New Chairman of Tegova elected! Recognition of Professional Valuation Practice in Europe!

www.tegova.org At the General Assembly of The European Group of Valuers' Associations held in Bratislava on 29 May 2005, Alfons Metzger, President of The Austrian Institute Of Property Valuation and Valuation Standards was elected as the new Chairman of The European Group of Valuers' Associations (Tegova) for the next 3 years. His opponent in the election was John Hockey, the RICS candidate.

Alfons Metzger now faces the challenge of unifying an organization of some 36 valuers' associations across 26 European countries divided over issues ranging from what to do next with European Valuation Standards, the increasing influence of mortgage banks on the valuation profession to Tegova's controversial certification of valuers.

One area which is already being tackled is the question of Valuer certification in Europe.

In 2000 Tegova introduced valuer certification ("Approved by Tegova") based on Euro Norm 25013. The system had been tried and tested in Germany. However it has proved unpopular amongst valuer associations in the rest of Europe. In over 5 years the only bodies which have subscribed to the system have been Hypzert of Germany (500 certified valuers), The Czech Chamber of Appraisers (100 certified valuers) and The Body Of Sworn-in-Valuers of Greece (70 certified valuers)

The existing Tegova certification system has been found expensive to implement at a local level and it fails to recognise or respect existing valuer qualifications across Europe. Even highly qualified and experienced valuers are required to sit a written examination. Thus Approved by Tegova certification does not for example recognise the highly prized RICS qualification nor that of Polish Qualified Valuers.

Matters finally came to a head when at the General Assembly held in Madrid last November, The Polish Federation of Valuers' Associations forced through a motion seeking a review and modification of the system.

A working party under the Chairmanship of Alexander Benedetti of Italy and including Krzysztof Grzesik of Poland and representatives from Austria, France and the UK was set up. Its first draft of a new "Tegova Recognition of Professional Valuation Practice" was presented to the General Assembly in Bratislava.

In essence in order to obtain "Tegova Recognition of Professional Valuation Practice" an individual will be required to demonstrate that he has achieved an appropriate level of:

  • relevant knowledge and understanding
  • professional valuation experience
  • continuous professional development.

Being a flexible approach this system recognises that the necessary knowledge and professional experience may be gained through several different routes. Polish qualified valuers should note that they should be able to qualify for recognition under the proposed route whereby

"A candidate has obtained a university degree or post graduate diploma or degree considered relevant to asset valuation in his country of origin" In such circumstances he will need to prove through his professional organisation that he has:

  • 2 years of professional experience in property valuation and

  • at least twenty written valuations undertaken within the last two years

  • that he is a member of a Tegova member association (eg PFVA)

  • that he has undertaken a minimum 20 hours of continuous professional development per year

In applying for recognition a valuer will also need to submit 2 recent sample valuation reports.

The intention is that each Tegova Member Association will be responsible for laying down and implementing the procedures locally subject to verification of Tegova through a newly constituted "Tegova Recognition Committee"

In order to maintain "Tegova Recognition of Professional Valuation Practice" every 5 years the valuer will need to submit:

  • written evidence of a minimum 20 hours per annum continuous professional development over the past 5 years
  • an updated CV with signed declaration
  • 2 recent sample valuation reports
  • a critical analysis of each valuation
  • evidence of membership of professional body

It should be noted that the above proposals are just a first draft and may yet be subject to change and amendment. However given the overwhelming support in principle for these proposals at the General Assembly it is unlikely that there will be any fundamental changes.

At the meeting in Bratislava a new departure from the past was the election of new Tegova Board members as Member Associations rather than as individuals. Three vacant seats on the Board were filled by The Italian Institute For Real Estate Valuation, the Association of German Mortgage Banks and The Austrian Institute of Property Valuation.

Unfortunately the large block votes (30 each) of France, Germany, Italy and UK did not help the candidacy of the lower their countries including Poland (6 votes), Spain, Greece and Romania.

The next general assembly in Vienna in November will seek to endorse new statutes for Tegova including a readjustment of votes per country to reflect last years EU enlargement.