Course Descriptions & Information

Course Descriptions

Stats, Graphs and Data Science
2-day Hands on Workshop, presented in partnership with George Dell, MAI, SRA, ASA, CDEI

Course Description: General, Residential, & Litigation applications.

Hear, see, and apply solutions in a big data world. Speed and bulletproof your work.
1. Precisely delineate the market segment data set;
2. Visualize, calculate, and estimate adjustments with three types of data science adjustment methods.

Eliminate data selection issues. Visualize and identify the competitive market segment.
Stop reviewer subjectivity. Tools, models, and software you can use now.

Lunch and Learn Series
2-hour Seminars

Course Description: Our Lunch and Learn series is designed for the busy appraiser who finds it difficult to take an entire day away from the office for CE. Enjoy lunch while listening to one of our seminars in a casual, relaxed classroom setting and still have time to head back to work afterward. If there is interest in this series, we will continue offering new, unique topics on a monthly basis for the remainder of 2018 and beyond.

Appraisals within the Lending Industry: The seminar provides a brief history and background of real estate finance. Emphasis will be on a discussion of the basics and why unbiased appraising is essential for the process. A discussion of the secondary market, discount point, loan to value ratios, and other details of the lending process will lead to a deeper understanding of how our system works. And, finally, a discussion of the "things that went wrong" in the appraisal arena while exploring the causes of the last two major recessions.
Appraising for the Government: One of the niches in the valuation business is appraising for government entities. Each entity, whether federal, state, or a municipality, has a different set of regulations, rules, and protocol required in order for them to stay within the law. This course will briefly discuss the various sources affecting those entities.
Appraising within the Indiana Property Tax Realm: "True Tax Value" is a unique concept peculiar to Indiana's assessment policy. It is the by which we value real estate for tax purposes. The concept of "true tax value" is not recognized anywhere else in the United States. How to prepare a report for tax appeal is very specific - especially as it relates to commercial property. This seminar will briefly describe to concerns that have been raised within the Department of Local Government Funding, the courts, and USPAP.
Diversity in the Valuation Industry: The seminar addresses the appraiser's responsibility and obligations in dealing with the public and each other within today's society. The seminar begins with a discussion of definitions, terms, historical factors, and legislation that set the stage for an appraiser's responsibility within the diversity arena. The discussion then turns to how the professional organizations can be a focus for channeling data and case studies to valuation professionals. And, finally, a dialogue is encouraged to illustrate how individuals in the profession can protect themselves from unintentionally practicing discrimination.
Environmental Concerns within the Valuation Arena: The seminar provides a brief history and background of real estate finance. Emphasis will be on a discussion of the basics and why unbiased appraising is essential for the process. A discussion of the secondary market, discount point, loan to value ratios, and other details of the lending process will lead to a deeper understanding of how our system works. And, finally, a discussion of the "things that went wrong" in the appraisal arena while exploring the causes of the last two major recessions.
USPAP For Real Estate Brokers: The seminar is designed to enlighten real estate brokers about the intricacies of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraiser Practice as it relates to their valuation practice. The seminar begins with a discussion of definitions, terms, historical factors, and legislation that set the stage for the broker's responsibility within the valuation arena. The discussion then turns to how (specifically) and when the standards apply to brokers in their valuation practice. And, finally, a dialogue is encouraged to illustrate how individuals in the profession can protect themselves from unintentional violations.

Modern Tools for the Residential Appraiser:
The seminar provides an opportunity for residential appraisers to enhance their analytical skills in the appraisal process. By increasing efficiency, an appraiser will have more time to concentrate on analyzing the market and comparable data.

The learning objectives are to:

Utilize modern tools to increase appraiser efficiency
Demonstrate how increasing efficiency results in more time for appraisal analysis
Increase the strength of the Appraiser's work file

Residential Appraising- Comparing Neighborhoods:
The seminar provides an opportunity for residential appraisers to enhance their skills when determining whether two neighborhoods are truly similar and competing. With the ability to truly determine whether neighborhoods are comparable, the knowledge will lead to a discussion of whether comparable data should or should not be utilized. If data from a non-similar neighborhood is to be utilized, a portion of the seminar will be devoted to determining how to develop a reasonable and supportable adjustment for the difference.

The learning objectives are to:

Recognize differences in Neighborhoods
Recognize methods to analyze and distinguish the differences
Recognize when and how to develop reasonable and supportable adjustments for Neighborhood differences

Market Conditions Analysis in Residential Appraising:
The seminar provides an opportunity for residential appraisers to enhance their analytical skills by increasing their ability to recognize and apply Market Conditions in the appraisal process. Participants will gain a better understanding of how Market Conditions can impact the value opinion.

The learning objectives are to:

Recognize the various factors which compose a proper Market Conditions Analysis
Demonstrate multiple methods for developing trend analysis
Recognize how and why Market Conditions impact value conclusions

Logic within the Appraisal Process
4-hour Seminar

Course Description: This is a four (4) hour seminar designed to help participants understand the basic tenements of logic by describing the field from an historical, cultural and explanatory basis. A section is devoted to the logic involved in prediction and forecasting with the emphasis designed to highlight those areas that are of importance to real estate appraisers. The seminar then applies the detailed precepts of logic to the appraisal process and ends with a discussion of the procedural issues within all three approaches.

Indiana Appraisal Law Ethics, Laws & Standards
4-hour Seminar

Course Description: This is a four (4) hour seminar designed to illustrate the legal, ethical and standard parameters already established within the appraisal industry. It begins with a basic discussion of ethics by detailing with the various types of ethics and how they affect the real estate appraiser's business. The seminar then leads through a general discussion of the constitutional, legislative, and administrative rules typically found under the federal, state and local governments. That discussion is followed by an illustration of the sources of standards that are applied by the various governmental and professional organizations.

Appraising in the Litigation Arena
7-hour Seminar

Course Description: This is a seven (7) hour seminar designed to help participants understand the appraiser's role in the litigation arena. It begins with a short description of the various subsets of appraising in which an appraiser should be aware and flows into the general requirements needed to be a good expert witness. A section on the practical applications of those requirements illustrates the importance of each of the general requirements as it relates to the various parts of the litigation process. The seminar then discusses the specific issues of importance in the current litigative market and ends with a discussion of appraisers' application to the market.

Supporting Appraisal Adjustments
7-hour Seminar

Course Description: This is a seven (7) hour seminar designed to help participants improve their abilities to develop and support reasonable adjustments in the Sales Comparison Approach to Residential Appraising. Participants will be shown how to use a spreadsheet designed by the Instructor which makes developing these adjustments much quicker and easier. The spreadsheet will be distributed for participants' use at the conclusion of class.

Appraisal Hazards
7-hour Seminar

Course Description: This is a (7) hour seminar designed to help participants recognize issues, concerns, and/or common errors in preparing residential appraisal assignments. Various issues/concerns/errors will be discussed with concentration focused on both the Appraisal Inspection and the Appraisal Report. Examples of why a particular subject is an issue will be followed with various examples of why and how to address the concern.

Course Information

Location:
Courses and Seminars are presented at 9247 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis. Classes are held in the 2nd floor classroom. The building is located three blocks south of I-465 on the east side of US31 (Meridian Street) on the north side of Indianapolis. Turn East at 93rd Street off of US31 (Meridian Street). This building is behind the FC Tucker office building.

For class locations in other cities, please call or you will receive specific location in your confirmation emails.

Reservation, Registration and Confirmation:
Our reservation system is based on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a seat in a course or seminar, please navigate to the Course Schedule page and follow the registration instructions.

When registering for an AI course, you will be prompted to enter your payment information as part of your registration through the AI website.

When registering for an Education Resources course, you should plan to pay by either check, cash or credit card upon arrival to the class.

You will receive an automated email when your registration is complete. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact us for assistance.

Course Cancellation Policy:
Classes are subject to cancellation if minimum enrollment is not reached. If a course is cancelled, you will have an opportunity to transfer your registration to another course or receive a full refund.

Nondiscrimination Policy:
Education Resources, LLC promotes equal opportunity and non-discrimination in the appraisal profession. Our classes are open to all without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. Impaired or disabled students: Students requiring special assistance please give us reasonable notice so we can accommodate your needs.

Attendance Policy:
Because we are required to certify that students are in attendance according to state laws in several states, we must adhere to several states' attendance requirements. Therefore, strict rules on attendance, tardiness and recordkeeping are required. This policy is not flexible because the state laws are not. All students must attend 100% of all Continuing Education Courses. There is a 20 minute grace period for seven (7) hour classes but only a ten (10) minute grace period for four (4) hour seminars. Education Resources complies with all applicable federal, state and local regulations.

Class Policies:
Tape recorders or other recording devices are not allowed in the classroom under any conditions (no exceptions). Cell phones and beepers must be turned off during class. Students who receive cell phone calls during class are very disruptive even if they are in silent mode. Students that receive calls during class will be asked to leave the class (no credit).