The Appraisal Institute advised homeowners to properly maintain their landscaping, which can significantly affect property values. “If a landscaping change is positive, it can often enhance price and reduce a home’s time on the market,” said Appraisal Institute President Richard L. Borges II, MAI, SRA. “But if the change is negative, it can lower the price and lengthen the time a home remains for sale.”Click to continue

The Appraisal Institute joined some of the world’s leading professional organizations on May 2 in forming the International Property Management Standards Coalition. The two-day meeting at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., focused on developing and embedding a single standard for the way property is measured worldwide.Click to continue

The Appraisal Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state of Colorado to promote a wide use of tools to document home energy features. The groups also will jointly develop valuation studies. The Appraisal Institute will work with the Colorado Energy Office to identify Colorado market-specific trends in energy valuation. The organizations plan to collect information about the impact of energy efficiency on the residential real estate market and to share that data as trends emerge.Click to continue

In the wake of recent studies that mortgage fraud in the United States continues to rise, the Appraisal Institute has encouraged lenders and consumers to work with valuation professionals who hold competence and ethics in the highest regard. Of course, fraud often involves multiple individuals, and no one segment of industry professionals alone can combat such activity.Click to continue

M. Lance Coyle, MAI, SRA, of Dallas has been elected 2013 vice president of the Appraisal Institute. Coyle’s one-year term at the Appraisal Institute will begin Jan. 1, followed by one year each as president-elect, president and immediate past president. Coyle is principal of Coyle Realty Advisors, a Dallas-based real estate services firm engaged in fee-based investment property valuation, analysis, research, expert witness testimony and counseling. He has been engaged in valuation and counseling of investment real estate since 1985.Click to continue

Two members received the Lifetime Achievement Award and four others received the President’s Award during the Appraisal Institute Annual Meeting Friday in Coronado, Calif. Jay M. Massey, MAI, SRA, of Dallas and F. Gregory Opelka, MAI, SREA, SRPA, SRA, of Glenview, Ill., received the Lifetime Achievement Award. President’s Award recipients were Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, of Austin, Texas; Leslie P. Sellers, MAI, SRA, of Clinton, Tenn.; John P. Wintrol Esq. of Washington, D.C., and the Appraisal Institute staff.Click to continue

With the world population estimated to have re­cently passed seven billion, the global freshwater market will be a “seller’s market” for the foreseeable future, according to a new book by the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers. The Appraisal of Water Rights, published by the Appraisal Institute, encourages appraisers to become geographically competent in order to provide credible, reliable opinions of value for properties involving water rights.Click to continue

Warning that a “new and excessive” form of regulation is about to be enacted without Congressional authorization, Sara W.Click to continue

Litigation valuation is a fascinating discipline that offers qualified real estate appraisers a wide range of opportunities, according to a new book by the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers. Applications in Litigation Valuation: A Pragmatist’s Guide, published by the Appraisal Institute, is intended to help appraisers who are new to litigation valuation or have experience, but want to expand their practice.Click to continue

The Appraisal Institute has urged a federal judicial agency to require the use of real estate appraisals when calculating loss in mortgage fraud cases. In prepared written testimony, Appraisal Institute President Sara W. Stephens, MAI, told the U.S. Sentencing Commission, “We believe the Commission should adopt a special rule for determining the fair market value of real property if the mortgaged property has not been disposed of by the time of the sentencing.Click to continue