4-14-17

16A — April 14 - 27, 2017 — Financial Digest — Appraisal — M id A tlantic

Real Estate Journal

www.marejournal.com

A ppraisal “The secret to a happy life is to find what you love to do & get someone to pay you to do it” DITIO brings decades of experience to real estate valuation services T he secret to a happy life is to find what you love to do and get is “unusual residences” and she specializes in bank loan modification programs.

two AI appraisal profession- als in Greater Pittsburgh who holds both MAI desig- nation and AQB (Appraisal Qualifications Board) Certi- fied USPAP Instructor. And the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. His daughter Alison (also with DITIO) is the youngest AI member in the Pittsburgh Chapter with the SRA designation. “[Ali- son] is taking this to a new level, and I’m very proud that she’s chosen this profession and has taken it to the level she’s taken in such a short period of time.” Alison’s niche

someone to pay you to do it, says Mark Smeltzer, MAI, SRA, AI-RRS, Director of Operations for DITIO, a pre- mium real estate valuation firm in Pittsburgh, PA. “And that’s what I do.” With recent MAI and AI- RRS (Appraisal Institute Residential Review Special- ist) designations--and 39 years experience in both teaching appraisers and performing appraisals and review work--Mark is one of

“At the rate she’s going, Alison is going to go a lot further than I have,” says her dad. Add to DITIO’s staff Wil- liam Eckert, SRA, who re- cently joined the firm after a 40 year stint in appraisal review, most recently with PNC Bank performing na- tional and international bank review work. Mark calls William Eckert a “ring- er” that with his vast experi- ence further enables DITIO to provide the region with premier bank review service. “Everyone says they do bank review work, but with us it’s certainly one of our specialties,” he says. DITIO performs both res- idential and commercial appraisals and appraisal review services. Mark spends about 25 weeks a year teaching for the Appraisal Institute “from Portland, Maine to California and from Alaska to Florida.” He’s been a National Instruc- tor for AI since 2004 and loves to “communicate with people coming into my field and sharing my knowledge with them.” The balance of his time is spent “doing and reviewing” appraisals and serving as DITIO’s quality control manager and in-office trainer. DITIO’s growth can be attributed to “more cus- tomer service, less lip service and better products through innovation and not imita- tion,” says Ronan Jones, DITIO president. “And we really know how to service the banking industry. That pretty much sums up what makes us unique in our mar- ket.” Mark and Alison were recently awarded their des- ignation certificates at the Annual Installation Banquet hosted by the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Chapter of the Appraisal Institute at Montour Country Club in Moon Township. The Ap- praisal Institute is a global professional association of real estate appraisers, with nearly 19,000 professionals in 60 countries throughout the world. Mark and the DITIO staff can be reached at (888) 696- 9689. n

Mark and Alison Smeltzer

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