Facing great challenges as president of MBREA

It's been my good fortune to preside over the MBREA during a year when the profession and the association have faced some of its greatest challenges. The appraisal profession was buffeted by changes that began in 2009 and continue through 2011. There is a distinct lack of public trust in the profession and government intervention has only made it worse. Take for example the many complaints aired about appraisers "low-balling" values. While we heard criticism from officials about appraisers over-valuing properties in the past, at no time did these same officials speak out in support of appraisers accurately assessing the market and providing opinions of value that are perceived low by those who sell real estate. During my year as president, MBREA stood firmly in the appraisers' corner. * We filed legislation to license appraisal management companies. This bill is making its way through the legislature and we hope to see its passage next year. * We worked to bring relief to hundreds of appraisers who were being disciplined and fined for missing a continuing education deadline and we filed legislation to compel the state to rescind these disciplinary actions. * We met with congressman Barney Frank to discuss customary and reasonable compensation and the decline in the number of appraisal professionals. MBREA's education committee quickly responded to the introduction of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset by launching a 7-hour seminar taught by Tony Federico, RA and attended by about 600 appraisers. The education committee introduced other continuing education seminars and is working on plans to strengthen our certified general education. The expo & program committee planned a series of successful Breakfast with the Experts events culminating in the sold out Book of Adjustments where we learned it's not always $30 per s/f. This year's New England Appraisers Expo was an outstanding success with a great lineup of speakers and strong attendance. An association is only as strong as its members and this year we conducted another successful member recruitment campaign. MBREA's marketing & membership committee worked diligently on membership recruitment and retention. They also monitor the MyMBREA community and plan for events where MBREA's members are showcased. Professional appraisal designations are challenging to acquire and show that you have successfully navigated a comprehensive peer review of your work conducted by members of the Designation Committee. This year designations were awarded to Bernie Giroux (MRA), Deborah Olken (RA), and Paula Wolfe (RA). The association's work was supported by an exemplary board of trustees who took on a role of governing MBREA through 2011. The trustees made my tenure easier and collectively we were able to guide MBREA throughout what has been a very successful year. Stephen Dunn is president of the MBREA and principal of AppraisedValue.com, real estate appraisers in Kingston, Mass.