FSU to partner with appraisal firm on real-estate valuation research

The Florida State University College of Business and Jacksonville, Fla.-based real-estate appraisal firm Smithfield & Wainwright, LLC today signed an agreement to work together to provide dynamic research in real estate valuation and analytics designed to benefit the American and global economies.

The agreement calls for interaction and collaboration between researchers at the College of Business and Smithfield & Wainwright by establishing joint research programs including exchanging data, educational literature and research. The partnership opens up unique opportunities to unlock the mortgage-backed securities markets, along with providing key components in bank and financial recovery under the new Financial Reform Act of 2010.

“The fact that the College of Business was chosen for this project is a testament to our program’s depth in the field, as well as the research reputation of our faculty,” said Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of the college. “Our researchers will be working on projects that support the nation’s quest to improve the financial state of our economy.”

“In the spirit of cooperation and collaboration, we can work together to accomplish results that are expected to have a significant impact not only in the real estate crisis in America, but globally,” said “Big” Hogan E. Copeland II, chairman and chief executive officer of Smithfield & Wainwright. The patents and proprietary technology that the firm’s LPV (Logical Property Valuation) and LIA (Local Impact Analysis) analytical tools possess can aid the global economy in unlocking financial markets, Copeland said.

Copeland is a Florida State University alumnus who was taught and mentored by Professor Barry Diskin, the university’s Francis J. Nardozza Scholar’s Program Fellow. Diskin continues to teach real estate at Florida State and is leading the research charge in this collaboration. Assisting him will be G. Stacy Sirmans, the Kenneth G. Bacheller Professor of Real Estate.

“Our history is one of teamwork and integration that bridges the gap between academia and real-life situations,’’ Copeland said. “The LPV platform’s new collaboration links our researchers with FSU’s talented faculty and other major academicians across the country to bridge the gap that will allow banks and financial institutions to solidify their foundation and stabilization to economic recovery.”

One educational research project of mutual interest is Smithfield & Wainwright’s LPV (Logical Property Valuation) technological platform, which could offer the key to unlocking the mortgage-backed securities markets. The research will look at whether this proprietary and patent-pending platform provides the transparency and real-time, true-price discovery and accountability required under the new Financial Reform Act of 2010.

The second educational research project of mutual interest is the firm’s Local Impact Analysis (LIA) platform. The research will examine whether LIA offers the necessary verifiable comprehensive metrics created by real property. If verified, this proprietary development could be the catalyst for governmental institutions and states for budgeting and contingency planning under the Financial Reform Act of 2010.

Smithfield & Wainwright will gain access to Florida State’s highly acclaimed College of Business, where the firm will have the opportunity to interact with researchers who understand key economic roles that affect the global economy. By partnering with Smithfield & Wainwright, those FSU researchers will have access to the firm’s world-class, centralized data depository, thus allowing true property characteristics to be further evaluated for nationwide stabilization of the real estate markets.

About the Florida State University College of Business

Founded in 1950, the College of Business is one of the nation’s youngest business schools, yet it has become one of the 10 largest in the United States. It is the second largest academic unit on the Florida State campus with an enrollment of 6,107 students and boasts a distinguished full-time faculty of 100, including one Francis Eppes Professor, eight eminent scholars, three university-named professors and 26 endowed professors.

About Smithfield & Wainwright, LLC

Smithfield & Wainwright, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm, specializes in residential and commercial real-estate appraisal valuation and analytics, foreclosure valuation, and valuation regarding securitization, whole loans, securitized mortgage pools and mortgage-backed securities. The firm’s signature proprietary platforms include LPV, LIA and REO FastLink, which are housed within a world-class data center that is a SAS70 Type II-compliant infrastructure.