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Bridging the gap between technology and appraising

Brent Quashie

ADI Scholarship Recipient Spotlight – Brent Quashie

Brent’s career has taken him down many paths, from military intelligence, honorably serving our country overseas in multiple tours, to owning a drone business, and towards a future in real estate as an aspiring appraiser.

Brent is currently a Registered Trainee Appraiser and Appraisal Institute Practicing Affiliate residing in the Tampa Bay Area and a scholar in the Appraiser Development Initiative™ program. He gained 20 years of leadership and analytical experience as a Senior Intelligence Analyst in the United States Marine Corps. He also owned a drone service company providing aerial mapping, photography, and video service in the Tampa Bay area, and is a licensed life insurance agent in the state of Florida. He earned a B.A. in Intelligence Studies with a concentration in criminal intelligence analysis.

During his military career, Brent worked on humanitarian assistance in the Philippines and served three tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan before retiring as a Master Sergeant (E8). His military experience honed his attention to detail, focused on the importance of accurate data and information and sharpened his networking skills.

Brent left the Military in 2016 and opened a drone business while getting his degree. He had always wanted to explore a career in real estate, and upon completing his degree he decided to close his business and start something new. After watching a video from Appraisal Buzz on YouTube, Brent connected with the ADI team. He researched what being an appraiser was all about and how he could positively impact the industry. After meeting with the ADI team, Brent received a scholarship and started the education process for becoming a trainee appraiser in August 2022. He received his registered trainee appraiser license in September 2022 – completing his coursework in a record two months. His biggest challenge has been finding a supervisor with both the business and bandwidth to support a trainee. In between actively networking to find a supervisor, Brent works in insurance appraisals, an ancillary business.

With Brent’s technology background, he sees this time in our industry as an opportunity to bridge the gap between technology and appraising.

This is an especially exciting time in real estate with the appraisal modernization initiative, having new entrants being trained via PAREA and video simulations, and new forms designed to be seamless, more intuitive and user friendly. With my technology background, I hope to create a better consumer experience and bring my expertise in drones into my career as an appraiser. It just seems a natural fit.

About the Solidifi Appraiser Trainee Mentorship and Scholarship Program

Solidifi is helping to grow our industry with our Appraiser Trainee Mentorship and Scholarship Program. As part of the Program, Solidifi is part of the Appraiser Development Initiative™ (ADI) as an Advisor Sponsor and In-Kind Sponsor that provides scholarships and mentoring for new entrants to the appraisal profession.

For aspiring appraisers, finding a qualified mentor to oversee part of their training is often cited as a significant barrier to entry in the profession. However, more and more appraisers on the Solidifi network are opening their doors to trainees. Solidifi is leading the way to attract new entrants to the appraisal profession with more than 200 trainees onboarded since inception providing valuable work experience toward their appraisal credential.

About the Appraiser Diversity Initiative

The Appraiser Development Initiative™ is a collaboration between the Appraisal Institute, National Urban League, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The goals of the Appraiser Development Initiative™ are to attract diverse new entrants into the residential appraisal field, overcome barriers to entry (such as education, training, and experience requirements), and provide support to position aspiring appraisers for professional success.

The goal of the ADI is to create relationships and partnerships with sponsors for the benefit of the ADI participants. ADI sponsors workshops and other activities to inform aspiring appraisers about the requirements to become an appraiser and the multiple career opportunities available. ADI participants are awarded education scholarships for the completion of base course requirements to become an appraiser.