Appraisal & Consulting

Real estate appraisal war stories from the trenches

You are sitting in a trench watching the front for danger when behind you are snipers in the form of a lender, borrower or regulator who is ...

Confidence and concern factors both bear watching

We are getting pretty good at waking up in the morning (as we did on 1/1/00, 12/22/12 and today 1/2/13) to find the world is still here, the...

Healthcare reform: Good or bad for real estate

With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed by Congress and verified by the Supreme Court, its impact on our lives is still anything but certa...

Why 2013 matters: A survey of my various circles of friends

For an unprecedented second year, here are the results of my survey of my various circles of friends: bankers, appraisers, brokers, develope...

2012 wrap-up and 2013 risk round-up

The New Year has a running start with deficit talks half done. All will pay something for fiscal reform. Payroll tax holiday of 2% has expir...

Looking forward to serving as president of the MBREA

I am looking forward to serving as the president of the MBREA in 2013. My membership goes back over 20 years, when I first decided to become...

What type of value do you think you need?

The type of value that forms an appraisal objective can be vague and ambiguous to many clients and appraisers. For example, an appraiser's e...

"Hot Topics" at recent member-only CRE luncheon

Recently, the New England Chapter of the Counselors of Real Estate held a members-only luncheon in a format that allowed the attendees to br...

Building in the flood plain: A special kind of sea change

Recently, I was consulting on a residential development property in southeastern Mass., on and near the water. Having worked on the coast in...

News from the Appraiser Qualifications Board and Appraiser Board in Mass.

Two items note for appraisers and users of appraisers. The first is from the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB). The second is from the Ap...