The End is Near

Well, we dodged a bullet on May 21st and 2012 is not quite upon us, so the end of the world stuff is being held at bay for the time being.  But it is nearing the end of my year as President of the Seattle Chapter, well, at least this is the last President’s Message.  Nevertheless, there are still a number of social and educational offering set for this Fall, including the September 21st Chapter Dinner and October 19th Chapter Lunch (don’t forget the 2 hours of CE), the Advanced Concepts and Case Studies course set for mid-November and last, but not least, the 5th Annual Fall Conference is set for October 27th at the Washington State Convention Center.  AI President Joe Magdziarz will be the lunch keynote speaker, while Robert White of Real Capital Analytics is the morning keynote speaker.  These will precede the November 16th Chapter Dinner, featuring the Past Presidents Night and the installation of the 2012 Chapter officers, which include the 2012 Chapter President, Chris Monger.

I would like to thank all of you that have supported me during this past year, from the Chapter Chairs and Committees, who so graciously accepted our request to serve, to the Officers, Directors and Seattle Operating Support Staff, who have made what we accomplished this year possible. I hope that my participation as this year’s President is seen as positive in terms of re-energizing the chapter and moving a number of Associates along the path toward designation.  The 150 person turnout for Treat Your Associates Night in April and the fact that we have already designated 8 new MAIs and SRAs in 2011, with hope for up to 4 more before year end, is evidence that we are indeed having a successful year.

I recently attended the Joint Region Committee Meeting and Region 1 Meeting on August 14th in Las Vegas, which preceded the Appraisal Institute’s Annual Meeting.  The key points from the Joint Region Committee Meeting are:

• The impasse between the Appraisal Institute and The Appraisal Foundation is likely to continue a while longer.  At this point, time is considered the greatest ally in resolving the differences.
• The AI National Offices are moving starting on September 16th, with plans to be back open for business on September 20th.
• Jim Amorin gave an impassioned speech about the importance of Why we do what we do, that’s it’s not the what or the how that’s important.  He referenced that in July 1932 the AIREA was formed to “instill public confidence in Real Estate.”  The why of the formation of the AIREA in light of the valuation problems associated with real estate, which were one of the causes of the Great Depression.
• Then Lance Coyle unveiled the results of the Strategic Planning Committee’s work, which, while not a surprise, will change the way the Appraisal Institute operates.  More should be forthcoming on the local Chapter level later this Fall.
• Announced plans call for multiple new membership categories, (e.g. academia, review appraising, etc.), mandatory upper level continuing education for designated members, and an enhanced peer review process.  But the biggest change will likely be that Associate Members will be replaced by “Candidates for Designation.”  These candidates will be mentored at the Chapter level, but little other specific details were released during his presentation.

Following the AI Annual Meeting was the National Board of Directors Meeting, where much was discussed concerning implementation of the Strategic Planning Committee’s report, but little will be known by the general membership until 45 day notices are released pending adoption.

As the final piece of my last President’s Message I would like to challenge all of you to be better stewards of the public’s trust, much along the same lines as why the AIREA was formed in the first place.  This needs to be the centerpiece of why we are real estate appraisers and why we have sought the designations of the Appraisal Institute.  The buck needs to stop at our desk.  If the property that is the subject of an appraisal exudes excellence, then reward it by all means, but if it does not, expose its flaws through the proper use of comparative analysis in the valuation process.  There is nothing we can do to recover the public’s trust in the appraisal industry that has been caused by appraisers who are not members of the Appraisal Institute, but there is a lot we an do, as members of the AI, to ensure that the public trust is protected if a report is prepared or reviewed by an Appraisal Institute member.

William R. Coffin, MAI

Click here to head over to the Retiree’s Corner page and read more about Bill Coffin, MAI who is celebrating his 50^th year as a Designated Member. Read about Bill’s life, history as an appraiser, and what he’s up to these days.

Join us October 27, 2011 at the Washington State Convention Center for the 5th Annual Fall Real Estate Conference.  Personalize your ideal conference day by mixing and matching sessions from a variety of topics, covering residential, industrial, office, legal issues and more.  Real Capital Analytics President Robert White Jr., CRE, MAI, FRICS will return as our breakfast speaker to give an update on property prices and the capital markets, and Appraisal Institute President Joseph Magdziarz, MAI, SRA will join us as the luncheon speaker.  And don’t forget to join your fellow attendees at the end of the day for our post-conference reception!

Interested in becoming a corporate sponsor? Contact Jim Walker at the chapter office for more information.

Click here to visit the 2011 Fall Real Estate Conference website.

Click here to become a Friend of the Conference

Todd Henderson, MAI

Todd Henderson was awarded the Appraisal Institute’s MAI designation in August 2011.  Todd has been an appraiser since 2005, and prior to this career was involved in property inspections for a Fannie Mae DUS lender servicing loans on existing multi-family developments in the Pacific Northwest as well as California, Nevada, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan.  Prior to entering the real estate business he spent ten years in the industrial construction field in the Pacific Northwest region working as a Project Superintendent.  Todd graduated Magna Cum Lauder from California State University Fresno in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Congratulations, Todd!

The Appraisal Institute revived its annual meeting and held a 3-day conference in August in Las Vegas, NV; the annual meeting followed a Super-Regional meeting the day before and was the lead in for two days of National Board of Directors meetings. More than 300 industry professionals attended this year and included several days of breakout sessions on various valuation issues as well as AI seminars for CE. All of the AI National leadership team was there and each gave an update on the AI.

Keynote speakers included Brian Uzzi, PhD, a sociologist who spoke about professional networks and social media. Other keynote speakers included Norm Miller, PhD, a housing economist, and KC Conway, MAI, who both spoke on the current national residential and commercial markets. Wrapping up the keynote addresses was Robert Nielsen, President of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), whose presentation included complaints by the homebuilders against the appraisal profession as a whole and the need for collaboration between the AI, NAHB, and others. Each of the speakers had interesting, to say the least, presentations.

There was an exhibition hall with several vendors ranging from software companies, data sources, E & O insurance providers, and others for two of the days. Meeting attendees also were treated to two evening receptions for networking opportunities.

The AI Leadership spoke of proposed changes and the direction of the Institute with many topics being discussed at the BOD meetings following the annual meeting. It is safe to say, many 45-day notices will likely be filling our inboxes soon.

AI leadership was very grateful to all of the attendees and were excited by our numbers. This type of meeting has not been held for several years and the current group of leaders intend to keep building upon this year’s meeting for years to come. It was already announced that next year’s Annual Meeting will be held in San Diego, CA in late July/ early August 2012. Region I also announced that they will hold their region meeting at the annual conference as well. I recommend this event to anyone as it was very informational with many opportunities for networking and catching up with fellow colleagues from around the country. Joe Mags, AI President, also announced his intention to have an annual LDAC reunion at each of these future meetings. If you have any questions about this year’s conference, please contact me.

Justin Slack, SRA is a Commercial Review Appraiser at HomeStreet Bank in Seattle. He is active at the chapter, regional, and national levels of the Appraisal Institute. He is currently the Education Chair of the Seattle Chapter and is also an At‑large Member of the National Diversity Committee. He can be reached at 206‑264-4259 or justin.slack@homestreet.com