In this role, Paul, who is also a mediator at the Bahrain Chamber of Dispute Resolution, will be responsible for education. Membership of the board is voluntary as Bahrain does not have regulations requiring valuers to be part of internationally accredited organisations.
“Bahrain is looking seriously at implementing regulations and uniform codes of practice in the real estate industry and RICS may be of assistance in framing these regulations and codes as it is well-recognised in Bahrain,” Paul, who has been with Cluttons in Bahrain for 18 years, said.
There are now 80 MRICS members in Bahrain and Paul represents the board, which consists of just six members. Bahrain, despite having one of the most internationally recognised and respected banking systems in the world, has yet to implement stringent regulations which would ensure valuers adhere to International Valuation Standards. This makes it particularly important to choose a valuer with international accreditation by a body such as RICS.
“We’re very pleased that a member of the Cluttons’ team has been accredited by RICS and chosen to represent the board. A valuation’s accuracy is key to sound decision making and safeguarding against the consequences of overexposure. Professional valuers provide conclusions based on market data and experienced judgments when arriving at their opinion of value,” Harry Goodson-Wickes, head of Cluttons in Bahrain said.
Since the start of the world financial crisis, valuers and their valuations across the world are coming under closer scrutiny to establish whether over-inflated opinions of value have resulted in the lender suffering loss, or whether the loss is a product of market fluctuations. Until official regulation is in place in countries like Bahrain, the emphasis is on the financial institutions to ensure they protect themselves and minimise the likelihood of mistakes on their real estate portfolios by using regulated firms of professionally indemnified valuers.