Trying to catch the ear of your state legislators? Consider joining a coalition of like-minded appraisers if your state has one; if none exists, start talking up the idea and get things rolling to launch a statewide coalition.

“There’s strength in numbers,” observes residential appraiser Michael Brunson, president of the Coalition of Appraisers in Nevada (CAN) (NVappraisers.org) and partner in Brunson-Jiu, LLC, Las Vegas. “Professionals in the real estate, mortgage and banking industries all understand the value that comes from being organized and in a group and we should too.” he says. “It’s the only way to get a seat at the table during the legislative process.”

Randy Neff, SRA, Neff Evaluation Group, Peoria, IL, and past-president of the Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals (ICAP) (ICAPweb.com) agrees. “When you talk to your state legislators, they want to know who you represent,” he explains. “When you can say we, as a group, represent appraisers throughout the state, that really gets their attention and they will listen to what you have to say.”

In his work with ICAP, Neff advocated launch of the National Coalition of Appraisers (NAC). The intent was to create a national network of state real estate appraisal coalitions and develop a website to serve as a resource for states interested in starting one. “We looked for a way to encourage those in other states to get organized, and offer some services that could assist them,” he says. The NAC website (NationalAppraisalCoalition.org) includes a directory of coalitions currently running throughout the country, an invitation to contact the group for advice and links to templates for creating a state coalition website.