Education

There is a lot of misunderstanding and anxiety about background checks. I think we could all agree with that statement, right?

Let me put your mind at ease about a few of the myths that are perpetuated in the blogosphere.

Myth #1: "I did something stupid when I was in college and I am a different person today. A background check is going to cause me to lose work."

The Allterra Group has always been known for their top notch on-site continuing education. Whether it is the lender sponsored appraiser events, seminars and webinars, or the national conference held every year at Valuation Expo. Now they are expanding their options and making continuing education available in the comfort of your own home or office! We sat down with their Director of Online Education, Ashley Hammond, to discuss Allterra Online and its offerings for appraisers.

Valuation Expo was started on three founding principles -- Learn, Network, and Prosper. Throughout the years, these principles have remained a guiding force for the conference. But what do these items mean to you? We are taking an in depth look here at the education component to show you how to leverage your Valuation Expo experience.

I was cruising the showroom of the Valuation Expo a few years ago and had an interesting run-in with a few appraisers who happened to be brothers. They had just attended one of the many presentations and had some strong opinions of what they heard. "Can you believe that guy stood up there and told me what I should or should not wear on an appraisal inspection? I mean, if I live in North Dakota, I am going to wear cowboy boots and if I live in Hawaii, I am going to be sporting flip-flops.

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.

The results of the April Foolery Contest are in! We are impressed with the creativity of all the submissions. We are pleased to award free Valuation Expo passes to the authors of the best poem, comic, and video about Valuation Expo or the Appraisal Industry as a whole. We were overwhelmed with the responses from appraisers across the country. We were finally able to narrow it down to one winner in each category. We also wanted to recognize some of the finalists who submitted some great entries.

Every year the Collateral Risk Network joins together to nominate and vote on the most influential mind in the appraisal industry for the year. The winner is presented with the prestigious Valuation Visionary Award. We are pleased to announce the winner of this year's award is Jeff Bradford, founder of Bradford Technologies.