We are now halfway though 2010. Has it turned out the way you thought it would? I have seen my volume of work go up and down with the market and with interest rates. The uncertainty can be cut with a knife. My sense is we are in for the same ride for the rest of the year.
The latest news is that the legislation that overhauls the financial regulatory system is getting close to passing in Washington. The section that many appraisers are excited about is the sunset of the HVCC. Regulators will be determining changes to appraiser independence rules that may allow for a turning back of the HVCC clock. MBREA will be advocating for appraisers across New England when these rules come up for a hearing. Lets hope we can get back some of the business that was lost when it was implemented.
Locally, we were happy to hear back from many appraisers who responded to our call to action and contacted their state representative about House Bill 277. Staff at the House Ways and Means Committee let us know they will act on the bill as soon as the budget is complete. MBREA's AMC legislation is also seeing action. Known as House Bill 4751, it will soon have a hearing before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure. We will be launching a second call to action in the very near future asking appraisers to contact state representatives and senators to support our AMC legislation.
I was fortunate enough to get a seat at the standing room only free seminar on license upgrading, workfiles and supervising put on by the MBREA last week. The program was led by Ann Barry, the Associate Executive Director of the Division of Licensure, and William Pastusak, MRA with help from Steve Sousa, MBREA Executive Vice President. This free members-only seminar focused on the right way to upgrade your licensing classification. Many misconceptions were cleared up. How experience needs to be documented and the importance of record keeping as well as what should be in your work file was discussed in detail. One interesting part of the seminar was the variety of members in attendance. I have never been to a seminar where so many questions were asked. Those I talked to afterward said things like, "if I had not attended, I would have sent in my application incorrectly" and "this was the most informative seminar I've ever taken." I'd like to thank Ann and Bill for their presentation.
The MBREA will be presenting its 2nd in the series of Breakfasts with the Experts on July 22nd. The topic is Appraising Oddball Properties. The Expo and Program Committee has come up with an exciting selection of "oddball properties" that is sure to be both fun and interesting. The breakfast will be held at the Sheraton Four Points in Norwood. I'm sure you all have at least one property that you can think of that you found to be, shall we say, a little unusual. Judy Phillips, a member of the Committee will be the moderator. Experts include Lorrie Beaumont RA, George Demopulos, RA and Rich Goulet, MRA. This is another one of "not to be missed" programs that make the MBREA the appraisal organization that "YOU" want to be a member of. Non-members are invited to join us (many often do). Come see what you are missing and discover why a member who attended the free workshop, said "membership does have it privileges."
Gary Minnehan, RA, is the 2010 president of MBREA and president at Affiliated Appraisal, Abington, Mass.