Wisconsin Chapter

President's Column by Richard A. Zurowski, SRA

The Key to a Happy Life is Knowing There's More Than One Key

Now that fall has arrived, I hope everybody had a prosperous summer with historic low interest rates and can now enjoy the fall.

Thanks to all who took the time to attend our educational offerings, we had another good year with strong attendance numbers at each of the offerings. The offerings next year will be reduced, as 2004 is an off year in our renewal cycle. Many of the topics covered next year will be presented by local instructors, with topics such as real estate trends, hotel and hospitality industry development, GIS mapping and interpretation, and a local attorney on condemnation. Thanks to the relationship our executive director has with other organizations, we will more aggressively market our programs jointly with other associations.

Those of you who read my last message, may recall our declining reserves in recent years; I am happy to report this year looks to be at or near break even. The reasons for our return to a stronger balance sheet can be attributed to our members and guests attending our continuing education, this year being the end year of our education cycle, and the national convention in Toronto being cancelled because of SARS. Next year looks to be a more challenging year, with the board of directors approving a dues increase to $110 for 2004. At this new level we remain among the lowest priced chapters across the nation. Chapters of similar size in our region as well as other parts of the nation impose annual dues of between $145 to $175. The board of directors will continue to be fiscally conservative, with the additional revenue utilized to maintain the professionalism of the chapter, its members, and provide educational opportunities to appraisal professionals throughout our state.

As a continuation of the theme Professionals Providing Real Estate Solutions, the Appraisal Institute has decided to make the introductory real estate appraisal courses more affordable for local chapters to sponsor. While there are a variety of opportunities for potential students for introductory courses, the Appraisal Institute will continue to focus on training new professionals to be prepared for a career in real property appraisal. Along with the training, the chapter is looking for members interested in becoming a mentor for graduates of our program. This is a tremendous opportunity for members to share your knowledge and assure a future industry of trained professionals.

There is no delight in owning anything unshared.
 

Treasurer's Report

The Chapter funds as of 09/30/03 are:

Primary checking account: $4,331.79
Money market account: $15,188.52
CD: $28,976.98
Total funds balance: $48,497.29
 

Board Meeting Minutes - September 25, 2003

President Richard Zurowski called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. at the Holiday Inn City Centre in Green Bay, WI.

Members Present
Steve Stiloski, Chris Ruditys, Richard Zurowski, Mary Buckman, Tom Swan, Tim Warner, Jeff Smyth, Tim Leberman, Wade Graves, Steve Vitale, Bill Dreyer, Detlef Weiler.

Secretary's Report
The secretary's report was approved as published in the last newsletter.

Treasurer's Report
Income and expenses through August 2003 were presented and reviewed. A modest profit was shown, reflective of higher attendance at the educational offerings. However, it was also noted that 2003 is a State licensure renewal year, which typically increases the demand for education courses. Given the net income losses experienced in past years and the dwindling asset base, further discussion was held regarding increasing revenue sources and/or decreasing costs. This included preliminary discussion of the 2004 budget. One conclusion was the need for a dues increase, which was approved by the board. It is to be discussed in greater detail in the Presidents Column of the next newsletter.

Old Business
In an effort to increase the profitability of educational courses, proposed local seminars for 2004 were again discussed, to include a possible workshop setting offering a variety of topics as well as vendors. An ad hoc education committee was formed to coordinate and finalize times/dates.

New Business
The new Mark to Market Valuation seminar is scheduled to be held December 10, 2003 in Brookfield Wisconsin. It will be a half day, afternoon class, with a social hour to follow.

A proposal was made to have the board meet with past chapter presidents to discuss ways of increasing our membership. This would include efforts to increase the pursuit of professional designations.

Tom Swan updated the board on legislative issues. The current state budget will retain the State Manufacturing Assessment Office, but with modifications in its funding. Efforts are also being made to raise the standards for appraisals, one of which would be to eliminate the "Licensed" category. This would require applicants to obtain sufficient experience/education to obtain either the Certified Residential or Certified General designations.

A new legislative issue on the agenda is a proposal to increase time frame over which a property owner may obtain a second appraisal for condemnation purposes. The current time frame under which the state will pay for the appraisal is 60 days. However, property owners are often unfamiliar with the condemnation process, resulting in delays in obtaining the appraisal within this time frame. An increase to 90 or 120 days is being sought. Finally, in light of the numerous legislative issues impacting appraisers, a proposal was made to devote a separate section of future newsletters to this topic.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Detlef H. Weiler, MAI Secretary
Wisconsin Chapter of the Appraisal Institute

General Meeting Minutes - September 26, 2003

The meeting was called to order by Richard Zurowski, President at 12:17 p.m. with approximately 60 members in attendance.

Approval of Minutes from last Meeting
There was a M/S/C to approve the minutes from the last Membership Meeting.

Approval of Financial Statements
Chris Ruditys reported that the there was a balance of $40,872 as of September 30, 2003 and there was a net profit of $5,460 through August 31, 2003. M/S/C to approve the financial report.

Educational Offerings
Rich Zurowski gave a report of the remaining educational offerings for the remainder of the year and noted that the Board of Directors were looking to hold more home grown courses for 2004.

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 12:43 p.m.

 

WCAI Membership Recruitment Drive

There is so much potential for the Wisconsin Chapter of the Appraisal Institute to grow, and the WCAI Board, Membership Committee & Staff are encouraging you to become more involved in recruiting new members for the WCAI organization.

October is Member Appreciation Month. During this campaign, we are reaching out to the prospective WCAI members and sending them a mailing highlighting all of the benefits of the organization that you currently enjoy. Please reach out to prospective members and encourage them to join the ranks of the elite WCAI membership.

If you know of any individuals or companies that are not represented in the current WCAI membership, please do not hesitate to notify Brian Parrish, Director of Membership Services, at the WCAI office (parrish@wamllc.net, (414) 271-6858).

In addition, we are asking for your assistance at the next courses and seminars December 3-10th. Please extend a friendly hand to all of the prospective members at these courses, as it is a perfect opportunity to show them what WCAI is all about!

This is an exciting time for the Wisconsin Chapter, and it is important that each WCAI member take hold of the positive new energy and translate it into membership growth for the organization. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working with you in growing our organization.
 

Member News & More

Holiday Party & Installation of Officers & Directors
December 10, 2003
Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel
Brookfield, WI
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
 

WCAI Contact Information

Wisconsin Chapter of the Appraisal Institute (WCAI)
223 N. Water Street, Suite 300, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 271-6858, Fax: (414) 271-6868

E-Mail Addresses:
CEO — Christopher Ruditys
ruditys@wamllc.net

Director of Communications — Heather Westgor
heather@wamllc.net

Chief Financial Officer — Douglas Stangohr
doug@wamllc.net

Director of Membership Services — Brian Parrish
parrish@wamllc.net

 

Wisconsin Transfer Returns

Sale Data Service has purchased the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's Transfer Return database and is in the process of enhancing the SDS database with this additional information. Access to non-residential transfer return data will also be available as a separate database, and should be available by November. Although the transfer returns for commercial properties are not as readily searchable as the SDS database, there is a substantial amount of information that can be used for supporting values, or for other applications associated with non-residential real estate sale data assignments or projects.