What are the challenges for real estate appraisers? What are the challenges for real estate appraisers?

"This is one of the young professions in Bulgaria that emerged in the early 90s of the last century together with the transition to a market economy. In comparison, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the UK's largest institution of chartered surveyors, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year", says Andrei Ivanov, chairman of the Chamber of Professional Appraisers (CEO) in Bulgaria and Deloitte Bulgaria.

"On the one hand, the preparation of the evaluators and their education is an important moment for the development of the profession. Without being unnecessarily critical of the quality of economic education in the country and the opportunities for vocational training in the field of assessment, I will note that there is still much to go in this area, which is very important for the future of the profession, "says Ivanov.

In his view, it is essential for the progress in this area to enter more specialized, including international, providers of vocational training in the field of appraisal. "We at COPE are working to ensure that our professionals have access to lecturers and experts from Europe and the region, and I hope this initiative will be strengthened in the future. With the launch of REV certification in Bulgaria this year, I believe that the professional training of real estate valuers will inevitably be deepened in the years to come, "he added.

Another important point, according to him, is standardization and good practices. "By mid-2018, Bulgaria's International Standards for Assessment (IMS) are in place. By a decision of the Chamber of Independent Assessors in Bulgaria (KNOB) from the spring of 2018 new Bulgarian Standards for Assessment (BSS) are adopted, which supersede and repeal the IMS. We will not go into the details of the process of adopting the new standards, which was far from our perceptions of transparency. The current version of the BMS has been developed for several months and has been discussed for ten days. This period is extremely insufficient, "says Ivanov.

According to him, Bulgarian standards for evaluation need improvement and processing. It is also necessary to harmonize the assessment methodology. Ivanov believes that the valuer's ethics is also essential for the quality of work and the development of the profession in Bulgaria.

Kris Grzezik, Chairman of TEGoVA and CEO of Polish Properties, believes that attention to the global valuation profession has intensified since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and the ensuing global financial crisis.

"At that time, many commentators and analysts, including representatives of the European Commission, were surprised by the fact that it is possible that there is no harmony and consistency between the different valuation methods used by evaluators, both within Europe and even within the borders of one country. From this point onwards, the appraisal profession was called to place order in their own house, "he notes.

TEGoVA has set up this internal order with the publication of the revised version of the European Valuation Standards (EVS) and the implementation of the REV - Recognized European Valuer, a recognized European Valuer. Kris Grzezik added that the modern look of the European appraisal profession was born as a result of the crisis.

Banks and financial institutions are the largest users of real estate valuation services but also governments, local authorities, courts, auditors and all other real estate market players.

"European Valuation Standards (EVS) include a set of ethical norms and professional rules that each certified REV assessor should follow. These include rules that address the avoidance of conflicts of interest, customer confidentiality, professional competencies, and integrity in business behavior, "said Grzezik.

His message is that business appraisal is not an exclusive prerogative for financiers but real estate valuers can be as competent in this area. "