Specialized Experience For MAI?

[bsl355]

I have successfully passed all the Comp Exams and demo report for the MAI.

I am plan to submit my experience log to AI in the next week or so and wanted to see if anyone could share their experience with the Screener Interview. The MAIs that I work with got their designations 10+ years ago so they don't really remember it.

Any advice would be appreciated...In general...

how long was the interview?
what types of questions did screeners ask regarding the selected reports?
did they tell you if you passed at the end of the interview?
what are the interviewers looking for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[hastalavista]

I'm probably one of the most recent on this forum to go through the screening process.
First, congratulations....

There is no significant advice to give as far as the screener interview goes.
My interview lasted nearly an hour. It was pleasant and the screener was very helpful.
The screener did tell me "congratulations" on a successful screening but was very careful to add that I couldn't consider myself designated until I get the official notice.
IMO, the screener is looking for logic and relative completeness in the report. They are not "reviewing" the report like a reviewer. They are reading the report to see if it is logical and complete. In a few sections, my screener thought I was "lite" and told me so. In other sections, he said I had done a good job. It is a peer review and might be one of the few opportunities we have for someone outside of our own circle (or, acting as a reviewer for one of our clients) to give us feedback on our work.
All in all, it was painless and helpful.

Again, congratulations!!!

 

[NachoPerito]

I have successfully passed all the Comp Exams and demo report for the MAI.

I am plan to submit my experience log to AI in the next week or so and wanted to see if anyone could share their experience with the Screener Interview. The MAIs that I work with got their designations 10+ years ago so they don't really remember it.

Any advice would be appreciated...In general...

how long was the interview?
what types of questions did screeners ask regarding the selected reports?
did they tell you if you passed at the end of the interview?
what are the interviewers looking for?

Thanks in advance.

You are a trainee getting your MAI? I imagine that is a typo.

 

[Gobears81]

I submitted a log and luckily, they picked some of the more recent reports. They chose three and I chose one. The one I chose was a simple office-condo in my neck of the woods. I chose it because I was deliberating within 1% of where the value should be so I had pretty high confidence. The three that they chose were a limited service hotel, limestone quarry, and a hodgepodge of stuff. The hodgepodge was done in a certain way for a reason and he didn't ask me anything about that one, mainly because of jurisdictional legalities. I'd say that the interview took a good 2 hours or so. There were a couple of times that we obviously disagreed with each other and butted heads just a bit, but such is life with appraising. There were also a couple times that he pointed out a few things and he was right. I passed (and he told me that I did). I mentioned us butting heads, although as a word of advice, you would probably want to make that a limited thing, and in general, defer to their expertise.
I'm not sure if I am allowed to go over some of the questions that he asked, but I think that they are looking for good detail, and obviously strong knowledge and understanding of all aspects.
I found the screening interview to be very helpful and feel that I've upped my game after listening to his pointers. Sometimes I wonder how hard they are screening since I've seen someone get their MAI who I've seen some abysmal output from, but I'm sure that there are still some getting stuck in the process.

 

[ginna currie]

The interview was easy for most people that I know. Make sure you have all the correct certifications and no typos. The phone interview is about an hour, more or less. Some screeners do tell you if you passed on the phone,others do not, but the results will appear on your status report really fast after hanging up with the screener(unlike the Comp Exam that took days to update) Good luck! Congrats!!!

 

[bsl355]

Denis, GoBears81 and ginna - Thanks you for sharing your experience. Based on your feedback and what I have gotten from others, it seems that the 'interview' really depends on the screener you get assigned to.

NachoPerito - correct, my profile says i am a trainee, which is incorrect. I am a licensed certified general and have completed all requirements towards the MAI except the experience log.

Thanks again.

 

[Elliott]

The first thing that came to mind about the subject of 'experience credit' was a quote by Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played brilliantly by Peter Sellers, "There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them."

I'm sure anyone would rather have a prostate exam than be reviewed by a committee. Take the process serious. Prepare a great log and select your best reports, the really lengthy ones. "Initiation" committees have their agendas, so remember Inspector Clouseau quote. Good luck.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

You are a trainee getting your MAI? I imagine that is a typo.

I used to know a couple of MAIs that were not licensed, they did tax work.

 

[ginna currie]

The first thing that came to mind about the subject of 'experience credit' was a quote by Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played brilliantly by Peter Sellers, "There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them."

I'm sure anyone would rather have a prostate exam than be reviewed by a committee. Take the process serious. Prepare a great log and select your best reports, the really lengthy ones. "Initiation" committees have their agendas, so remember Inspector Clouseau quote. Good luck.

Dear Elliott, it is a not a committtee any more. It is a casual phone conversation with some questions. It is not as intense as a face to face in front of a committee.

 

[Michael S]

I just did mine a few months ago. The screener didn't really go into specifics on any of my reports but talked more generally about some areas I could beef up, most notably H&B and the property history section. In a non-disclosure state that part is typically slim as we usually don't have what the previous sale price was. One of the properties he choose was a large downtown office building that had recently been purchased in a transaction that did not appear to be entirely arm's length. The seller accompanied myself and the new owners on my inspection and he was also the property manager still. I explained in the property history section that no one would give me any details on the sale and that all I had to go on was a mortgage of about $20 million for two buildings with no specified allocation.

Overall it lasted about an hour and was ok. The screener also gave me a couple of sections of the Appraisal of Real Estate which he indicated would be good review. We also spoke about the rest of my path towards designation and he encouraged me to enroll in my final class (Advanced Concepts and Case Studies) as soon as possible. Also, he said that with the Demo class you have 73 days from receiving the material to the time it's due. The average person spends about 150-200 hours on their report which means you have to but in 2-3 hours every single day for almost two months to get it done. Or, an hour or two each day and cram 70-80 hours in during that last week of the actual class.