About 3 years ago we launched a new online community, MyMBREA. I continue to hear from MBREA members how beneficial this has become. We have encouraged our members to post and answer questions that arise in our daily work environment. The appraisal business can be a secular type of environment with time spent alone on the road doing inspections and research and again back in the office. With fewer appraisers and more seasoned veterans performing appraisals, there seems to be more appraisers working on their own. MyMBREA offers support to members as a resource both on appraisal and business issues.
Some of the most interesting conversations over the past few years have included the changing regulations that came from the Dodd Frank Act and the new UAD form. Recently a great discussion took place on appraising 40B and deed restricted housing. Often, these discussions promote new classes and seminars and also our choice for Expo speakers.
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by an appraiser who told me he had submitted a proposal to a new appraisal client and after googling the appraiser and reading his comments on MyMBREA, they hired him, partly due to his contributions to the discussions they had read.
This feature of our membership has become one of the most beneficial and our members continue to report how important it is to them. Frequent comments include how MyMBREA creates a sense of community that fosters networking and sharing. Often, we will read one appraiser's request for data on a specific property type. Within a short period of time, results start to pour in. The willingness of MBREA members to share information and data with each other is a longstanding tradition that has a new way of happening. It's available only to MBREA members and I encourage you to join today so you too may become connected to the MyMBREA community.
Paula Wolfe is the 2013 president of MBREA, Dedham, Mass.