Advisory Board lays foundation for National Appraisal Congress agenda

October Research Corp. to host inaugural event Nov. 6-7 at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Read on to see what attendees will be discussing.
(7/26/2007)

When the First Continental Congress convened in 1774, its goal was to formulate a response to the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that year in response to growing unrest in the American colonies.

Today, there is a growing unrest in the valuation industry and the first National Appraisal Congress is poised to meet to develop solutions to the problems plaguing appraisers, including lender pressure and independence.

The Congress is being produced by October Research Corp. and presented by Zaio Corp. and Valuation Review. The event will compile specific recommendations for federal, state and association-based initiatives. The conference will be held Nov. 6-7 at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The invitation-only event will bring together top thought leaders from the valuation industry, consumer groups, regulators and industry trade organizations. One objective is to develop solutions to the increasing pressure appraisers have been reporting from mortgage brokers, lenders and real estate agents to hit a predetermined value, or to overstate a property’s condition.

In order to ensure the event focuses on pressing issues facing appraisers, October Research established an advisory board to discuss the topics and help establish an agenda for the congress.

“We are honored to have such a cross section of thought leaders from the industry,” said Brian Rieger, vice president, Seminars at October Research. “As expected, the meeting was insightful and productive, and I think everyone is looking forward to our next discussion.”

The advisory panel is comprised of professionals from all segments of the valuation industry.

Participating in the first advisory board conference call were Alan Hummel, senior vice president and chief appraiser, Forsythe Appraisals; Bradley Armbrust, principle, Armbrust & Associates; David Hutton, senior editor, Valuation Review; David Feldman, executive vice president, industry solutions, First American eAppraiseIT; Gerald Kifer, supervisory appraiser for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Jacqueline Doty, director of collateral policy, Freddie Mac; Joe Bachleda, first vice president, ABN AMRO; Joe Casa, founder and publisher, October Research Corp.; John Ross, vice president of market development and strategy, Zaio Corp., Larry Disney, executive director, Kentucky Board of Real Estate Appraisers; Lee Kennedy, managing director, AVMetrics; and Matt Smith, managing editor, Real Estate Technology News.

Real estate policy expert Ann vom Eigen, who has been retained by October Research to lead the planning and programming for the National Appraisal Congress, served as moderator for the call.

“The first assembly of the NAC Advisory Board signaled a great beginning for the conference. I am thrilled that we have access to such a wide variety of experts who will be active participants in helping us identify current trends and issues and develop program content for the NAC. I am optimistic that this group will discover solutions to the pressure on appraisers,” she said. “The board’s participation ensures the congress content will be provocative, topical and immediately useful. Because these industry leaders include not only appraisers who face the current practical realities of pressure in the field, but lenders, regulators and Wall Street analysts, I know that the conference will provide a valuable experience for participants.”

Rieger said there is a responsibility to the American consumer and the appraisal industry to provide both short- and long-term solutions to this problem of pressure on appraisers, and the National Appraisal Congress will serve as a vehicle to develop those solutions and deliver the proposals to lawmakers.
“As an independent news and research company, we have been asked by different segments of the industry to facilitate discussions among all the parties being impacted by pressure on appraisers,” he said.

During the recent planning call, participants discussed several topics, but one issue quickly rose to the top: Just what is undue pressure?

Members agreed the National Appraisal Congress should work to develop a definition of pressure.

There also was a consensus that developing potential solutions to the problem of lender pressure on appraisers should be a top priority of the first congress. It was pointed out, however, that those are lofty goals.

There is some concern among board members that lawmakers on the state and federal level will take action to solve the problems facing the appraisal and mortgage industries.

The fear is that if something isn’t done by the industry itself, any legislation could be worse than the existing problem.

One worry is that if each state legislature approves a definition of pressure, appraisers and their clients will be faced with having to sort out 50 different definitions.

As quickly as the discussion moved away from forming a definition of lender pressure, it returned to the topic. Most members were in agreement that the industry must arrive at a standard definition of pressure so everyone is on the same page when discussing other problems facing the industry.

The board also discussed appraisal processes as a topic for the National Appraisal Congress.

They expressed concerns that working to redefine the appraisal process could be the subject of a separate event. Part of the process issue is appraisers’ perception of the appraisal management company (AMC).

According to surveys by October Research, appraisers say they aren’t excited about working with AMCs, but they admit AMCs are probably a part of the fix to eliminating lender pressure.

When the First Continental Congress completed its work in the fall of 1774, one of its last tasks was to establish the Second Continental Congress, which met the following year.

With myriad issues facing the appraisal industry, it’s likely participants in the first National Appraisal Congress will find the need to call for a second event some time in 2008.
There is, after all, historic precedent for that.

FEEDBACK

We welcome your ideas! Please send feedback or ideas for future topics to newsletter@zaio.com.