Joan Trice

While never one for New Year resolutions, I do love this time of year to reflect about where our industry has been; it's current state and what needs to happen to move forward.

Here is what I want for Christmas. I want to hear from you.

Our team at Appraisal Buzz, and I, are really excited to announce the launch of an Appraisal Buzz magazine. Yes, you heard that right. We are going to engineer some backwards technology and publish our first ever print magazine next Spring. We've gone retro with an old fashioned, glossy magazine delivered to your mailbox.

I watch with much interest as everyone is attempting to write automated review tools. Millions of dollars are being invested in the technology. Microsoft Word can tell me when I have a misspelled a word and sometimes correct a grammatical error. But it can't tell me when I have written something that is idiotic or not factual. The same would be true of automated review tools.

I am, and always have been a bit of a movie freak. So you will notice from time to time, when I am not busy interviewing myself, I will refer to a great line from a movie or steal a title. Today, I am stealing the title and the plot. The tag line for Victor Victoria was "A woman pretending to be a man impersonating a woman".

When is an appraisal firm an AMC pretending to be an appraisal firm? And even wilder when would an appraisal firm actually pretend to be an AMC? Who are these imposters and why?

Appraisers are wondering what all the fuss is over Third Party Oversight and what it means to them. Appraisers are just now beginning to feel the impact of the demands of fee panel management. I know this will date me but I do recall the days when it was a challenge to get placed on an approved appraiser list. The process was onerous. I likely didn't appreciate it much then but surely I reminisced about the good ole days after that process fell apart and the only vetting process involved inquiries as to my fees and turn times. Now we have come full circle.

You heard that right. I said "Show Me the Moneyyyy!"

One of my all time favorite movies is Jerry Maguire. Are you feeling like your back is up against the wall? Well, sit down and write that mission statement. You aren’t likely to earn too many new clients by sitting back and waiting for them to call you. You are going to have to work it. Valuation Expo is that client rich environment.

Howard Beale was my hero. In one of my favorite movies, "Network", filmed in 1976, Beale, a TV anchor on a network with awful ratings, went for broke. Some considered his rants those of a lunatic. Others found truth and clarity in his message.

I personally want to thank you for taking the time to respond to the survey. I know that every year, especially over the past few years, the appraisal profession has gone through such enormous changes that "this too shall pass". But they never do.

We are getting ourselves ready for the Third Party Oversight Summit next week, April 16, in New Orleans at the Hotel Monteleone. If you are a lender or an AMC this is a must do event. It is not too late to sign up. Register here.