A regulatory complaint has been filed against you. Now what? Discover why state boards and agencies make the decisions they do, what federal oversight requirements guide them, and how a state regulator’s investigation (including disciplinary action) proceeds by peeking behind the regulatory curtain. Developed by Craig Steinley, SRA, AI-RRS, current President of AARO (Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials), with input from regulators and board members (who are appraisers) and attorneys who defend appraisers, this 4-hour seminar discusses who files complaints, due process for an appraiser, and the steps to take when you are named in a complaint. With this knowledge, you’ll have an advantage in resolving a complaint and better yet, avoiding one in the first place!

Upon completion of this seminar, participants should be able to:

• • Recognize distinctions in function and process between an appraiser board and an appraiser regulatory agency.

• • Identify events that lead to complaints against real estate appraisers and ways to channel that energy to bring about a better outcome.

• • Identify the steps an appraiser may take when notified that a complaint against the appraiser has been received by the regulator.

• • Analyze both the perspective and the due process requirements of the regulator and its investigator when processing and investigating an allegation or complaint.

• • Itemize how a state regulator processes a complaint and the possible outcomes along the way—from intake through the response, investigation, findings, and eventual disposition and possible sanctions.

• Discover various appeal options available to an appraiser in the event of an adverse disciplinary finding and sanctions.

Gain an understanding of the eminent domain process, rules and regulations governing condemnation appraisals, and important issues unique to this appraisal specialty. Acquire the tools to address issues such as the valuation rules used by different jurisdictions, identification and valuation of the larger parcel, and the estimation of damages and benefits. Examine advanced applications of appraisal techniques and problem-solving in condemnation cases. Participants will discover how courts view various appraisal methodologies. Case studies are presented to reinforce the application of condemnation appraisal principles. Note. This 3-day course combines the previous basic and advanced condemnation courses: Condemnation Appraising: Basic Principles & Applications and Condemnation Appraising: Advanced Principles & Applications.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: • Recognize attorney/appraiser relations and the appraiser’s role
• Understand how property rights and land-use regulations impact the condemnation appraisal process
• Determine which property to appraise in a condemnation appraisal
• Understand public projects and their impact on the subject property
• Perform competent and admissible appraisals
• Recognize the appraiser’s role in inverse condemnation actions
• Describe the appraiser’s role as a consultant to legal counsel
• Understand the valuation concepts and rules of law and procedure typically used in a condemnation valuation jury trial

Note. This course is in the Litigation Professional Development Program. For more information, click here.

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• Table of Contents and Overview (PDF)
• Schedule (PDF)

New Seminar!

This 7-hour seminar introduces participants to how the terms of a lease and the risk profile of the tenant influence the valuation of commercial real estate. Participants will see how the business features of commercial leases affect the quantity and the duration of the income stream that a property will generate and the development of the property’s income statement. Non-traditional sources of income, the proper period to use in measuring the income, measuring the real vacancy rate, expenses that might not be recoverable by a landlord if a CAM formula is incorrect, and how other special clauses in a lease can all affect the property’s income stream will be examined. The second part of the seminar discusses tenant credit risk issues and explains why understanding a tenant’s financial strength is key to assessing the quality of the income stream.

Updated Version Now Available!
NEW ways to solve appraisal problems…

Real estate markets and residential appraisal requirements have changed significantly due to market volatility and increased oversight which has left residential appraisers searching for new strategies to handle their appraisal assignments. This seminar revisits valuation fundamentals and illustrates why you need data collection and analytical skills more than ever. The seminar uses and is based on the 2018 updated 2nd edition of Valuation by Comparison. You’ll learn why clients need an appraisal, why you must have appropriate market data, and why it is imperative that you know your market. You’ll discover how to find the information you need in markets where data is scarce, inconsistent, or misleading. And you’ll explore techniques to accurately interpret and then anticipate the actions of buyers and sellers in today’s market. Whether you are an experienced appraiser or newer to the profession, you’ll learn about a variety of approaches and resources that are available for gleaning indications of market value, and you’ll better understand which items require adjustment and which items can be ignored.

Upon completion of this seminar, participants should be able to:

• • Identify factors that affect property prices.
  • Select the best tools for market analysis of residential properties.
  • Recognize consistency issues in residential appraisals.
  • Recognize common search errors and some search tools for use in the future.
  • Recognize how the back stories of comparable sales impact sale prices and value opinions in appraisals.
  • Understand the logic of sales comparison analysis and the methods for supporting adjustments.
  • Recognize and describe the commonly used sales comparison spreadsheets and their logic.
  • Extract and apply the rates of adjustment for sales comparison analysis.

Note.The book Valuation by Comparison, 2nd edition is included in the seminar registration cost.

Review Theory—General is the fundamental review course that all reviewers of assignments involving income-producing and other nonresidential properties should have in their educational background. It is a required course for individuals pursuing the Appraisal Institute General Review Designation (AI-GRS, Appraisal Institute General Review Specialist).

At the core of this course is the review process. Participants explore the seven steps outlined in this process as they apply to nonresidential properties. To be a reviewer, an appraiser must learn how to develop opinions of completeness, accuracy, adequacy, relevance, and reasonableness relative to the work under review. These opinions must be refined through tests of reasonableness to develop reconciled opinions of appropriateness and credibility.The material provides a refresher on key valuation skills often required of reviewers, such as measuring financial feasibility in highest and best use analysis and various applications of the income capitalization approach. In addition, the course covers reporting reviews for income-producing property and the use of commercial review report forms, narrative reports, and oral review reports. Participants will gain practice in writing a scope of work statement for three types of assignments. They will also develop a template for a narrative review report on a property type of their choice (office, retail, apartment, etc.). By taking this course, participants will gain invaluable confidence in the fundamentals of review.

Please note: Designated Members and Candidates for Designation will receive the discounted AI Price for Advanced Education courses: Review Theory-General and Review Case Studies-General. All others will receive the Full Price.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:
• Define review
• Distinguish between appraisal and review
• Evaluate the necessary knowledge and skills required to complete reviews
• Distinguish between trivial and material errors
• Identify types of review assignments and the process employed in the reviewer’s scope of work
• Recognize regulatory compliance issues for review appraisers
• Identify the steps necessary to effectively communicate the review

The Review Theory—General course is required for individuals pursuing the Appraisal Institute General Review Designation (AI-GRS – Appraisal Institute General Review Specialist). For more information regarding the requirements for the review designation, please click here.

If you are currently designated, click here for more information on the alternative path.

If you are currently a candidate for designation, or wish to become a candidate, click here for the specific designation requirements.

The 40-hour Advanced Concepts & Case Studies course implements a blended learning approach, which includes a pre-class, two-hour online session combined with 35 hours of traditional classroom education and wraps up with a three-hour exam on the sixth morning.

Please note Designated Members and Candidates for Designation will receive the discounted AI Price for Advanced Education courses: Advanced Income Capitalization, Advanced Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use, Advanced Concepts and Case Studies, and Quantitative Analysis. All others will receive the Full Price.

For more information on how to become a Candidate for Designation, click here.

Please review the FAQs for important information regarding registration and cancellation deadlines; mandatory diagnostic test; online session; course equivalencies.Click here.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: • Develop and reconcile cost, income, and sales comparison approaches for a leased fee interest rent, including consistent treatment of property rights
• Recognize the typical relationships between yield rates on leased fee and fee simple estates, considering their varying risk
• Review proper procedures for developing a market-supported discounted cash flow analysis, and apply them to practical examples
• Develop and reconcile cost, income, and sales comparison approaches for a proposed property as is, upon completion, and upon stabilization
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of various methods of calculating a rent-up adjustment and a property rights adjustment
• Identify the demographic and economic data used to estimate an absorption period for a development project
• Develop and reconcile cost, income, and sales comparison approaches for a property in a market not at equilibrium
• Conduct inferred and fundamental demand analysis based on data provided in case studies
• Develop and reconcile cost, income, and sales comparison approaches for a subdivision

This course addresses topics that were not included in the previous version, such as the Guide Notes to Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Numerous Q&As address real-life, up-to-date matters that appraisers encounter in various assignments, including mortgage lending, litigation, property tax appeal, and many more.

The course contains relevant and much-needed information for professional appraisers.

The content emphasizes:
• Business practices issues, such as how to respond to seemingly unreasonable requests, how to address client pressure, and how to approach a complex assignment
• Which standards apply to Appraisal Institute Designated Members, Candidates for Designation, Practicing Affiliates, and Affiliates, and when they apply
• The key principles of the Standards of Valuation Practice
• How to identify and avoid behavior that violates the Standards of Valuation Practice
• The correct way to use the Appraisal Institute’s designations, emblems, and logo
• Understanding the Appraisal Institute’s enforcement process

NOTE: The AQB approved this course for 4 hours of CE. This is due to some content being specific to the Appraisal Institute. Check with your state for approved credit hours.