Webinar: Staying Relevant in the Appraisal Industry by Appraisal Buzz

About this Webinar

Class Valuation, McKissock, and DataMaster present this webinar on how appraisers can stay relevant in the industry. Please join us as we welcome our panel of experts to discuss the latest ways you can keep your appraisal business relevant in an ever-changing industry. We’ll discuss the skills and knowledge you should obtain to best position yourself for success. We’ll focus on leveraging new technology to make you more efficient, providing new services that can provide additional revenue streams, growing your business through networking and joining organizations, as well making sure you have all the appropriate certifications.

Appraisal Buzz

Presenter

The Appraisal Buzz is a newsletter designed to keep the real estate appraisal professional and lending community plugged into what's happening in the world of appraising.
Mel Black

Director of Appraisal Innovation, Colibri Group/McKissock

Mel Black is the Director of Appraisal Innovation at McKissock Learning. Mel was first licensed as an appraiser in 1991 and as a real estate broker in 1988. He is an AQB-Certified USPAP Instructor and had earned two graduate degrees in the field of education. He was named the “Educator of the Year” by North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association and was the first recipient of the prestigious “Larry Outlaw Excellence in Education Award” established by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. In addition to his work with McKissock Learning, Mel is an attorney in private practice with a focus on representing real estate appraisers and other professionals before their licensing boards.

Prior to working with McKissock, Mel owned and operated an appraisal and real estate school where he developed and delivered appraisal and real estate continuing education courses. Mel got his start working in his family’s appraisal and real estate office and then went on to be the Executive Director of the North Carolina Appraisal Board and serve as the Education and Examination Officer for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. Mel has served as an appraisal subject matter expert in multiple roles to include: reviewing and revising appraisal examination questions for a national provider and contributing to “APB Valuation Advisory #6: Valuation of Green and High Performance Property: Background and Competency” by the Appraisal Foundation.

Mel has co-authored a book on teaching real estate topics and was acknowledged as a contributor to the Real Estate Commission's "North Carolina Real Estate Manual 2011-2012 Edition" for revising the chapter on Real Estate Valuation

Mel has been elected or appointed to serve in a variety of state and national positions to include: President of the Association of Appraisal Regulatory Officials (AARO;) Board Member of the Council for Licensure Enforcement, and Regulation (CLEAR;) Member of The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (TAFAC;) and others. Currently, he serves as the Vice Chair of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. For his service to and representation of North Carolina nationally, Mel was honored in 2002 with membership into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest award presented by the Office of the Governor.
Matt Simmons

Appraiser

Matt is a native of Southwest Florida and a graduate of the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University. He joined the appraisal profession in 2003 and joined Maxwell & Hendry Valuation Services in 2005 serving as the residential division manager until becoming a partner in the firm in 2013. Maxwell, Hendry & Simmons provides appraisal and consulting services for commercial and residential real estate in the 5-county region (Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry).

Matt’s individual practice includes forensic valuation work for eminent domain, zoning matters, family law, foreclosure/deficiency actions, bankruptcy, VAB appeals, and general civil litigation. He leads the firms’ efforts in specialized studies, including Value Impact Studies and Economic Impact Studies. Matt also manages the day-to-day commercial valuation service functions of the firm.

Matt is a Past-President of the Real Estate Investment Society, is an FHA/HUD approved appraiser, and has served as a guest lecturer at Florida Gulf Coast University for several years. Matt is qualified as an expert witness in Florida District Court: 20th and 7th Judicial Circuits, and in U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, as well as several jurisdictions out of state. He has also been recognized as an expert on value and economic impact issues in cases involving zoning and land use changes in several Florida communities. He is a licensed broker and consults commercial and residential investors in income-producing acquisitions. In 2012, Matt was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board. He is the youngest appointee in the history of FREAB and served as the 2014 Chairman. During his term of service he focused on issues of license enforcement and rule-making associated with the Administrative Code applicable to real estate appraisers, instructors, and appraisal management companies.
Jared Preisler

Chief Appraiser, DataMaster

Jared Preisler, SRA has been involved in the appraisal industry for over 25 years as an independent fee appraiser serving Northern Utah. Jared is currently the Chief Appraiser for DataMaster, while continuing as an independent fee appraiser and trainer. He earned both the SRA and AI-RRS designations from the Appraisal Institute. He is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor and he is licensed in Utah to teach both real estate and appraisal continuing education courses. He serves on the Directors Board of the Utah Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. Since 2010, he has also been a member of the Board of Trustees and Vice President of the Utah Association of Appraisers (UAA). Jared has developed several CE courses for the real estate profession in his roles with UAA, the Utah Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and DataMaster. Prior to becoming and appraiser, Jared earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State University. He also owned a remodeling and construction company – Home Inspection Company – and 64 rental properties. Jared and his wife Lisa have four children, with one granddaughter on the way. Jared is passionate about real estate; he loves watching his kids play sports, traveling with Lisa, cycling and golfing.
Lamar Ellis

MAI, SRA, FAAST DronePro, Atlanta Chapter of AUVSI President, Drone Technology expert focused on Real Estate – Independent Appraiser

Lamar is the President of Drone Education Services and his goal and passion is to open minds to the benefits of drone technology. He has been part of the Commercial and Residential Real Estate Appraisal industry in Atlanta, GA for over 30 years. and has served as a Director for the Atlanta Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and Education Chair. Along with those responsibilities he currently serves as a Federal Aviation Administration FAASTeam Representative and DronePro for the state of Georgia and is the 2022 Chapter President for the Atlanta Chapter of AUVSI (The Association for UnCrewed Vehicle Systems International). Along with providing aerial data for various real estate industries he also provides training and education for pilots and clients. Lamar’s work has led him to travel the country, presenting in over 40 states in addition to presenting numerous webinars and written seminars on drone technology for McKissock, the Appraisal Institute, the National Association of Realtors, the American Society of Appraisers, the Right-of-Way Association, the Institute of Real Estate Management, the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Mississippi Tax Assessors, the FAA, and AUVSI. Coming this fall, he is introducing his new seminar "Maps, Measurements, and Modeling". The seminar is being developed along with several mapping software companies and information gathering specialist to bring real estate professionals cutting edge technologies for valuation, brokerage, city planning, construction, development, assessment, inspection, litigation, architecture, insurance, and property management.