Writing the Checks to Appraisal Associations: I've Made My Choices

Guest Author: Mark R. Linné, is Executive Vice President of AppraisalWorld, an innovative provider of advanced valuation technology for appraisers. He is a veteran appraiser who has focused on technology, data and valuation modeling and their roles in appraisal practice. He can be reached at [email protected].

I wrote about “No More Blank Checks” a few weeks ago – where I questioned the value I was receiving from the appraisal organizations that I belong to. I thought it would be a simple matter to figure out which organization was providing me with the most value. I would be able to simply and completely finish the question I asked in my blog about the value of professional associations a week later.

That was before I received dozens of posts in response to my blog.
That was before I received dozens of private emails.
That was before I received numerous calls from appraisers across the country.

I received responses that were 99% positive. By positive I mean that the responses were intended to provide me with meaningful dialog about our profession; our professional organizations; the status of our great profession.

I received responses from the professional organizations as well. Not always officially, but in most cases, a personal response.

Here is the interesting part: with one exception, all of the representatives from the professional associations wanted me to get more involved with their organizations. They wanted to hear my thoughts. They even offered to collaborate with me on the blog.

Wow…no seriously-WOW.

I’ve learned a lot in the last two weeks. I learned that many people have passionate thoughts on either side of this issue. Most of them want more from their organizations-something tangible, something meaningful. Sure, there were a few negative comments; there were a few people who thought that I shouldn’t be raising these issues.

I really thought this would be easy. I really thought that I’d get some input from people reading the blog with some advice, I’d make my choices and we could move on.

It wasn’t that easy.

I have to say that these were the best and most thoughtful responses I have ever seen on a blog, forum or elsewhere. I think it must be that the people who read this blog are simply smarter and more thoughtful. Better-looking too.

Let me suggest something: read some of the posts on this blog. There is a lot of thought-provoking feedback. If I were the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the Appraisal Institute or any of the other organizations that I am about to talk about-I would read each and every comment from my readers and others in the profession. I would take this feedback and incorporate some of it in my strategic and think outside of the box. I have tried for years to help AI with Strategic Planning issues-but I’ve never been asked to serve. No sour grapes-just a fact. Get some alternative viewpoints and be creative. People need to see value in what they spend. They also want to be professional.

Here we go:

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
You know, they had me the moment I was a FRICS. Eminent Fellow, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. That is a mouthful. I remember that when I was in London in 2005, my family and I stood outside the RICS building (across the street from the British Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral-talk about the 100% location in the world!). We looked at this 200-year old building and thought how cool it was. Six months later, I was a FRICS, and as the guest of the president of RICS-Steve Williams, I accompanied then Appraisal Institute president Tom Powers to a special dinner. I walked into a world-class dinner at RICS headquarters. I remember sitting at a table with FRICS from all over the world-Hong Kong, Germany, England, America. There were 8 of us-and the high-level discussion was amazing. The wine steward standing behind me filling my drink every two minutes was also pretty cool, as was the view of Big Ben outside the balcony doors. When I was in Berlin two years later and walked past the office of one of the FRICS I had dined with-I realized the global reach of RICS. RICS is working hard to become an alternative to other mainstream organizations in the US. It is represented by 120,000 members in 110 countries. They sent me an email a couple of weeks back and asked how they could help me with the blog and my thoughts on what they could do to be a more responsive organization. They also had a number of options to help members pay for membership in these troubling times. This is an organization to watch.

I am going to keep this membership.

International Association of Assessing Officers
I have a special fondness for IAAO. It was my first membership-my first designation. When I became a Certified Assessment Evaluator (CAE) it was the beginning of my drive to become a professional. They have given me some great opportunities and they published my first article in 1990 (“Appraising Amidst Chaos: Opportunities for the 1990’s and Beyond”). I have known some amazing people in this organization. They understand the role of data, regression and technology – topics I talk about all the time.

I am going to keep this membership.

The Appraisal Institute:
They don’t hold the monopoly on smart appraisers – but they sure have a lot of them. The Appraisal Institute has defined my life for more than 15 years. They have given me a lot of opportunities. They have allowed me to write books, write articles, write columns, write courses, write seminars, review books, and to headline at the 75th Anniversary presentation in Las Vegas two years ago. In all of these cases, the Appraisal Institute was open to new ideas-open to discussion.

In return, I have taken literally thousands of hours to write those articles, books, columns, courses, seminars, etc. It is truly a two-way street. We both win. I am grateful. All of the royalties from my new book: “Visual Valuation: The Integration of Valuation Modeling and Geographic Information Solutions” (to be published in August 2010) will be donated back to the AI. AI works hard to provide education for appraisers, has the best book publishing organization for appraisers globally, and has an advocacy and lobbying presence in Washington that accomplishes a lot given its size. I wish for one thing, though. I wish that AI would get more involved in looking at solutions that put something in my pocket – that they look out for economic issues a bit more. I remember the good-old days when it was written into leases that an MAI or SRA member was required to fulfill a lease requirement, etc. A lot of MAI and SRA members left feedback on the blog that essentially said-we love our AI-but there is more that it could do to ensure we survive. A lot of people called me and said the same thing. I want AI to suggest tangible solutions. Tell me about software, help me market even more than you do now. It’s easier to be a professional when you have the income befitting a professional. Right now that is true for commercial appraisers – less certain for residential members.

I am going to keep this membership.

Counselors of Real Estate:
This organization, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors, is an enigma to me. They seem to represent the upper-crust of appraisal. Their conferences are in really expensive hotels, in expensive cities…and I have yet to attend a single one of them. They rarely talk about anything that resembles appraisal, and I feel that I am in an environment that demands a tuxedo. They all work to billion-dollar companies and I must confess I feel like a fish out of water. When I was accepted to membership-they admitted they didn’t quite understand what it was I did with technology, mass appraisal and the future of valuation, but much as Molly Brown accepted Leonardo DiCaprio to that dinner on the Titanic, they said I could come aboard. They do communicate with me, but at $1,800-they are clearly the most expensive of my memberships. I have yet to get one job as a result of my membership. I have not been able to participate in any meaningful way, but frankly, I don’t see that they really understand are involved in what I do as a valuation professional. I was interested in presenting some of my thoughts as an appraiser-but never got a response to that offer.

I am going to drop this membership.

The American Society of Appraisers:
The ASA is an interesting group – melding multi-disciplinary aspects of appraisal into one organization. They have real estate, but they also have jewelry, business valuation, mass appraisal, art and antiques and machinery. Anytime you split your focus to that extent-it’s bound to create some identity issues. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to get a private email from an official of ASA who suggested that I get more involved. He also offered some reasons that it would make sense to do that. Commendable effort, but at the end of the day, ASA was one of the weaker candidates. Not because of anything they did or did not do, but because I get almost no communication from them-no magazine, virtually no emails (except from the local chapter once in a while), and no real financial benefit. I thought once that I could gain a good grounding in business valuation techniques, but that has not emerged.

I am going to drop this membership.

So what am I left with?

Mark R. Linné, MAI, SRA, CAE, FRICS.

Fits on a business card.
Did I make the right choices? Let me know.

For the record - I’d join another organization if one emerged who would advocate for technology, data and look out for my ability to make a living.

Let me know your thoughts on that one too.

Thanks for listening.

Source Blog - The Future of Valuation

Guest Author: Mark R. Linné, is Executive Vice President of AppraisalWorld, an innovative provider of advanced valuation technology for appraisers. He is a veteran appraiser who has focused on technology, data and valuation modeling and their roles in appraisal practice. He serves as a representative to the Industry Advisory Council of The Appraisal Foundation, and heads the MISMO Commercial Appraisal Workgroup.  Mr. Linné is also Global Editor for the Appraisal Institute’s forthcoming book “Visual Valuation", to be published in July, 2010. He has co-authored two earlier books for the Appraisal Institute and more than twenty articles on valuation, technology and the future of appraisal. He can be reached at [email protected].