President’s first message: Looking forward to 2022 - by Brad Hevenor

The Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Maine Chapter of the Appraisal Institute had a very successful 2021 under the leadership of president John Drew, MAI. It was a year of continued unprecedented challenges to the appraisal profession, to the world around us, as well as to the way we operate as a chapter. We are meeting these challenges from a position of strength. Our flexibility and responsiveness are in large part attributable to John Drew’s leadership, as well as the team of volunteers around him, and I am grateful for and humbled by the opportunity to follow in his footsteps in 2022. A very special thank you to our executive director, Lianne Andreucci, who has done an outstanding job adapting and creating stability out of ever-changing conditions.

As the incoming president of the chapter, I am honored to lead nearly 400 real estate valuation professionals in our region. I want to offer a special welcome to over 50 members from the former Maine Chapter, which merged with our chapter last year. We have already been enriched by your professionalism and energy and we look forward to creating strong bonds with you, as well as members across our footprint.

The Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Maine Chapter will be busy again this year. The cornerstone of our chapter is our robust education calendar. We have in-person and virtual options beginning in January and continuing through the year. The chapter is providing two seven-hour classes for updates to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in January - one in Freeport, Maine on January 14 and one through live virtual education on January 28. This update class will be offered several times in 2022 and is vital for all appraisers and users of appraisal services to keep up with important changes to the standards which guide our profession.

Our first event, “Economic Outlook and Real Estate Trends 2022,” will be held on January 27 via Zoom. This two-hour seminar includes a distinguished panel who will review current economic and real estate market conditions and provide a 2022 outlook for residential, commercial, life science, and capital real estate markets. This event will coincide with our important first Chapter Business Meeting. In 2021, our chapter not only completed the merger with the Maine Chapter, but also disbanded the Rhode Island Branch Chapter Advisory Board in favor of a new State of Rhode Island Committee. Our first business meeting will include a vote to approve bylaws changes related to our new chapter organization and structure. We hope that you will join us.

Looking ahead, in addition to a slate of qualifying education, we will have two very timely seven-hour virtual seminars in February. The first, on February 10, is “Historic Preservation (Façade) Easements: Appraisal Techniques and Valuation Issues.” On February 24, we will offer “Desktop Appraisals (Bifurcated, Hybrid) and Evaluations.” This seminar will deal with a hot topic, given the recent decision by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make desktop appraisals a permanent option. The seminar will help participants understand how to remain compliant and mitigate liability when performing desktop appraisals.

This year id the 90^th anniversary of the Appraisal Institute. The Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Maine Chapter will continue to support efforts by our national organization to address the changes that face our industry, the most important among them efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organization and in our profession. These include a co-sponsored seminar on Unconscious Bias in valuation, an Appraiser Diversity Pipeline Initiative with Fannie Mae and the National Urban League, a Minority and Women Directory of appraisers, a Minorities and Women Course Scholarship Program from the Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation, and a Women’s Initiative Committee (WIC). I believe it is our obligation is to take these initiatives with sincerity and give them meaning in our Chapter.

2022 looks to be an exciting year for the Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Maine Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. Our chapter is made of the very best commercial and residential appraisers providing real estate solutions for users of appraisal services throughout New England and beyond. To find a designated member or learn more about our chapter, please check out our website at ma-ri-me-appraisalinstitute.org. You can also follow our chapter on Facebook.

We will continue to provide the best appraisal education for our members and other industry professionals, while pushing our profession forward. We welcome your involvement and, armed with the education and experience which comes from such a valuable local and national organization, we and our members look forward to serving the real estate community throughout New England in 2022.

Brad Hevenor, MAI, is the 2022 president of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Maine Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and is vice president, appraisal review manager at Washington Trust, Charlestown, RI.