As reported in last week’s BVWire™, the governing boards of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA), and the Appraisal Institute (AI) met in New Orleans on November 6, 2007 to discuss a proposed interim plan for the “unification of the appraisal profession,” according to an ASA e-update.  Following the initial presentation, the boards met separately to consider the interim plan and its outline for unification, and then took a vote on additional funding for development of a final version, scheduled for a March 2008 release.

The outcome: the ASA and ASFMR Appraisers voted to accept the interim plan and to continue toward unification. The AI rejected the interim plan, as presented, and declined to move forward.  According to Terry Allen, current Chair of the ASA’s BV Committee, “When AI voted against continuing the unification talks, it ended one phase of the unification effort and deflated those who had worked so hard to find a workable format for uniting the organizations.  I hope that this setback does not keep ASA and ASFMRA from continuing unification talks,” she adds.  “I believe there is a good fit between the organizations and we would be excited about the opportunity to unite these organizations.”