Dear Members,

As in the April newsletter, my hope is still that this message finds you and your families both healthy and safe as we continue to endure this unprecedented time in our history.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains the center of our global attention and its impact on our lives and business is ever changing. It appears that our residential appraiser members are staying very active due to low interest rates, low inventory, and steady demand. This is great news. Hopefully, our commercial appraiser members are growing and thriving in their businesses as well.

I want to recognize and personally thank our TN Chapter Education Committee for their efforts, energy, and time over the last several months.  They have conducted regular virtual meetings where they have been forced to make some difficult decisions regarding our chapter’s educational offerings. Ever aware that their decisions impact, not only the TN Chapter financially, but also our members' livelihoods and career paths.  It has not been an easy task to be sure.  They have done an outstanding job, all the while keeping the health and safety of our students and our instructors as their main priority. 

Thusly, due to issues related to the pandemic that were beyond our control, the TN Chapter did have to cancel multiple courses that were scheduled for August and September.  However, we remain optimistic about offering our classes scheduled for later this year and in the first several months of 2021.  We have also added at least one monthly, live, synchronous 7 hr seminar to our schedule from now until the end of the year.  The TN Real Estate Appraiser Commission (TREAC) has approved live, synchronous CE to take the place of classroom CE until December 31st, 2020.  You can read more about that on the TREAC website here.  As always, the best way to stay informed about the TN Chapter educational offerings and other events is by visiting our website at tnappraiser.org.

I also want to recognize the members who have earned their Appraisal Institute Designations since our last meeting:

• Kurk Stieghan, SRA
• Richard Neu, MAI
• Mark E. Abbotoy, MAI and SRA
• John C. Talbert, MAI

Congratulations to each of you on a job well done!

As we all spend more time at home and in our offices, I’d like to offer the following helpful and informative links to current appraisal related topics that you all may find interesting:

• FNMA and Freddie Mac appraiser information include: www.fanniemae.com/appraisers as well as Freddiemac.com.

• Two AI member blog sites I recommend are: George Dell.com “The Analogue Blog” and AppraisalToday.com by Ann O’Rourke.

• The Appraisal Institute’s YouTube video titled “AI Post Pandemic Commercial Real Estate”. You can find more of AI YouTube videos by clicking here.

The TN Chapter will be holding our Third Quarter Chapter Meeting via ZOOM Technology on September 10, 2020.  You must register to receive the logon information.  This meeting will be held during the workday in the hopes that more members can “Zoom in” during normal business hours.  We have a great speaker from the Chattanooga area lined up and hope many of you can join us for that.  Again, please register here to attend.

My thoughts and prayers remain for and with each of you during these unique times.  Please stay safe, keep healthy, and wear your mask!

Sincerely,

Murray W. Huber RM, CRP
2020 Tennessee Chapter President

With COVID-19 infection rates still rising, the TN Chapter of the Appraisal Institute has made the difficult decision to convert this year's *3rd Quarter Chapter Meeting scheduled for September 10th in Chattanooga, into a virtual meeting using ZOOM technology.

You MUST register to attend this meeting.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The link to join this meeting will be sent to all registered attendees 1 day before the meeting.

This virtual meeting will be held from 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. central time/4 p.m. - 5 p.m. eastern time on September 10th, 2020 via ZOOM.

Please Note: A camera is not required to attend this meeting.  You will be able to join using your laptop  - OR - by phone.

Speaker Information: Jill Allen, the Chief Operating Officer of Urban Story Adventures will give a 15-20 minute presentation on The Bend, a project currently underway in Chattanooga, TN.

The Bend plan re-imagines a future for a site that was once the center of industry and prosperity in Chattanooga for over 100 years. It will be a complete neighborhood where people can live, where creative professionals can work, where people can come to be entertained, enjoy public spaces, and connect with the waterfront. As Chattanooga's next great neighborhood, The Bend is for everyone. It will be a place for communities to connect, share experiences and build culture.

Other Business: The TN Chapter's Leadership Team will also be giving a brief overview of how the chapter has been performing in the midst of the global COVID-19 Pandemic.

Again, all members must register here to attend this meeting.  Please contact Executive Director, Myra Pitts with any questions. 

*No CE credit is available for attending this meeting.

Craig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was elected 2021 vice president of the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers on Thursday, August 6th by its Board of Directors during the Board’s virtual meeting.

Steinley’s one-year term at the Appraisal Institute will begin Jan. 1st, followed by one year each as president-elect, president and immediate past president. He will serve on AI’s Executive Committee and the policy-making Board of Directors all four years. He also will chair the Finance Committee in 2021 and the National Nominating Committee in 2024.

“I feel privileged to have been elected vice president of the Appraisal Institute, and I’m excited to help guide the organization through these unusual times,” Steinley said. “I look forward to working hard for valuation professionals in the United States and around the world.”

Steinley is principal of Steinley Real Estate Appraisals and Consulting in Rapid City, and is a state-certified general appraiser and an Appraisal Qualifications Board-certified Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice instructor. He primarily provides litigation support services.

Steinley serves nationally on the Appraisal Institute Board of Directors as Region II vice chair. He previously served on the Audit Committee (2016-19), including as chair (2019) and vice chair (2017-18); as Region II chair (2017-18); on the Strategic Planning Committee (2017-19); Professional Liability Insurance Program Committee (2016-18); as Region II vice chair (2015-16); Region II third director (2014); on the Governance Structure Project Team (2013-16);  and on the Professional Standards and Guidance Committee (2013-16). He also has served as president of the Wyoming and Western South Dakota Chapter (2012-13). He participated three years in the Leadership Development and Advisory Council conference, and is an education developer and instructor for the Appraisal Institute.

He received a 2015 Volunteer of Distinction recognition.

As issues surrounding the Coronavirus continue to evolve, the difficult decision was made to cancel the following classes:

• General Appraiser Site Valuation & Cost Approach, August 24-27, 2020 in Nashville

• Artificial Intelligence, AVMs and Blockchains: Implications for Valuation, September 10, 2020 in Chattanooga

• Examining Property Rights & its Implications on Valuation, September 11, 2020 in Chattanooga

• Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches, September 14-17th, 2020 in Nashville

• General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach, September 21-24, 2020 in Nashville

• How Tenants Create and Destroy Value, October 15, 2020 in Knoxville

• Advanced Income Capitalization, October 5-9, 2020 in Nashville

We understand how important it is for you, as appraisers, to have access to these and other education opportunities.  We are hopeful that we can reschedule any and all cancelled courses at a later date.  Of course, we will need to continue monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it develops before we can make any official plans to do so.

It is our hope that by taking these preventative steps now, it will help mitigate the impact and spread of the Coronavirus in Tennessee and throughout our country.  We ask for your patience and understanding as we respond to the rapidly changing circumstances associated with this virus.

We will issue a full refund to each student for his/her registration for these and any future offerings that must be cancelled (or postponed) due to COVID-19.

Our main priority is the health and safety of our members and our community.

As of today, the classes below are scheduled to be held as listed:

September 1st – Business Practices & Ethics | Virtual Offering (6 hrs)

October 23rd – Examining Property Rights and its Implications on Valuation | Virtual Offering (7 hrs)

November 5th – Desktop Appraisals (Bifurcated, Hybrid) & Evaluation | Virtual (7 hrs)

November 9-12th – General Appraiser Income Approach/Part 1 | Nashville (30 hrs)

December 11th – Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Understanding an Investigation by a State Appraiser Regulatory Board or Agency | Knoxville (4hrs)

December 11th – Litigation Assignments for Residential Appraisers: Doing Expert Work on Atypical Cases | Knoxville (4hrs)

Please click the title above in blue to register or visit tnappraiser.org.

The TN Chapter would like to congratulate Maurice Spence of Memphis, TN for being granted the $2000 Minorites and Women Education Scholarship from the Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation (AIERF).

The AIERF offers numerous scholarships for AI Candidates for Designation as well as undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing degrees in the real estate field.

The Minorities and Women Education Scholarship,specifically, is available to minorities and women Candidates for Designation who are active in appraising and want to take advantage of the financial assistance offered by the AIERF to take Appraisal Institute courses leading to the MAI, SRA, AI-GRS or AI-RRS designations.

Mr. Spence is most grateful to the AIERF and would also like to acknowledge Mr. Leslie Sellers, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS for being instrumental in assisting him in the scholarship process.

On July 23rd, 2020, the LDAC Planning Committee made the difficult decision to cancel LDAC 2020 which had been rescheduled for October 26-28.  The process involved the committee and AI staff’s close monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic and the guidance being provided by the CDC, local authorities and others, and the invaluable input provided by the nearly 100 responses to the recent survey of LDAC registrants on this topic.  The review of this information led us to consensus that cancellation of the event this year is in the best interests of the safety and well-being of LDAC participants. 

We are turning our focus to planning a successful LDAC 2021 which we are happy to announce will be held Wednesday, May 19 – Friday, May 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. 

Registration for LDAC 2021 will open in February, and we ask all those interested in attending to please register at that time.  

We apologize for any inconvenience and disappointment that this cancellation may cause. We know how important LDAC is to each of you and it is equally important to AI and the members of the Planning Committee.

Questions may be directed to Scott Brody at sbrody@appraisalinstitute.org or 312-335-4226.

Sincerely,

The LDAC 2020 Planning Committee,

• Rodman Schley, MAI, SRA, AI President Elect, 2020 LDAC Planning Committee Chair
• Jacinto Munoz, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, 2020 LDAC Chair
• Eric Schneider, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, 2020 LDAC Vice Chair
• Seth Rohling, MAI, AI-GRS, Discussion Leader
• Lee Smalley, MAI, Discussion Leader
• Brett Weatherbie, MAI, Discussion Leader
• Kelly Yeatts, MAI, Discussion Leader