On March 26, the KwaZulu-Natal Branch Annual General Meeting and Seminar brought together valuation professionals and industry experts at the Master Builders Association building in Westville, Durban for an inspiring and insightful event.
Masterclass Highlight: “Life’s Lessons – Adapting & Thriving” was the seminar’s theme. Attendees had the incredible opportunity to gain wisdom from seasoned valuation professionals, who shared their experiences and industry insights from the four esteemed speakers who had been secured for the event.
Ken Davies, SAIV Life Member & Professional Valuer at Ken Davies and Associates strongly advised individual valuers to establish a network of valuation and building environment professionals who can provide not only property market information but who can also provide opinions on value and on prevailing market conditions.
Ken went on further encouraging valuers to fully understand the contents and provisions of the International Valuation Standards (IVS). This would enable valuers to apply the correct Approach and Methodologies when valuing property.
Trevor Richardson another doyen of the valuation profession and Life Member of the SAIV also took to the stage emphasise the importance of the role that valuers play in the property industry. Valuers are often the key contributors when the viability of development projects is being assessed. They also play a key role when acting as expert witnesses in court proceedings. Valuers should acknowledge the importance of their input and should aim to assert themselves accordingly.
Trevor strongly advised that valuers shift from being generalists to becoming specialists in their field of work. The valuation space is wide and varied which allows valuers to choose a property niche in which to operate e.g. retirement estates; hospitals; infrastructure.
He was followed by Robert Roper, SAIV Fellow Member & Retired Valuer at Roper and Associates. Rob emphasised the importance of conducting due diligence when starting an assignment. This encompasses several factors including:
- the correct assessment of key areas and extents by using plans, diagrams or by physical measurements.
- The correct status of the property by scrutinising a range of documents e.g. title deeds and leases, and also financial statements.
Rob warned that if the basic facts within a valuation report are incorrectly stated, any expression of opinion could be queried and could be assumed to be flawed.
Rob encouraged valuers to retain their confidence when tackling large or complex valuation assignments. He strongly suggested that valuers view the Big Picture and then break it down into manageable sections.
The last speaker was Martin Fitchet, SAIV Life Member & Director at Knight Frank who addressed a very intrigued audience. Martin provided a colourful insight into his career as a property valuer. He described how his progression through the profession had been shaped by strong individuals who were passionate about the craft. He described how his career path had led him to many interesting parts of the country and to different cross-border locations, meeting some very interesting characters along the way!
Martin also stressed the importance of getting the basics right for every valuation assignment, which included:
- composing full and accurate field notes
- tenaciously sourcing sufficient and meaningful market data
- having a good, knowledgeable network of professionals with whom to confer
He also highlighted the importance of creating valuation reports that created a logical correlation between the facts and the final opinion of value.
The interactive panel session was made up of the presenters and also included Patrick O’Connell, Fellow of the Institute.
One of the discussion points was on AI (Artificial Intelligence). Panellists and delegates, alike, were mostly cautious about the wholesale acceptance of the technology.
Concerns included:
- The reliability of the data sources.
- Confabulation (AI makes up facts when there are none to be had)
- Generative text can be easily detected and so the use of AI to produce reports can be exposed
The panel concluded that it was the sole responsibility of the valuer to interrogate the veracity of data and information and to create a unique report based on skill, knowledge and ability.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event a success!
Stay tuned for more exciting events and opportunities to connect with SAIV. 💼✨
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