The long-term military campaigns the U.S. has waged in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in large numbers of veterans who are homeless, jobless or both. Now, Andrew Belt, who is a disabled veteran himself, is looking fix not only that problem, but growing shortage of residential real estate appraisers in combined effort.
Belt is the president and chief executive of Valued Veterans LLC, an Overland Park, Kan.-based appraisal management company which also qualifies as a service disabled veteran owned small business.
The company said its mission is to provide “best-in-class” service while creating jobs and opportunities for service members.
He has nine years of experience in the housing finance industry, although he is not an appraiser.
Belt was a Marine who served in the Iraq War. The company will hire both veterans and those who have not served in the military.
With Valued Veterans, he is looking to help fill a need, especially for large institutions to meet their diversity goals.
Toward that end, Valued Veterans has become a user of FNC Inc.’s Collateral Management System. FNC is an Oxford, Miss.-based real estate information technology provider.
Belt said big-box banks have expressed an interest in using Valued Veterans’ services.
“However, uniform systems are paramount and continue to be a stumbling block.
“I truly believe FNC’s CMS will not only be a conduit for us, but also a catalyst.”
By using FNC’s Collateral Management System, Valued Veterans believes it will be in a better position to explore integration with major lending institutions.
Among the supporters of Valued Veterans is U.S. Bank.
Then there is the other issue: the declining number of people willing to do real estate appraisals.
Belt has written an article on the topic, suggesting a mentorship program.
Right now, he notes the average age of appraisal practitioners is 55.
Furthermore, with the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act passed after the thrift crisis, updated by Dodd-Frank, the barriers to entry have never been higher.
And he said people with military experience would be ideal for the appraisal business.
These people are “situational experts,” who have shown a “demonstrated commitment” to their task and they deliver results.
Veterans are a terrific group for any industry to hire, not just the appraisal business, he continued.
They have been identified as an attractive workforce, but the question is “how do we engage them?”
Valued Veterans is a nationwide appraisal management company, Belt said.
It is licensed in almost every state that currently requires it (with two that are pending and almost complete).
The company says it has “a unique ability to navigate the important realm of housing-related federal agencies, departments and government-sponsored enterprises.”
