MAI is a professional designation for real estate appraiser

Real estate appraisal

Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of valuing real property. The value usually sought is the property's Market Value. Appraisals are needed because compared to, say, corporate stock, real estate transactions occur very infrequently...

s who are experienced in the valuation

Valuation (finance)

In finance, valuation is the process of estimating what something is worth. Items that are usually valued are a financial asset or liability. Valuations can be done on assets or on liabilities...

 and evaluation of commercial, industrial, residential, and other types of properties, and who advise clients on real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

 investment decisions. Originally, the initials stood for "Member of the Appraisal Institute" (the actual name of the organization at that time was the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, or AIREA); since the organization now has many types of members, the initials no longer have a particular meaning.

Requirements

Members of the appraisal institute are not Licenced to "advise clients on real estate investment decisions." The appraisal institute is no longer a member of the Appaisal Foundation.

The current requirements that an appraiser

Appraiser

An appraiser , is one who sets a value upon property, real or personal. In England the business of an appraiser is usually combined with that of an auctioneer, while the word itself has a similar meaning to that of "valuer." In the United States, the most common usage relates to real estate...

 must fulfill to receive the MAI designation are as follows:

• Education:
  • Receive a passing grade on 11 examinations that reflect 380 hours of classroom instruction and that test the appraiser’s knowledge of basic and advanced appraisal principles, procedures and applications; report writing; valuation analysis and standards of professional practice
  • Receive a passing grade on a four-module, two-day comprehensive examination
  • Hold an undergraduate degree
    Undergraduate degree
    An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree taken by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. It is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a university...
    
     from a four-year accredited educational institution
• Experience: Receive credit for 4,500 hours of experience, all of which must meet strict criteria.
• Demonstration Report: Receive credit for a demonstration appraisal report relating to income-producing property that demonstrates the ability to present a properly supported value estimate or opinion evaluating the nature, quality or utility of a parcel of real estate or any interest in, or aspect of, real property
  Real property
  In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
  
  , including handling physical incurable depreciation
  Depreciation
  Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....
  
  , or fulfill an approved comparable alternative.