Editor’s Note: Kenneth W. Brown, SRA wants you to work the system- in a good way.
Appraisers- Working the System
By David Brauner, Editor
Kenneth W. Brown, SRA wants you to work the system- in a good way. Here’s what he means.
Brown, appraising since 1991, is sending and posting the following message (below) to fellow appraisers to encourage more “personal involvement by real estate appraisers in the future of their chosen profession.”
“Everyday I read posts (at various social networking blog/sites) by appraisers who don’t seem to understand why their businesses are so bad right now. They want to know why no one is looking out for their businesses but they seem to have done little to look out for it themselves,” Brown said.
His purpose is two part: “I want to make appraisers aware of proposed legislation being considered by Congress which addresses many, if not most, of the concerns being expressed by appraisers,” said Brown and “I want to make it quick and easy for appraisers to express their concerns directly to those who have the power to correct the issues that have so adversely affected the profession.”
To do so, Brown is circulating an email to help appraisers act. He created a summary of H.R. 1728, which he adopted from information provided by the Appraisal Institute, and sent it along with a link to a U.S. Senate lookup. He also includes talking points for appraisers to use, borrowed from a letter by Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, Immediate Past President of the Appraisal Institute.
“Ultimately, I hope for change that will permit the entrepreneurs in the profession to develop their businesses to the maximum of their abilities and desires. This will create an environment that will provide an incentive for experienced appraisers to remain in the profession and to hire and develop the next generation of appraisers. My fear is that if Congress does not pass legislation to help the appraisal profession, as described in H.R. 1728 and other bills, residential appraisal, as we have known it, will cease and the residential appraiser will become extinct,” said Brown.
For more on H.R. 1728, see below. To learn more about H.R. 4173, which sunsets the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and provides important appraiser protections, see (**Last laugh story).
Letter from Brown
With AMCs and BPOs (Broker Price Opinions) being in the news recently, I thought it a good opportunity to bring these and other important issues to the attention of the U.S. Senate where legislation regarding these topics are being considered.
H.R. 1728, Mortgage Reform Act, has passed in the House and is in the Senate. Have you contacted your State’s Senators in support of the Act? If you have not, you should do so right now. There is something of a push going on currently and I know a number of people who have contacted their Senators and expressed their views.
Who are your Senators? Follow the link below to find out.
Not sure what to say? Cut and paste the following paragraph to the comments section when you visit your Senator’s webpage:
I support the Mortgage Reform Act, HR 1728 and HR 4173 not only because they return to the fundamentals of mortgage lending and protects the independence of the appraiser from undue third-party pressure, but also because they ultimately seeks to safeguard the best interests of consumers. The American public needs and deserves a healthy mortgage lending system.
Let’s not let this issue die beneath a stack of paper on some assistant’s desk.
Thank you for your efforts. Kenneth W. Brown, SRA
What are you supporting? Full summaries and complete text are available here:
H.R. 1728: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1728
H.R. 4173: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4173
Summary of the pertinent information from the Appraisal Institute: http://appraisalinstitute.org/newsadvocacy/downloads/HR1728AppraisalProvisions.pdf
Find your Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
About Kenneth W Brown
Brown, SRA has been an appraiser since 1991 with a focus on servicing the needs of residential clients until 2007. He has experience as an independent contractor, staff appraiser with a mortgage lender, and as an appraisal business owner. In 2004, he began preparing himself for a transition to commercial appraisal. He attained an SRA designation in 2007 and began appraising commercial property full time that same year. He has a Bachelors Degree in Leadership and Management from Mary Washington College, in Fredericksburg, VA and a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate and Land Development from Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, VA. He is currently working towards his MAI designation and has recently passed the Appraisal Institute’s General Comprehensive Examination. He is a member of the South Florida Chapter of the Appraisal Institute where he has volunteered to be a member of the Chapter’s Associate Guidance Committee. He has a keen interest in the overall future of the appraisal profession and in assisting others in attaining their goals as professional appraisers and entrepreneurs.