IPAV President's Closing Address

As I embark on handing over my chain of office I reflect on what has been accomplished in the 3 years leading up to this week, not just by me but by our organisation as a whole. It is sometimes easy to take something for granted but the above recent times have allowed me recalibrate to recognise just how formidable our Institute really is and the support – past, present and future it brings to my fellow members and I.

During my final year of a three year Presidency, including the years spent as both Junior & Senior Vice President I was fortunate enough to meet many colleagues and friends around the country and abroad who are members of this great organisation. While they all spoke of many things positive IPAV brings to them, again it was the bottomless help and support that seems to be available from the staff at Baggot Street to my fellow members. Given the unprecedented downturn the economy and our sector took from 2007 to 2013, many told me that the Institute was really their only place to go for help, training, support or just someone like minded to talk to when they reached out.

Of course our Institute has evolved considerably since I joined Council. While I would like to think this was from my input, the reality is it has been anything but. In the same year I joined Council, we also gained a new CEO. Pat Davitt came to the helm with decades of experience doing exactly what we do on a daily basis but also brought knowledge and experience from also having served on Council for many years along with being the youngest President ever to serve IPAV. And while these are worthy traits, they paled in comparison to the foresight Pat brought in terms of what his vision for our future would be.

At a recent General Assembly of TEGoVA, Europe’s leading Valuers Association, where IPAV stands proud as valued and respected members and our CEO sits on their Board a minutes silence was observed for our Past President Ron Duff. Not only was this to mark Ron’s recent and sad passing but also to acknowledge his involvement in partnering IPAV & TEGoVA, a relationship that has huge mutual benefit for both organisations, but also the catalysis to training almost 500 of our members to the highest of standards in the Valuation Industry and bringing European standards to what is now Best Practice for us. This Professional Body will continue to improve these standards but also ensures our REV & TRV Valuers are at the top of their game, respected by every lending Institution on the island and beyond.

IPAV shares involvements with other European organisations which also benefits us and them. CEPI have associations with over 300,000 property professionals in Europe with IPAV again standing proud on a pedestal as one of their favoured member firms where again our CEO works immensely hard to be a Board Member and decision maker on their behalf. My recent appointment as an Observer will ensure our Institute gets the best value from this association and is able to benefit from the association & lobbying available with its association in Brussels.

In November last year a busy schedule for IPAV included attending the National Association of Realtors annual summit in Chicago. With over 25,000 international delegates in attendance and a further 1.1million worldwide members, our Bi-Lateral Agreement with NAR ensures we are best placed at the centre of the real estate world, where the Irish are welcomed as family and again IPAV is held in high esteem. This agreement was signed by the newly elected President at the time Keith Anderson and the then Immediate Past president Ron Duff RIP. Claire Kileen, the NAR Presidents Liaison to Ireland visits us on a regular basis and for the past number of years has choreographed various education & networking assignments for US Realtors and IPAV. As Senior Vice President it was a proud moment to address almost 20 Realtors from Illinois at the House of Lords on College Green in Dublin, following their trade mission to Ireland. Claire also arranged a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) Training Program for International Members for a full week in IPAV HQ this year where our members were offered the opportunity to be involved with many taking the challenge and benefitting from same. This program gave us the opportunity for meet Alfonso Gordon, a well respected training instructor and Property Consultant who can open even more doors for us on an international basis.

Perhaps above are just some of the reasons IPAV have grown their overseas membership tenfold over the past 36 months.

As a Council member & President I have the opportunity to Chair many Committees within the organisation, one of which is Education. Having entered the profession following completion of IPAV’s approved Bachelor of Science Degree Program in association with the University of Glamorgan in South Wales, I always had a particulate lean towards theory. Regularly over the years I attended many of the educational facilities around Dublin to talk to students about the industry, give them hope and knowledge about their future and a contact point to help them along the way. It was with this in mind I was delighted to be at the helm as IPAV once again announced it is to begin a Level 7 Course in Real Estate, thus giving opportunity to those who wish to excel with their education within the profession but also upskilling our members further, a necessity in any organisation.

Upskilling is not just for our younger colleagues but now obligatory within the Property Service Providers industry. IPAV being one of only two organisations to be awarded the contract to provide the newly adopted Continual Professional Development was an historic moment for the us but one which took incredible team work from all involved, particularly Pat, Genevieve and Valerie and once again something I am proud to see as I enter my Presidential twilight moments. The fine tuning of the Valuers CPD is ongoing at present but will soon lead to a more sustainable CPD program for but REV & TRV Valuers who are busy by nature due to the extensive demands in todays evolving market.

As colleagues throughout the country tell me the difficulties they are still facing, it is also important to remember the consumers and our customers, paying and non paying. Difficulties are still obvious if trying to buy and trying to sell, regardless of the medias opinion. Difficulties are also abundantly evident in the rental market. A recent IPAV Members poll shows Landlords face bureaucracy and red tape, so much so it is forcing them to leave the industry at a time when they are needed most. Tenants are unable to source a home to rent again due to red tape, with many vacant properties lying idle because of months and years of hold ups due to un-performing mortgages, Receivers unable to gain full possession or negotiate a satisfactory conclusion for their client, delays in progressing Probate or indeed foolish conditions attached to properties associated with the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Fair Deal). In such instances up to 80% of the rent paid on properties included in the Fair Deal scheme must be paid back to the HSE. This excessive level is a burden even before Tax & USC is applied and therefore punitive for the Nursing Home resident and their family at an already difficult time. These were some of the points raised when we met earlier this year with Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy and we await Budget 2019 to see if any of the measures we discussed are enacted to elevate such pressures. As a representative body for over 1,200 members who are not just Auctioneers, Letting Agents or Valuers but also Landlords (accidental or not), Tenants, Executors, shop owners and many more things if not them all, I was happy to see Government finally agreeing to meet with us and would hope and given our level of unique overall expertise and knowledge would expect such meetings to be more frequent going forward.

My hope that further engagement with Government is not just a lobbying exercise but an enabler and catalyst for change will only be achieved if we continue to grow, both in terms of membership numbers and as an institute that is the professional voice of valuers and auctioneers in Ireland. IPAV is a strong professional body, designed for further growth. The quality professional advice we offer clients and the requirements of professional integrity embedded within our Code of ethics and conduct is both respected and in demand.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the entire team as a whole. The staff members of IPAV, Genevieve, Val, Anthony & Tarran, the greater staff network such as Tim, Mairead, Roxanne & Lee, the Council members and External Committee Members, Paul Campbell & his staff at ITT and our course you, our members, all of which combine to make IPAV Ireland’s Voice for Auctioneers & Valuers. The last 3 years have been incredibly difficult managing time between work, the Institute and family but time which was ever so enjoyable and rewarding so I wish to thank each and every one of you for making it special and helping to grow our Institute and I turn now to our next President, my friend and colleague Ella Dunphy who will continue the momentum going forward as we approach almost 50 years as a body representing Auctioneers, Valuers & Estate Agents on what is now an international scale.