Events and Classes
Non-Lending Appraisals
7 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
The course walks appraisers through the possibilities and requirements of nonlender appraisal work, including tax rebuttal, prepurchase, prelisting, divorce, estate, and IRS-related work. Students explore the components necessary for private appraisal work, including forms and narrative. USPAP is examined as the minimum foundation for the development and reporting of the appraisals, and students learn supplemental requirements that are unique to various types of private appraisal work. General best practices are also emphasized, to ensure the best work product. General requirements are presented, applicable to most or all appraisal types; specific needs of various types of work are also emphasized throughout units in the course.
Estate and IRS Appraisals – Expand Your Appraisal Practice
2 hours CE or 3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
This course walks appraisers through the possibilities and requirements of estate and IRS appraisal work, including scenarios, development, and reporting. Students explore the components necessary for private appraisal work in general and apply those elements to this specific type of work. USPAP is examined as the minimum foundation for the development and reporting of the appraisals, and students learn supplemental requirements that are unique to estate and IRS work.
Ultimate Workfile: What, When ,Why
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
This course will delve into the USPAP Record Keeping rule and breakdown each of the components that should be contained in an appraiser’s workfile. Will also review USPAP’s FAQ while helping the student to analyze other situations where these guidelines would apply. How to create a checklist to ensure that each workfile is correctly assembled. Develop the ability to identify what to retain, when it needs to be retained and why each component is needed in the workfile. They will gain a deeper comprehension of how to prevent common record keeping mistakes. Students will examine real world examples of proper and improper workfiles.
Rock-Solid Report Writing
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
At a time when the real estate market is busier than ever, how can appraisers ensure they are writing reports that not only meet minimum requirements, but also convey their assignment results in the most meaningful manner to receive fewer revision requests? In this 3.5-hour class, appraisers will look beyond the forms to determine the components of understandable and compliant reports, so they can answer their clients’ questions before they are even asked. Students will leave the class with skills and materials to reinvent their reports.
Tools and Analysis
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
Balancing efficiency, credibility, earnings, and accuracy can be daunting for appraisers. More and more, technology is available to appraisers looking to gain an edge on competition and understand and develop better analytical methods. In this 3.5 hour class, appraisers answer: What are my obligations when relying upon technology? How do analytical tools help me to remain objective? What are these tools and how can I include them in my daily work? How do analytical tools contribute to my reporting of the appraisal and my workfile?
Avoiding Review Issues
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
Students walk through the life of an appraisal report as it passes through manual screenings, automated review systems and tools, escalated reviews, formal appraisal reviews, and even periodic or annual spot-check reviews.
Aside from applying lessons learned from understanding the numerous review processes that go into screening reports, students also will consider steps for moving forward in a smarter and more pro-active way, to eliminate errors in the development and reporting processes – before they occur!.
USPAP National Update
7 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
Joshua Walitt is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor.
ANSI Z765 2021
2 hours CE or 3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
The course introduces new learners to the ANSI Z765 standard for measuring residential dwellings, but is also useful to practitioners who have previously learned the ANSI Z765 standard but might not be using it correctly or simply need a refresher. Text slides and multiple pictures and illustrations are used to ensure learners complete the course with a full understanding of the standard. Multiple real-world scenarios are addressed, including property types, levels, grade, stairs, areas open to below, as well as Fannie Mae requirements and best practices.
The longer version of the course examines the commentary and illustrations from the ANSI Z765 Annex and also reviews applicable sections of the Fannie Mae Selling Guide was well as its Measuring Guidelines (FAQs).
Transforming the Sales Comparison Approach
7 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
Prior to focusing on the comparable sales, participants first focus on the market area itself and market analysis, both in terms of studying various indicators as well as communicating market analysis conclusions to the client within the report. Verification and reconciliation of data is a focus in several units. Distress sales and other non-typical or non-market transactions are examined, in terms of their role in markets and using (or not using) these types of sales in a sales comparison approach. Researching and supporting adjustments are major components in the course, exploring multiple methods and emphasizing data and analysis.
Strengthening the sales comparison approach is critical now more than ever to continue to preserve public trust – through understanding the market, analyzing comparable sales, reporting conclusions, and using consistent, recognized, data-based methods.
Real-World Adjustments
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
This course reinforce methods and techniques for deriving adjustment estimates for the sales comparison approach. The material is appropriate for trainees, new appraisers, and veteran appraisers needing review of concepts and real-world illustrations. Adjustments are explored for market conditions, garages, square footage, location, condition, and others. Methods employed include paired sales, paired groups, paired resales, graphs and trending, and regression. The course is also designed to allow the instructor, at his or her discretion, to include live applications of Excel, regression, or similar tools for covering the related slides. The course can also be presented in a 3-hour format, with fewer examples.
Moving Parts: Modernization and Measurements
3.5 hours CE
Classroom or Live Online
This course looks at two separate, but related issues related to the appraiser’s need for reliable data collection: the modernization efforts underway related to property data collection and the measurement standard being used for in-person appraiser inspections as well as how those standards may relate to technology. The class focuses on the GSEs’ desktop, hybrid, PDR, PDC, waivers, and related topics, to give students (appraisers, lenders, AMCs, and other participants) a broad understanding of the “moving parts” related to these types of practices, such as technology, forms, processes, GSE requirements. Data sources and issues surrounding data are also focused on.
This course then moves learners to the ANSI Z765 Measurement Standard from the perspective of a new learner or to remind and refocus learners who already have experience with prior versions of the Standard or who may not have used it consistently or correctly. The course uses text slides to prompt discussion of the standard, scenarios, and application, as well as images for the instructor to draw on, use laser pointer, etc. to illustrate how particular property components are addressed by the standard.
Walitt Solutions generally does not submit classes for state approvals. Walitt Solutions acts as the instructor and supplies the course materials (slide deck, description, timing, objectives) to providers for the providers to submit to their state regulators for CE approval.
Streamline Your Business – Rapid-Fire Tips
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar presents challenges and solutions related to assistants, workflow, office tasks, templates, technology, procedures and policies.
Investigations
30 – 45 min
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar presents sources of complaints, workfile requirements and best practices, the “big four” common deficiencies, common findings, and examples of deficient work and state investigative reports.
Significance of Assistants
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar focuses on use of assistants for non-appraisal and appraisal tasks, such as workflow, turn-times, consistency, productivity, office support, pre-inspection, report preparation, workfile assembly, and various types of research assistants can support.
Fix-and-Flip Two-Value Appraisals
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar focuses on appraisals where the client requests two values be expressed in one appraisal report as part of one assignment. Typically, these assignments relate to fix-and-flip type scenarios but can relate to other types of assignments as well. Considerations include effective dates, forms, software, sketches, approaches to value, reporting clearly, and examples.
ANSI Z765 2021
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar provides a broad overview of the ANSI Z765 standard with less depth than the 2- or 3.5- hour classes.
Modernization: Desktop, Hybrid, Waivers, Data Collection
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
The seminar focuses on the GSEs’ desktop, hybrid, PDR, PDC, and related topics, to give appraisers, lenders, AMCs, and other participants a broad understanding of the “moving parts” related to these types of practices, such as technology, forms, processes, GSE requirements. Discussion also includes broader application to the non-secondary market.
Generally, seminars and enrichment are not intended for state CE approval; these offerings are generally 30-60 minutes with additional time often devoted to discussion.
Annual Compliance Training
4-7 hours
Classroom, Live Online, or Self-Paced Online
The course covers state and federal requirements for AMCs and lenders, so company leadership can ensure staff are properly trained to avoid non-compliance in a variety of appraiser-, client-, and public-facing scenarios. Topics include: overview of valuation independence (aka, appraiser independence); communication, activity, and practice standards; operational impact areas; achieving and demonstrating compliance; assigning appraisers; compensation to appraisers; prohibitions based on federal, state, agency, and GSE requirements; certificates and certifications; evaluating alleged violations of valuation independence; complaints, revision requests, value reconsiderations; mandatory reporting; USPAP back-to-basics; abuse, bias, and discrimination.
This course can be customized for clients needing greater focus on certain topics. Attendees receive a non-CE attendance certificate.
AMC Compliance Program Seminar
1 hour
Classroom or Live Online
This seminar addresses key processes an AMC must have in place, such as valuation independence; communication, activity, and practice standards; operational impact areas; assigning appraisers; compensation; prohibitions; certifications; alleged violations; revision requests and value reconsiderations; mandatory reporting; key USPAP components; abuse, bias, and discrimination. Whereas the Annual Compliance Training provides instruction on carrying out these requirements, this brief seminar is an overview of the necessity for related policies and procedures.
AMC training provides training required by most states and clients but is not intended for state CE approval.
Individual or Group
Investigate Your Appraisal: Report and Support
Instructor: Josh Walitt
Multi-session live online workshop series
What are a client’s, investigator’s, or risk manager’s expectations of an appraiser’s process and report? Walk through appraisal reports and consider workfile components with a critical eye, to identify common pitfalls, non-compliance red flags that lead to state complaints, and best practices. (Optionally, anonymously submit your properly-redacted work to be peer-critiqued during a session.) Learn what not to do if you’re in the investigator’s hotseat. Non-CE.
Modern Office and Productive Workflow
Instructor: Josh Walitt
Multi-session live online workshop series
Take a deep dive into your business model… Examine ways to make your office more efficient and productive, by leveraging technology and an assistant for an improved repeatable workflow. Leave this workshop with solutions for making the most of your time, boosting the consistency of your work, and fine-tuning your office workflow. Non-CE.
While Walitt Solutions is not an appraisal management company and does not provide appraisal management services or legal advice, we offer the support, training and assistance valuation-related businesses need to meet their compliance needs.
Refund policy applicable to offerings hosted by and registered through Walitt Solutions: Cancellations must be in writing at least 48 hours in advance of the start of the offering. The amount of a refund from a cancellation request may be reduced by the amount of any third-party payment processors. Requests made later than 48 hours in advance or not in writing will not be processed. (For offerings hosted by or registered through other companies, refer to their cancellation and refund policies.)