Third generation leads mortgage, appraisal business

Steve Jackson's onetime summer job with his grandfather, Robert Harrison, was the foundation of his present-day career, now at the helm of Realty Mortgage and Appraisals Inc., which Harrison founded in 1967.

Jackson started working at the company in 1977, learning the business from the bottom up.

"I learned how to work at the courthouse, looking up records. I helped the guys measure buildings," Jackson said. "I had some drafting experience, so if we didn't have plans and we had to measure buildings, I was the one who got to draw up the floor plans for the report."

Jackson said that when the business started, his grandfather - a mortgage banker who moved to the Ozarks from Dallas to be near family - wrote the appraisals, and his grandmother typed them. As the business grew, Jackson's mother, Judy Wilson, joined the team, and she stayed on board until the late 1990s.

Realty Mortgage and Appraisals, 2660 E. Normandy Drive, provides appraisals for lending purposes, estate work and condemnation, as well as hourly consulting for its clients throughout southwest Missouri. Today, Jackson said, 100 percent of the company's appraisal work is commercial, with an average fee of $2,200.

Jackson said despite the current economy, his company stays busy, though he declined to disclose annual revenues.

He attributes the steady nature of his business to southwest Missouri's diversified economy, competitive banking market and fallout from the nationwide financial crisis.

"Because of the financial crisis, I think the banks are really doing their due diligence to make sure that they really have their ducks in a row when it comes time to loan out money. Part of that process is having a good appraiser on hand," he said.

A career move

Jackson continued working at Realty through his senior year of high school.

About two weeks before he was to leave for the University of Missouri, he had lunch with his grandmother, who asked if he enjoyed his job. When he told her he did, she asked whether he'd ever thought about staying in town for college and continuing to work at the family business.

The next week, he registered at Drury University.

"It was probably the greatest decision I ever made, because I met my wife there. I made my best friends in the world there," Jackson said. "I learned my grandfather's job and got to take over the family business."

Upon Harrison's death in January 1990, Jackson became company president and co-owner with Wilson.

While Jackson said his grandfather taught him the basics of the appraisal business, the most important lesson he passed on was integrity.

"The appraisal business is different because it is not an exact science," he said. "There's a lot of interpretation of the market involved. The main thing is (not to) conjure up a number that is not market-derived. Stay within the parameters of the market ... and do what you say you're going to do."

Jackson also learned the importance of meeting deadlines.

"Getting projects done on time is huge in this business, because the banks are not going to loan their client any money until they get the appraisal," he said. "If I stumble, then it's holding up the process all the way down the line."

Tracking industry trends

In October, Jackson attended a seminar, "An Introduction to Valuing Green Buildings," held in Chicago by the Appraisal Institute.

He said the training covered the "nuts and bolts" of dealing with environmentally friendly buildings in his line of work.

"There is very little market data out there because most of the green building to date is done by the institutions like the schools and municipalities," he said. "The ones who have not been institutionalized have been owner-occupied."

That presents a challenge, Jackson said, because when buildings are owner-occupied, it's hard to find data to indicate which businesses are willing to pay more to be housed in a green structure.

"The problem from an appraisal standpoint is that it is so new that it's kind of hard to get your arms around what kind of impact it has from a value standpoint," he said.

And he said the jury is still out on how much impact green-building techniques and materials will have on property values.

"There is not enough market evidence out there to show (that)," he said.

The family connection at Realty is something longtime client R. B. Murray Co. understands. Vice President Dave Murray said Jackson's company handles a significant number of appraisals for R.B. Murray Co.

"I think what makes Steve unique is he carries the torch of a company that was founded by his grandfather," Murray said.

"His grandfather was very well-respected (and) Steve was trained under his grandfather. ... He basically conducts himself in the same way and the same manner that his granddad did, which is why I think he is well-respected in the community," he added.[[In-content Ad]]