expect "Who are you?". interesting. Are you really CAN?

 

[Deleted member 126639]

I appreciate RebelNYC's answer and agree with much of what he said. But I also feel that ethics are an issue at hand. That appraisers so frequently favor the client in cases of divorce, tax appeals, or nearly any other assignment where the client is angling for a certain value is unacceptable. One would project that, on average, two appraisals of the same property should be nearly consistent with each other, and in some cases, an appraisal for the client wanting the low value will be higher than the appraisal for the client wanting the high value. Sadly, this is not the case and reduces the integrity of our profession. Every Appraisal Journal that I read shows court decisions and not only are some of the appraisers favoring their client, they are outright changing their methodology to accommodate them. How can we be respected when so many in the profession are reduced to hired guns?

Having had the misfortune of working on a number of very high profile litigation assignments, particularly after 2008, I do agree.

To the extent it happens, I would attribute a great deal of it to the oversupply of appraisers and the relative dearth of work. When people have their backs against the wall, ethics mean very little. It is for this reason we tolerate supply constraints on doctors, lawyers, accountants, and even taxi drivers.

That said, the Appraisal Institute does not enforce ethics violations to the extent one would consider appropriate. This is likely due to the impending demographic decline and poor planning on the part of the Institute. This is something that could potentially fixed very easily if we merged with the NAR.

 

[Joe Flacco]

I appreciate RebelNYC's answer and agree with much of what he said. But I also feel that ethics are an issue at hand. That appraisers so frequently favor the client in cases of divorce, tax appeals, or nearly any other assignment where the client is angling for a certain value is unacceptable. One would project that, on average, two appraisals of the same property should be nearly consistent with each other, and in some cases, an appraisal for the client wanting the low value will be higher than the appraisal for the client wanting the high value. Sadly, this is not the case and reduces the integrity of our profession. Every Appraisal Journal that I read shows court decisions and not only are some of the appraisers favoring their client, they are outright changing their methodology to accommodate them. How can we be respected when so many in the profession are reduced to hired guns?

Ethics is a issue that all professions and businesses deal with including law and accounting. I think maybe we are not held to similar standards because we are seen as being on a similar level with those professions. I don't know. I don't know how big of a issue it is in appraisal.