Interview with The “Millionaire Appraiser”

By on July 31, 2020   /   appraisal business, Fannie, humor, hybrid appraisals, Mortgage applications, unusual homes   /   Leave a comment
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Excerpt: How does one reach such a milestone? Terrence dropped out of school at what age? What advice can he offer to appraisers? These questions and much more will be answered by Terrence Bilodeau as he shares about his life’s journey and how he runs his business. The 23-minute Interview with The “Millionaire Appraiser”, Terrence Bilodeau, includes 2-minute introductory comments and a brief ad. Very good interview.

Read the appraiser comments below the video on the Vimeo website. (not many comments on Buzz web site).

Interview with The “Millionaire Appraiser”. I wrote about him in the June 19 issue of this email newsletter, using a recently published CNBC article. He was grossing $280,000 per year. It was very popular with my subscribers. Link to the article I used click here:

To read more, click here

My comment: This guy works way too hard!!

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

What Is An Appraiser?(Opens in a new browser tab) Humor

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Appraisal Process Challenges(Opens in a new browser tab)

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Working with difficult appraisal clients

By on July 24, 2020   /   ADUs, appraisal business, Coronavirus, george dell, Mortgage applications, square footage, unusual homes, zillow   /   Leave a comment
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Advice for Working with Difficult Appraisal Clients

Excerpt: Even if the bulk of your appraisals are fairly cut and dried, and require minimal interaction with a human client, any appraiser will occasionally have to work with a difficult client. The assignment might require you to work with a specialty property that is hard to appraise, or with a client who is personally disagreeable, or exceptionally exacting, or who has an agenda that you don’t understand or can’t go along with. Here are some tips for working with difficult clients. Three of the topics:

– Working with AMCs and banks: Time management

– Working with non-lenders: Expectations management

– Deal with complaints immediately

To read the tips, click here

My comment: Some great, practical tips!! Maybe I will try some of them instead of Firing clients, my most popular option ;>

My motto: Appraising would be great except for the darn clients!!

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

What to Do When Your Appraisal Is Under Review(Opens in a new browser tab)

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Favorite parts of the appraisal process

By on July 17, 2020   /   adjustments, appraisal business, Coronavirus, humor, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, square footage, Strange homes   /   Leave a comment
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What’s your favorite part of the appraisal process?

Excerpt:

Number 1. Data collection and property description (38%)

“The best part is the property review. I enjoy seeing what people have done to their properties and talking to them about their homes.”

“I enjoy viewing/observing the subject home.”

“Detective work”

“Each dwelling is different, and not every appraiser takes the time to clarify the differences in the dwellings. The quality, the construction, the egresses, and especially the correct way to calculate GLA or measure a dwelling.”

Number 2. Data analysis (27%)…

To read more about favorites, click here

My comment: I love working in the field, so my choice is Number 1. But, my very best choice is getting paid ;>

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

What is the farthest you have traveled to complete an appraisal and still be considered geographically competent?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Appraisal Process Challenges(Opens in a new browser tab)

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What’s the appraisal definition for suburban?

By on July 10, 2020   /   adjustments, appraisal business, Appraisal Foundation, Coronavirus, Fannie, forecast, george dell, Mortgage applications, real estate market, USPAP, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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Excerpts: The U.S. hasn’t had a formal definition for what constitutes a suburb. A new data analysis comes closer to defining America’s most popular neighborhood type. (Suburban appraisal definition is tricky.) What’s the appraisal definition for suburban?

The United States is a land of suburbs, with just one problem: No one’s quite clear what a “suburb” is.

It’s a question of semantics with real-world implications, as government programs, political campaigns and developers try to spend money in the “suburbs,” where a majority of Americans say they live despite the category having no formal definition.

For some people, it’s obvious: A suburb is a smaller city on the periphery of a larger city. Or it’s a sprawling neighborhood filled with vast swathes of single-family homes. Still other more dated conceptions of suburbia in the popular mind involve the people who live there: allegedly white, middle class and socially homogenous.

Now a new team of researchers believe they’ve cracked the code…

To read more, click here

My comments: Of course, if you do residential lender appraisals this is a Very Big Issue due to lender “requirements” such as no rural properties. Lots and lots of online discussion about this for a long time. Post this topic on your favorite Internet chat site or email list… and wait for the wide variety of opinions!!

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My Favorite Definitions

(This has been floating around for many years…)

Rural  Suburban  Urban

  • If you stand naked on the front porch and the neighbors can’t see you… it’s rural.
  • If you stand naked on the front porch and the neighbors call the cops on you… it’s suburban.
  • If you stand naked on the front porch and the neighbors ignore you… it’s urban.

There are other variations, of course, that are not suitable for this newsletter ;>

Crazy Appraiser Stories!!(Opens in a new browser tab)

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Fannie Update on Covid alternative appraisals

By on July 3, 2020   /   adjustments, Coronavirus, Fannie, liability, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, unusual home   /   Leave a comment
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Fannie Update on Covid alternative appraisals. Excerpt: Through mid-May, about 15% of Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®) appraisals completed after our announcement used the flexibilities, either desktop or exterior-only. As you know, circumstances vary widely across the country, and the uptake of the flexibilities reflects this. The highest percentages of appraisals using the flexibilities are around 40% in some northeastern states, while the lowest percentages are around 10% in some of the less impacted states…

We found that appraisers have used the flexibilities correctly about 90% of the time. Appraisers have done a great job identifying external obsolescence for desktops and exterior-only appraisals, as well as leveraging their local knowledge, maps, aerial photos, and other data sources. We’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that, although not required, about 35% of nontraditional reports include a sketch pulled from prior reports, assessors records, or other sources. Also, the supporting comments in the nontraditional reports have been even better on average than those in traditional reports.

Worth reading. 5 pages and well written. Also includes comments on “one mile rule” and flood zones. To read more, click here

My comments: There are very few of these done in the Bay Area. 10% sounds about right. However, now we are now in a major virus surge in some states – opened too soon and people in some areas did not do social distancing, hand washing and wear face coverings. Use of the alternative reports may increase in some states, and decrease in the northeast.

These appraisals are not easy to learn how to do, and are very different than doing full 1004 with interior inspections. In the June issue of the paid Appraisal Today I have lots of information on them, including useful references. See the ad below.

Covid-19 and Appraisers FREE Newsletter(Opens in a new browser tab)

Click the link below for a church converted to a home, Value Difference Between Streets, Avenues & Boulevards…?, Millions of American Homes at Greater Flood Risk Than Government Estimates, New Study Says, random thoughts of an appraiser, mortgage origination stats. 

Read more!! →

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Reconsideration of Appraised Value

By on June 26, 2020   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal business, Mortgage applications, real estate market, unusual homes, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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Reconsiderations of Value and What to Do About Them

By Danielle Lopez

Excerpt: It is Tuesday morning and I have my day planned and timed between reports that are due and morning inspections. I’m just about out the door when I receive an email notification for an appraisal I submitted last week. The notes indicate “Reconsideration of Value.” You know the drill, I’m sure.

Since I just completed this appraisal it was fresh in my mind. I recall the steps, time and attention to detail to locate the appropriate sales. I review my appraisal, and the unadjusted range of sales is $740,000 to $761,000, with adjusted prices of $740,000 to $756,000. I utilized three closed sales and two active listings/pending sales to support my opinion of value. The sales comparison approach is tight, bracketed and the report has an additional forty-eight pages of supporting documentation and explanation for the reader.

I open the notes from the AMC that say: “Please review the attached sales and indicate why they were not utilized in the appraisal.”…

To read more about this, click here

What Is An Appraiser?(Opens in a new browser tab) Humor

What to Do When Your Appraisal Is Under Review(Opens in a new browser tab)

51 Ways to Cut Appraisal Costs and Increase Cash Flow(Opens in a new browser tab)

To read about lots more appraisal topics, click read more below!

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Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos for Appraisers

By on June 12, 2020   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal, Fannie, FUN, humor, Mortgage applications, statistics, unusual homes, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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Just For Fun and Oddities!!

If M C Escher had tried interior design.

<< 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and extensive opportunities for open plan off-roading.

Inexplicably bad property photographs.

It’s that simple

Don’t miss the Very Funny Captions!!

 

To see more, click here

Appraisal Humor

Appraisal business tips

For lots more appraisal topics, Click  Read More below!

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What is most often overlooked by appraisers?

By on June 5, 2020   /   adjustments, appraisal business, Appraisal fees, bifurcated appraisals, commercial appraisal, Coronavirus, desktop appraisals, Fannie, fees, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, unusual home, USPAP, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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Excerpt: We recently asked our appraisal community, “What’s the ONE thing that is most often overlooked by appraisers?” We received a wide variety of answers ranging from big-picture oversights to specific details. The most common answer we received was “Highest and Best Use.”…

Highest and Best Use (HBU)

This was the top answer, which was written in by about 8% of survey respondents “First question when doing an appraisal is the highest and best use. If there are two very different opinions of value on a property, different HBU is often the reason.”…

Obsolescence

Obsolescence is another item mentioned by multiple survey respondents. Appraisers cited both external obsolescence and functional obsolescence as being frequently overlooked.

“External obsolescence for the subject property – When I’m reviewing appraisals, I see this more often than other oversights. When I was performing retrospective reviews for FNMA, their biggest complaint was that appraisers did not point out external obsolescence for the subject and/or its impact on marketability (if there was an impact).”

“Functional obsolescence – Appraiser focus has changed over the years as subject functionality has changed.”

To read lots more, click here

Appraisal Humor

Appraisal business tips

For lots more appraisal topics, Click  Read More below!

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Swiss guesthouse built into side of mountain Appraisers and Houses

By on May 29, 2020   /   adjustments, Coronavirus, Fannie, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, real estate market, unusual home   /   Leave a comment
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This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

Excerpt: The guesthouse and restaurant is quite literally built into a cliff, and its back wall is made up of the rock itself.

Its precarious perch makes it difficult to get to, and it’s only accessible after a steep hike along a mountain path or via cable car (the piano in the living room was brought in by helicopter). It’s been around for 170 years, and was originally a home for farmers; the guestbook goes back to 1940.

To check out the interesting fotos and brief description click here

Appraisal Humor

Appraisal business tips

For lots more appraisal topics, Click  Read More below!

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Defiant vs. Compliant Appraisers?

By on May 22, 2020   /   adjustments, appraisal how to, FHA, george dell, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, Strange homes, unusual home, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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Excerpt: Believe or don’t believe. Is there a parallel between appraisals and how people respond to pandemic warnings? Defiant vs. Compliant Appraisers?

Appraisal reviewers decide whether an appraisal is “worthy of belief” (“credible”) or not. Similarly, people decide whether to believe in the need for public health orders.

Steven Dinkin (president of the National Conflict Resolution Center) recently had some observations on the public’s response to the pandemic, dividing people into two groups: defiant or compliant. What is interesting is that each group has a belief that their thinking is the right thinking. Their opinion is the right opinion.

Let’s look first at the “defiants.” Some of these are defiant out of economic necessity – money. The need to eat can trump health risk. (Especially if the health risk is to other nameless strangers. “They have to take care of themselves.”) Guess what – food on the table comes first…

To read more, click here

My comment: I see a lot of appraiser comments online on both sides of controversial issues, including sometimes “sharp words”. Fortunately, almost all online appraisal places I go are moderated. Very negative or “flaming” posts are deleted. Sometimes appraisers are removed from the group after a few warnings.

The June issue of the monthly Paid Appraisal Today will have an article on this topic: “How to connect with appraisers online. What’s the best way for you?” I last wrote about this in January 2018. There have been a lot of changes since then!!

George Dell had a much longer article in the May issue of the Paid Appraisal Today.

Strange Appraisal Terms(Opens in a new browser tab)Humor

What to Do When Your Appraisal Is Under Review(Opens in a new browser tab)

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

To read lots more in this appraisal post, click read more below!!

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