I’ve never been cozy with the Appraisal Institute (AI).
I’ve never applied for any level of membership so my lack of enthusiasm and adolation does not stem from rejection or personally experienced controversy.
I have attended a very limited number of AI Continuing Education (CE) classes - CE classes approved for State License renewal. There was nothing that made these classes particularly spectacular as compared to non-AI CE providers’.
In my 25 years of appraising Real Estate I have, of course, had various kinds of contact with appraisers holding some level of AI Membership. Some I may even have trained! Truth be told, I have not seen a consistently higher level of quality of appraisals by these appraisers (except maybe those I trained - LOL 
).
I have had some ethics issues with one-or-two of the AI appraisers.
So - that’s about it as far as my “involvement” with the Appraisal Institute. Again, I have not been personally slighted in any way and my observations, following, are what I would consider unbiased ones made by somebody (me) whose life and living have been severely impacted by the recent R.E. crash and subsequent meddlings, as well as the previous R.E. crises that lead to FIRREA, Title XI and CRA, amongst other power-grabs!
As usual, it’s a looong story, and not all the bases will be covered here. It just plain old has to be simplified, lest I completely loose you, my reader! Most of the “other” bases will be covered bit-by-bit, over time, if they haven’t already.
A couple of links first of all:
What’s With All the Moaning About Home Appraisals?
Were appraisers late to the price collapse?
Statement From the Appraisal Institute
The first two echo what I’ve previously posted here in my blog - the second link in particular. Many of the comments in the first link are worth reading for some very good points (many of which I’ve touched on in my blog already!).
The third link is certainly worth the read in and of itself, but there is one part specifically that I’d like fellow appraisers to ponder: “Organized in 1932, its mission is to support and advance its members as the choice for real estate solutions and uphold professional credentials, standards of professional practice and ethics consistent with the public good. ” - Quoted from the “mission statement” at the bottom of the linked page (emphases added by me).
This is where I have my severe problem in regards to the AI. We have let them have way too much influence over the whole Licensing development and process. First of all, what in that statement makes it significantly different from what is in USPAP - which we all have to adhere to? Well, the main difference is the “its members” portion. Nothing wrong, mind you, with an organization promoting itself and its members - why else exist? What I see, though, is that their aim appears to be the complete domination over our industry. The AI was and is the main entity providing the appraisal expertise in all the various matters concerning appraiser licensing. My take on the progression of Licensing requirements is that when we first had to get licensed, i.e., all of us who were already well entrenched in the profession, we did a lot better than the AI had “hoped”, so the qualification requirements were upped for the next round. Then there was playing around with Continuing Education (CE) and renewal periods. OK, that was not all just in the hands of the AI by any means - after all, the States all want(ed) to get as much revenue as possible, too, not only from the Licensing Fees, but also from Instructors’ fees and the taxes on the income generated from the classes. I’m sure there’s more that I’m not aware of. So, now we’re up to having to present a Bachelor’s Degree in order to qualify for an Appraiser’s License. Of course, many (if not most?) of the AI’s courses probably qualify for College Credits… See where this is going?
It is, in my opinion, the on-going threat of Social Engineering. Like in so many other areas of modern society, we’re slowly being conditioned to accept this nonsense (and all the blame) little by little, that way the initial protests quieten down in time for the next seemingly innocent advance.
It’s like boiling a live frog: you can’t do it by throwing him into a pot of boiling water - he jumps right out! If, however, you put him in a pot with cold/temperate water and then turn on the heat, he won’t realize what’s going on and he’ll end up cooked. (No, I haven’t tried this myself, pipe down! I’ve picked it up “somewhere”, but it’s supposedly true.)
I am not paranoid about this, whatever it sounds like, but I’m getting increasingly fed-up with myself and the slew of other R.E. Appraisers who are not putting our feet down and saying “ENOUGH!”. I have stated before, and I will say it again: the more regulations, the more insidious the crook. Meanwhile, we honest appraisers are getting shafted, together with the many trainées out there who want to do it right but find themselves scrimping on quality/thoroughness in order to meet experience requirements - and demands by tutors who may be less concerned in these matters…
(from www.animationlibrary.com)
Good stuff. I don’t know how appraisers can “just say no” to higher standards though. It means saying no to their career.
My point is that either you’ve got standards or you don’t - whether AI or not. I’d bet I’ve got standards and ethics that beat the pants off of some “members” (at least from my experience, as noted). Education is a good thing, and so are standards. I don’t think the 25,000 (?) AI members, worldwide, are necessarily better appraisers than the untold numbers that are not. The rest of us must be doing something right, and I think we need to defend ourselves from being denigrated as an inferior class of appraisers.
That’s all!
Thanks for giving a rat’s….