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July 24-25 in South San Francisco, CA |
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Conference FAQs Appraisal Buzz Newsletter -- June 12, 2003 Interview with Ann O'Rourke, MAI, SRA The organizer of the Appraisal Today 2003 National Conference July 24-25 in South San Francisco. BUZZ: Why are you doing the conference? O'ROURKE: I have a monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today, published since June 1992. Many newsletter publishers have conferences and I finally decided to try it myself. I started doing CE seminars in California in 1995, and wanted to try something different than the usual half or full day seminars. My first national conference was AppraisalTech 2001. Conferences are very risky financially. I was very nervous but I broke even on that event. Doing the second conference has been much easier as I know what to expect. I am planning on doing a conference every year. BUZZ: Who does all the work on the conference? O'ROURKE: Fortunately, I have two great office assistants that handle all the mailings, registrations, etc. I handle the expo and the education sessions - topics, speakers, etc. BUZZ: What about continuing education? O'ROURKE: If I don't have CE, only a few appraisers will come. Of course appraisers like to have interesting speakers and topics but CE is the number one reason for attending. I have a list of states' current CE status at http://www.appraisaltoday.com/2003conference/2003_conference_home_page.htm. Approvals are coming in every week.BUZZ: Why are you having it in South San Francisco? O'ROURKE: I live in Alameda, in the San Francisco Bay Area and it is easy for me to coordinate local events. San Francisco is a top travel destination. I encourage non-local attendees to take a few days off before or after the conference for a vacation from their stressful appraisal business. I had to select the location for my AppraisalTech 2001 conference in 2000, when the "dot com" boom made finding a location very difficult. I wanted a San Francisco location, but downtown San Francisco hotels were not available or were too expensive. I found the South San Francisco Conference Center on the Internet, and it was reasonably priced. Proximity to the San Francisco Airport (1.5 miles), adjacent reasonably priced hotels, many nearby hotels in all price ranges, and easy freeway access were significant pluses. I am renting the entire 20,000+ sq.ft. facility, so attendees can easily go from one room to another. BUZZ: Will you be having any future conferences in other locations? O'ROURKE: I don't anticipate offering any conferences in other areas in the immediate future as it takes a lot of work just to do a local conference. Of course, I would love to have a huge conference like Valuation 2000 in Las Vegas! Maybe some day... BUZZ: How many appraisers will be attending? O'ROURKE: Registrations are well above the 2001 conference. I am expecting over 300 appraisers from all over the country. Attendees at the 2001 conference really liked networking with other appraisers. BUZZ: Are you still doing appraisals? O'ROURKE: Yes, I am out there every week doing both commercial and residential appraisals. I really like appraising and hate to be stuck in the office. BUZZ: How is your conference different? O'ROURKE: My company does it all, so I can pick whatever topics and speakers I think appraisers will prefer. I have a national appraisal newsletter, Appraisal Today, so I keep up on all the latest hot topics for appraisers. Having fun is also important, so I have entertainers at the reception the first evening. In 2001 I had a juggler/stiltwalker, magician, fortune teller, and caricature artist. I haven't decided on this year's entertainment but we will definitely have some fun! Lots of good food is also very important. I am spending over $100 per person for food. BUZZ: How do you select the session topics? O'ROURKE: Topic selection is tough as it must be done at least 6 months prior to the conference. To have a good session, both a good speaker and a good topic are required. Some topics are great, but a good speaker is not available. The sessions' titles and descriptions are not very specific, so last minute "hot topics" can be covered. The conference is national, so topics must appeal to appraisers in all states. Because of my monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today, I have to keep up on all the latest topics, to keep my current subscribers and get new ones. When researching my articles over the years, I have found many good speakers. This year's session titles are:
BUZZ: Where do you get the speakers and moderators? O'ROURKE: I have set up speakers for meetings and conferences, and have been a speaker myself many times. The key to a successful educational conference is the speakers. A good speaker can make a boring topic interesting. I prefer to only select speakers I have heard speak myself, or I personally know. I was very lucky to get Henry Harrison, MAI, SRA, publisher of Real Estate Valuation magazine, to speak as he seldom comes to the West Coast. (He lives in Connecticut.) His daughter lives in Berkeley, so he is combining a speaking trip with a family visit. At this year's conference I have an underwriter panel at the "What do underwriters really want" session. Since I don't personally know any underwriters, I got recommendations from others. The session is set up in a "talk show" format with my best moderator, Corina Rollins. She has many years of appraisal teaching experience, handling all types of questions. I expect to get some tough questions from the audience. Good moderators are also important, to keep the session on track, fill in during any "dead spots" and handle questions. All my moderators are very experienced. My most experienced moderators will be at the two sessions with the toughest questions, What do underwriters really want? (Corina Rollins) and Residential hot topics (Deane Wilson). BUZZ: What if I have a speaker or topic to recommend for next year? O'ROURKE: Send me an email at ann@appraisaltoday.com. I'm always looking for good topics and speakers. BUZZ: Is this conference for commercial or residential appraisers? O'ROURKE: There are three possible types of sessions: residential, commercial, and crossover (both residential and commercial). This year I have two residential sessions: What do underwriters really want? and Residential hot topics. The other sessions are "cross over," appealing to both residential and commercial appraisers. At my 2001 conference, I had commercial appraisal sessions, attended by about 25% of attendees. I may do this again at future conferences. BUZZ: What exhibitors will be there? O'ROURKE: Attendees really like to have exhibitors, so I spent lots of time setting up the Expo. Most of the residential forms vendors will be exhibiting (Bradford Technologies, Software for Real Estate Professionals, Day One, ACI), so their customers can come by to say hello, ask questions, and purchase new products. Two new narrative appraisal report software programs will be exhibited, Report Concierge and @Value. There haven't been any of these programs developed for many years. Appraiserdepot.com will be demonstrating (and selling) the hottest appraisal tech tool, the Disto laser measuring device. Forms & Worms will be selling books including Henry Harrison's. Data and map vendors Flood Insights, NDCdata, Map Solutions, and First American Real Estate Solutions will be showing their products. E&O provider Liability Insurance Administrators will be there to answer questions. AppraisalTrac, eTrac, and FNC Inc. will be demonstrating their Internet based software for managing appraisal workflow. Chesapeake Appraisal and Settlement Services, Appraisal Enhancement Services, World Savings will be looking for appraisers, both staff and fee. The American Society of Appraisers, a multi-disciplinary appraisal association, will answer your questions. BUZZ: How is this conference different from AppraisalTech 2001? O'ROURKE: AppraisalTech 2001 was set up in 2000, during the "dot com" boom when there were many new appraisal product and service vendors, particularly Internet-based. Since then, venture capital money dried up and there are relatively few new technology products and services for appraisers. Appraisal Today 2003 conference is much broader based, including technology topics, but also many other topics of interest to appraisers, such as underwriters, USPAP changes, liability, lender pressure, etc. For more information on the conference, go to http://www.appraisaltoday.com or call 800-839-0227. To contact Ann O'Rourke, call 800-839-0227 or email ann@appraisaltoday.com .Ann O'Rourke, MAI, SRA Appraiser and Publisher of Appraisal Today newsletter 2033 Clement Ave., Suite 105 Alameda, CA 94501 mailto:ann@appraisaltoday.com phone: 800-839-0227//fax: 800-839-0014 http://www.appraisaltoday.com for appraisal news, info, and a few jokes!
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