Michael Mason Joins Grubb & Ellis Appraisal Unit

LOS ANGELES-Grubb & Ellis Co. has hired 30-year industry veteran Michael Mason as a managing director and national director of standards and compliance for the Santa Ana-based company's recently launched Landauer Appraisal & Valuation unit. Mason, who will be based in the Downtown L.A. office of Grubb & Ellis, will serve as managing director in Los Angeles and in his role as national director of standards and compliance will be responsible for developing and implementing quality control operations companywide.

In June, Grubb & Ellis announced it was launching a national appraisal business and reinvigorating the Landauer brand under the leadership of industry veterans Douglas W. Haney and Eduardo Alegre. In addition to Mason, the company recently hired Michael Miller as senior managing director in Texas. The company expects to have regional leaders and appraisers in place in seven markets by Sept. 1, the day the company officially opens for business. Long-term, Grubb & Ellis Landauer Appraisal & Valuation expects to have a presence in every key market and between 250 and 350 full-time appraisers.

When Grubb & Ellis unveiled its plans for its new appraisal unit, CEO Tom D'Arcy told GlobeSt.com that the company believes that "the demand for appraisal services is going to be very significant over the next few years" and that the appraisal business "is well within our core competency." Grubb & Ellis acquired Landauer & Associates in 1999 and historically has offered appraisal services in limited markets. The Landauer name is highly regarded in the appraisal industry, according to D'Arcy, hence the name of the new company.

Mason joins Grubb & Ellis from Integra Realty Resources, where he was the director of litigation support. Before joining Integra in 2008, he spent four years as managing director in Los Angeles with First American Commercial Real Estate Services. Before that he spent 14 years owning and operating Stephens-Mason Associates with Rolland Stephens. Mason began his career with Mason, Mason & Mason Real Estate Appraisers, a family-owned business, in 1980.

Mason has focused primarily on litigation support throughout his career; he wrote a seven-hour Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice course which was adopted by the State of California Office of Real Estate Appraisers. He also helped develop the appraisal regulations used by the California Office of Public School Construction for the acquisition of school sites. Additionally, he has acted as an expert witness on behalf of many clients in both state and federal litigation cases.