Richard Marks, founder and owner of Universal Valuation Services, Inc. received his degree in Journalism in 1972. He was a newspaper reporter, assistant editor, publicist, and freelance writer until starting his career in Real Estate in 1976 as a deputy assessor in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Mr. Marks has appraised for local and national appraisal firms from 1978 to 1984. During that time he appraised all types of properties in 26 of the 48 continental United States as well as Winnipeg, Canada. In 1985  he received his MAI from the Appraisal Institute. His assigments are now primarily limited to the state of Minnesota, with the heaviest  concentration of appraisals completed within the 13 counties surrounding the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Besides completing a wide array of appraisal and related assignments, he has also testified as an expert witness in commissioner hearings and district court. He is also a court-appointed real estate commissioner for Scott County, Minnesota, and has taught continuing education courses for appraisal organizations. Some of his appraisal assignments were prepared for litigation in the states of Texas, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as in Minnesota. He was one of a handful of appraisers instrumental in obtaining appraisal licensing laws enacted in Minnesota.

As a requirement of continuing education requirements in Minnesota and for the Appraisal Institute, Mr. Marks has completed a wide variety of courses including: Feasibility; Going Concern Valuation; Condominium Conversion and Management; Real Estate Law: Cash Equivalency; Real Estate Management; Real Estate Risk Analysis; Appraising Troubled Properties; Case Studies in Limited Partnership & Common Tenancy Valuation; Business Valuation; The Appraiser as Expert Witness; Income Tax and Real Estate; Computer Spreadsheet Analysis; and other related courses.

A partial list of the clients Mr. Marks has served in the past include: Citicorp, Cargill, Inc; US Steel; K-Mart Corp.; Northern Companies, St. Paul; Resolution Trust Corporation; Army Corps of Engineers; Owens, Il.; Metropolitan Airport Commission; Western Farm Mgmt. Co.; Merchants Grain & Transportation; Cities of Minneapolis, Eden Prairie, Orono, Shakopee, Prior Lake, Savage, Chaska, Chanhassen, Carver, Jordan, and Eagan, Minnesota; Minnesota DNR; Scott Co., Carver Co., and Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT); Waconia State Bank; Associated (Riverside) Bank; Griffin Companies; Firstar Corporation; First National Bank of Chaska; Norwest Corporation; and Prime Security Bank.

Mr. Marks is a charter member and has served two terms as president of the Appraisal Data Network (ADN). He has been a Member of the Appraisal Institute since 1985 and is a Certified General Real Property Appraiser in the State of Minnesota. He has also served as chairman for the annual Shakopee Board of Review of Assessments

EXPERIENCE OF RICHARD G. MARKS, MAI