Online MAI demo - improving the profession?

[John Cassevites]

I am drinking what you are Abe.

John, don't assume I don't do research because of a one line post. I assume you didn't read the rest of my postings on this matter in this thread?

I have in fact read all of your posts on this topic. I can only be left with my previous conclusions For example, you state in part:

“I think they have to do this since they did it to the SRA”

First of all, the “they” is you as the members are the ones that ultimately vote on their representatives to serve on the national Board of Directors who vote of the Reg 1 and Reg 2 changes that impact the MAI and SRA designation requirements, respectively. As I saw it, there was no compulsion to “do this” for the MAI just because something completely different was done for the SRA requirements.

Let’s look at it this way, residential appraisers make up the majority of the market of the 100,000+ appraisers in the market. In 1995, 101 SRA designations were awarded as compared to 270 MAIs that same year. By 2004, the number of SRAs awarded was 7.

Why was there a decline this significant? I would suspect that part of this had to do with state licensing and certification and the general feeling from the LCD (lowest common denominator) lenders out there that state licensing and certification was enough (I wonder how the officials at Indy Mac and the other 200+ institutions at or near insolvency feel about that now). As I understand it, a group of your peers (SRAs) was pulled together to study the market and make relevant and meaningful changes to the SRA requirements to meet the demands of the market place. This was not an effort to make it easier, or a lowering of the bar, or a watering down. It was meant to make the requirements more relevant and more in-line with the demands of our clients.

Now you stated you got your SRA in 2003-2004 (although I could not locate you in the directory as of this morning under the name Serena Matthews). In 2003 11 SRAs were awarded and as I stated before. In 2004 only 7 were awarded. Yes you were in very elite company either year.

However, you go on to state in a post that “It took me years to write the demo…” and “t was pretty onerous and completing all the steps that were necessary made me feel like I had really accomplished something. It feels that by removing some of the steps I had to take, that much of what I did was for naught”. How is this consistent with another post in which you state in part “education does not equal ethics but education is always a good thing. The more you can get, the better (in particular when it is pertinent to your job)?

I could go on, but there is really only one last point I’d like to make at your expense. You stated in a post “Jason, I would question whether the powers that be would listen. When the SRA alternative was proposed, I and a number of others vehemently opposed it. I didn't even get a response from the AI and wonder if they hadn't simply already made up their minds before floating the proposition. I contacted a number of appraisers in Michigan who almost all said it was already a done deal by the time it was presented, and why bother.”

Maybe we all need a refresher in civics. As members, you belong to a chapter. Members of your chapter leadership serve on a regional committee which is chaired by someone who is a member of the national Board of Directors. In addition to the chair, there is a Vice Chair and a Third Director, both of which also attend the national Board meetings with the Chair and Vice chair being voting members. Every time there is a proposed change to the Bylaws that impact designation requirements, there is a 45-day notice that is sent to every single member. Included in this document is an email address that you can also send comments to. So to say that “you question whether the powers that be would listen” is a troubling statement. You have a number of people locally and at the regional and national level you can hold accountable. If you are not holding them accountable then shame on you. And if they are not responsive to you, then shame on them. Do you attend the chapter meetings when they discuss the 45-day notice items? Does you r chapter even do this? If they don’t ask them to. If they won’t, throw the bums out.


I’m not really here to pick on you. In fact, if you still have an SRA I think you should be very proud of it. It is not easy to get now or then, it is a mark of a true professional, and as I see it, the AI is working very hard to ensure its relevancy into the future. If you are still involved great. If not, get involved, stay involved and use every opportunity to improve your organization.


P.S. They haven't been called candidate for a very long time. I know old habits die hard : )

 

[Michigander]

John, sent you a private message.

As to the issue of education; yes, education is a good thing and I applaud anyone who undertakes more. What I think is really lacking on the new requirements is the narrative aspect of working outside of a form and piecing the entire puzzle together. Residential appraisers do not typically work in a narrative format and doing this really helps to break things down and make the appraiser think (in my experience). It gets us out of the box, something that is critical now more than ever as residential appraisers. Also, being on the ground dealing with the home owners and real estate agents and landlords in the research phase of the demo was really important IMNSHO. I personally viewed more than half of the properties that made up the data for my demo, and there were a large number of properties involved. Nothing was perfect; everything was jumbled. It was a wonderful and difficult exercise. I think that the appraisers who did this ground work would say it was a very valuable experience. Even if the new alternative is as narrative intensive, it still lacks the actual experience of locating the subject and communicating with the agents and principals and being inside the bricks and mortar. This part can't be simulated.

Another aspect which is missing is the peer review. Why is it that the SRA only requires one level now? How many appraisers found the peer review helpful? I remember my first review was really enlightening. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and the panel was so helpful in giving me pointers on what was missing. As someone who was on my own at that point, this was the start of becoming a better appraiser. Losing this requirement also weakens the designation in my opinion.

Sometimes the best way to get things done is to work from the ground up instead of going head long into battle with the establishment. When I talked with a number of SRAs in MI, there was such a feeling of ennui and of fatalism about this being a done deal already (although most I talked to were very angry) it seemed rather a moot point to mount an offensive. I am guilty of not going to any meeting about it (not that I recall one being offered about it, but I could have missed the memo). This instance showed me that going from the ground up wasn't going to work as there wasn't enough interest, and my communication with the AI went nowhere. I guess I failed this part of the civics test admittedly.

Maybe this can be split off into a new thread, because this is hijacking a conversation. I'll copy this into a new thread for further discussion.

 

[Couch Potato]

Another aspect which is missing is the peer review. Why is it that the SRA only requires one level now? How many appraisers found the peer review helpful? I remember my first review was really enlightening. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and the panel was so helpful in giving me pointers on what was missing. As someone who was on my own at that point, this was the start of becoming a better appraiser. Losing this requirement also weakens the designation in my opinion.

The SRA has required one level of peer review for many years. There were two levels of experience, but the review of the initial level of experience was optional.