1. Why do you think the book has proved so successful and reached an 11th edition? What’s new in this edition?

Eric: The book takes the novice valuer into the world of property valuation in increasing depth so that by the end he/she understands the complexity of the subject and can undertake the task of valuing. It isn’t condescending and it allows both the beginner and the more experienced reader to develop their skills. This edition updates the knowledge base and renders the book suitable for today’s problems.

David: It is comprehensive and maintains a balance between theory and practical guidance; and is regularly updated to reflect changes in the law relating to Real Estate.

 

2. What other Routledge/EG Books title would you recommend to complement Modern Methods?

Eric: Valuation: Principles into Practice (6th Edition) edited by Richard Hayward

David: All, but especially Statutory Valuations (4th Edition) by Andrew Baum, Gary Sams, Jennifer Ellis, Claire Hampson and Douglas Stevens and The Income Approach to Property Valuation (6th Edition) By Andrew Baum, Nick Nunnington and David Mackmin.


3. What advice would you offer to students studying Real Estate?

Eric: Understand the theory before venturing on to tackle the practical. Understand the position which property has in the wider investment world.

David: This subject requires a combination of skills - some technical such as building, but also legal and economic. Appreciating how markets work is critical. Learning how all the subjects link to impact on the value of real estate is essential if sound professional advice is to be given.

 

4. What has been the greatest challenge you have come across in your career?

Eric: Keeping up with the changes in the law relating to property and also the changes in the economic scene both macro and micro, namely the shifting sands of the position of property in the wider context.

David: Recognising how economic forces such as those being experienced at the current time cause prices and values of real estate to rise and fall.

 

5. Which alternative career paths may you have chosen had you not gone down the route of chartered surveying?

Eric: I would have liked to be a barrister.

David: Possibly law.

 

6. Can you tell us one unknown or unusual fact about yourself?

Eric: I grew up in the East End of London in the 1950’s in a very poor household. However, I was determined to go to university at a time when most students of my background didn’t and was encouraged by my parents, whose motto was that whilst you may be poor you didn’t have to think poor.

David: Used to run Bingo sessions for our children’s Parent Teachers Association.
 

About the Authors

Eric Shapiro is Director of Valuations at Chesterton Humberts, Chartered Surveyors. He has over 45 years' experience in dealing with the management, valuation, sale and letting of residential and commercial property. He is also a co-author of Valuation: Principles into Practice.

David Mackmin BSc, MSc, FRICS is a chartered surveyor, Emeritus Professor of Real Estate at Sheffield Hallam University, and Visiting Professor in Valuation at the Technische Universität Wien. He is the author and co-author of a number of valuation books, including Valuation and Sale of Residential Property and, with Professor Andrew Baum and Nick Nunnington, The Income Approach to Property Valuation


 

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