The Reason for Our Success...

The people who teach our classes are handpicked for their extensive training and business backgrounds. You can count on reliable instruction from experienced and seasoned real estate specialists who have been in the student's shoes.

Each instructor is a nationally recognized professional in his or her particular field of expertise. Our presenters won't bore you with textbook theories unrelated to the challenges of your daily job. Rather, our seminar presenters are practitioners who will share with their student's real-life solutions that the student needs and can utilize now.

At Moseley - Dickinson Academy of Real Estate OUR STUDENTS LEARN exactly what they need to know to not only pass state exams and other tests, but to perform good, legal real estate in our great State of Virginia.

Our presentations and materials have been designed to be not only interesting during the classes, but to also be useful for the years that follow.

Meet Some of the Instructors:

John R. Dickinson

John R. Dickinson has been helping central and western Virginia folks obtain their real estate licenses since 1991, and has personally taught over 10,000 students in that time.  In addition to Principles of Real Estate, he also teaches advanced (broker’s) courses in Law, Finance, Investments, and Management, as well as continuing education and post-licensure courses.  He has personally taught classes with three students to over 200, private classes and seminars to real estate firms, and courses sponsored by local real estate associations from Lexington to Danville. Additionally, John has authored textbooks on Real Estate Investing, Brokerage Management, Real Estate Finance, as well as seminars on tax-deferred exchanges, capital-gains taxes, and advanced contract-law topics. John is president and owner, since 1991, of the Moseley-Dickinson Academy of Real Estate, one of the state’s largest real estate education companies providing pre-licensing, broker, appraisal, continuing education and half- and full-day seminars, with classrooms in Roanoke and Lynchburg, and courses taught offsite in Danville, Martinsville, Lexington, Bluefield (WVA), Abingdon, and several Tennessee locations.  A licensed real-estate agent since 1988, he is associate broker with western Virginia’s largest commercial real estate firm, holding the CCIM and GRI designations.  Less than one-half of one percent of all Realtors holds the CCIM designation. A lifelong Roanoke resident, John was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1980 with distinction, majoring in mathematics and economics.  He is a past director of the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors, having served as its president in 1998.  At the state level, John is currently serving on the Policy Board of the Virginia Association of Realtors as state Treasurer, and is past chairman of the Virginia state RPAC trustees, who determine funding for state-wide and national political candidates. He has also served as a delegate to the National Association of Realtors.

Gary Dogan

One of our instructors includes Gary Dogan, who has over 10 years of experience as an instructor for Moseley-Dickinson Academy of Real Estate. He brings valuable teaching and real estate experience to our Principles of Real Estate course, “JUMPSTART your real estate career” seminar and various continuing education and post licensure courses.  Gary, a lifelong Roanoke valley resident, holds a Bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College.  He has also completed some graduate study courses at Virginia Tech and is a graduate of the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering in NC.  Gary has experienced the rewards of coaching Youth League Baseball as well as those of being a Lifetime Member of the VA PTA and the Mt. Pleasant First Aid Crew. Real Estate Marketing has been Gary’s full time career since 1975.  He has been featured as “One of Roanoke’s Hottest Realtor’s” in The Roanoker magazine.  He has been active with the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors since 1975, and has served on the Advertising Investigation and Grievance Committees and the Professional Standards and Arbitration Committee. He also teaches Ethics and Fair Housing Orientation courses for RVAR.  At the state level, Gary is a Certified Ethics instructor and a member of the Virginia Association of Realtors “traveling road show” which trains members of local boards across VA in Grievance and Professional Standards committee procedures.

Lisa Merrill

Lisa Merrill  brings many years of real estate education experience and a broad range of real estate expertise to the Real Estate Continuing Education courses that she teaches. Lisa has also taught Principles of Real Estate, Post Licensing courses, Brokerage courses and Real Estate Appraisal Continuing Education courses. Lisa earned a BA from University of Texas.  She is a Professional Builders Magazine Feature Performance award winner and is the recipient of “Proclamation of Achievement” from the Governor of Missouri for work in historic preservation and community development. Ms. Merrill also holds a life teaching certificate in Texas.  Lisa has served as the Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, Recruiter and Trainer for some of the largest and fastest growing and most progressive real estate firms in the Roanoke Valley, having managed firms with as many as 170 agents. Lisa holds a Virginia Broker’s license and also brings experience as a real estate loan originator to the courses that she teaches. She has a vast knowledge and understanding of construction and permanent loans, VA, FHA, VHDA, DELUX and conforming loans including FNMA, FHLMC and sub-prime loans. Lisa is an International Speaker for Real Estate Professionals as well as other industry professionals.  Lisa speaks on technical real estate topics as well as motivational and salesmanship techniques for genuine success in a variety of sales fields.  She is an approved instructor of Real Estate Law in over 10 states  and is approved in over 7 states to teach real estate continuing education.

J. Wysor Smith

J. Wysor Smith is a member of our Appraisal program instruction staff. He has taught Fundamentals of Appraisal, Advanced Residential Appraisal, Small Residential Income Property Appraisal and Appraisal Exam Prep courses.  Wysor also provides instruction for many of our Appraisal continuing education courses.  Topics include Modular Home Appraising, FHA Appraisal and Inspection, The Appraiser as Expert Witness, New Fannie Mae Forms and Individual Condominium Appraisal Reports. Wysor earned a B.A. from Hamden-Sydney College, a Master’s Degree from Hollins University and a B.S. in Military Science. He holds a Virginia real estate broker’s license and has completed those pre-licensing and continuing education courses necessary to obtain and maintain a Virginia Certified General Appraisal license, a North Carolina Licensed Residential Appraisal license and West Virginia Certified General Appraisal license. Mr. Smith is a CRA, American Assoc. of Certified Appraisers, member of the International Organization of Real Estate Appraisers, a candidate member of the Appraisal Institute.  He is also a designated member of Federal National Mortgage Association.  He also holds memberships in the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors, the Lynchburg Association of Realtors, the New River Valley Association of Realtors.  Mr. Smith is a member of the State and National Association of Real Estate Boards and the Better Business Bureau of Western Virginia and is a qualified expert court witness in numerous Virginia cities and counties. Mr. Smith has extensive experience in Property Management and Real Estate consultation and in Real Estate development.   His areas of real estate appraisal assignment coverage include central and southwest Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Types of real estate appraisal assignments include apartments, acreage tracts, banks, condominium offices, residential condominiums, farms, golf courses and related clubs, single family homes, industrial plants, marinas, warehouses, motels, mobile home parks, offices, service stations/convenience stores, shopping centers and subdivisions.

John D. Willey

John D. Willey is another member of our Appraisal Program staff.  He is responsible for the instruction of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice(USPAP) Pre-licensing course and for the 7 hour National USPAP Review Appraisal Continuing Education course. John Willey earned a B.S. from University of Tennessee and attended graduate school, University of Tennessee. He also graduated first in his class at Combat Engineers School, USMC, and participated in the VA Dept. of Taxation Assessment training program.  John also attended management training courses at VWCC and is a graduate of UVA Management Excellence Program. He attended ASA Instructor training in 1994, 1996 – 2004. He also participated in seminars/classes on Union Arbitration, Cadastral Mapping, Computer Assisted Assessment systems, Multiple Regression Analysis, and computerized Cost, Market and Income Programs.  He has been an Instructor for ASA in Real Property and has taught RP201, RP202 and the USPAP courses.  He has also developed and instructed the ASA USPAP update and edited several Real Property courses and seminars.  His extensive appraisal experience includes work as a Real Estate appraiser trainee and Real Estate appraiser at the state level and as Assessor for a local county government. He has served as Director of Real Estate Assessments and as Property and Fleet Manager for another county government.  John Willey is professionally designated as A.S.A. in ad valorem taxation, with experience in assessment of residential, commercial, industrial and mineral properties.  He is certified as a National USPAP instructor by the Appraiser Qualifications Board of the Appraisal Foundation.  He has been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Society of Appraisers in 2003 and was named to the Board of Trustees of the Appraisal Foundation in 2004. Retired from government service, he is presently owner of an appraisal and consulting service.

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