While the villain in last issue’s story “Identity Theft-Appraiser Style” happens to be a trainee, employee dishonesty is not the only reason appraisers refuse to take on trainees. Veteran appraisers wanting to give back to the profession by mentoring also report that the system is getting in their way.

By now, issues that discourage mentors are familiar: employee dishonesty, training the competition, potential liability– fear of the unknown. The result is an alarming number of trainees who can not find a mentor and concern about the future of a profession that can't or won't train new blood.

Not discussed as often is another stumbling block that relates directly to the bottom line: mentors say they can not afford the time and resources required to train a newbie that is not able to be productive for many long months.