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On average, how long does it take you to complete a 1004 interior inspection appraisal report including inspection time (excluding driving time)?
Another Very Interesting poll from May 2015
My comment: I have been hearing about scope creep causing increased appraisal report writeup times but now there is some data. Significantly increased, and still increasing from pre-AMC days. My non-lender report writing time has not changed since before HVCC. Appraisalport is a lender portal, so I guess there are some appraisers that write fast and others that write slow. Or, maybe it depends on your clients. AMCs tend to combine the requirements of multiple lenders into very long lists of requirements.
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On average, how many “interior inspection” appraisals reported on a 1004 do you normally produce in a week?
My comments: Starting with a conforming tract home close to your office, the time increases, depending on driving time, use of an assistant and client requirements.
A very, very funny appraiser video!
Limiting Conditions and Assumptions Appraiser Humor(Opens in a new browser tab)
Soon artificial intelligence software systems will be able to complete reports and supporting materials in under 15 minutes with no human assistance or bias.
I get about 10 or 11 reports out the door per week. I work 70 hours / week. I have a full time 40 hour / week assistant who makes my appointments, pulls plats and zoning for me, enters some report data like market area boundaries, downloads the tax records and enters that data for the subject and all comparables, and keeps the AMC websites up to date. So working 110 hours per week, we produce 10 – 11 appraisals. About 10 – 11 hours each. Then I pay for data, taxes, payroll and business accounting, software subscriptions… So it seems like the consensus is about 10 – 11 hours per report for standard USPAP compliant work. (If they’re not complex assignments)
PS: And, by the way, if we are at least comparable in hourly wages to a self employed CPA, Paralegal, Surveyor, or building inspector, we are way Underpaid. Check the Census stats on salaries.
If the question was phrased clearly, and asked about an appraiser working “alone” with no staff, It’s pretty sad that most are saying 4-5 hours. They are just knocking out paper reports that appear to be appraisals. You are just digging a hole for yourself which may bury you one day. With all the due diligence and research required, and maybe working slower to be careful, I would say about 15 hours for something with NO problems, like a subdivision with similar homes. Add a problem, and you can add some hours.
I am about where Michael (above) is on time. I don’t know how you can do your initial research, analyze the neighborhood (for price direction, volume, standing inventory), inspect the property (not just run through and take pictures), drive all potential sales comps and notate characteristics, check for compliance to zoning, a H & B analysis ( simple or more complex), write about site characteristics, write narrative about the subject & comparables, analyze the sales to determine their individual elements of contribution, determine individual adjustments, cost approach, vacant land sale analysis (if applicable), reconcile, and come to a conclusion; then, add in normal interruptions and drive time and a standard residential appraisal runs 10 to 12 hours easily.
Problem is that many appraisers skip many of the steps. AMC and many bank appraisal fees don’t recognize the time to fully research, analyze, and report. They pay based upon the lowest common denominator (cheapest appraiser fees & quickest turn times) in the market and pay everyone at that rate regardless of how much time and effort an individual puts into an appraisal report. So appraisers need to pump out 2 or 3 reports a day in order to make a living. And, the resulting appraisal quality reflects the lowest common denominator – not higher quality! The GSEs have to know what is going on here but apparently they simply do care and accept lowest common denominator quality that results from low fees and fast turn times. So they are getting what they pay for – $£!¥!
I agree with the previous comments. There are some appraisers who write, and many who don’t. I’ve reviewed appraisal reports in which there is virtually no information on the market, neighborhood and subject property, and no reconciliation. It’s all boilerplate. Too many appraisers view lender work as an opportunity to crank out garbage to make lots of money. Blaming it on the low fees is not a good enough excuse, in my opinion. I’m lucky if I can get three reports out a week, and that’s working more than 40 hours.
Other than the obvious that the number per week was a repeat of the hours per report, I can not believe that anyone can complete a credible appraisal in 2-3 hours or 4-6 hours either. Something is very wrong with those numbers. At 2-3 hours per report, these appraisers are making a fortune and paid way too much! Of the 3 appraisers in my office, our numbers for an average complexity report: 10-12 hours of which 45 mins avg (30 min to 3 hours) comp selection and file set-up, 2.5 hours to inspect subject and comps (including travel time), 1 hour to do the basic report entry, and 5-7 hours for cost approach, MC, select best comps and adjust, justify all adjustments, proof-read and send.