COVID Risk When Appraising Apartments and Commercial Properties

By on August 6, 2020   /   appraisal business, Coronavirus, COVID   /   Leave a comment
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Primary Risk Rules for All Types of Properties

  • Outside is Good. Inside is Bad.
  • Vacant rooms are Good. Crowded rooms (and outdoor spaces) are Bad.
  • Assume you, and everyone else, is infected.
  • You get infected by breathing another person’s breath, primarily.
  • Wearing a face mask is Good. No face mask is Bad.
  • Air flow is good. Poor (or no) ventilation is bad.
  • Time you spend in a risky space: as little as necessary.
  • You decide your own risk level.

The August issue of Appraisal Today, sent Monday, August 4, 2020, focused on appraising homes. The risks for appraising other types of property is similar when inspecting the interiors. The newsletter discusses many of these issues in more detail. To download a copy, go to www.appraisaltoday.com/coronavirus.

For lots more information, go to my new Covid blog covidscienceblog.com

Some of the factors for all properties:

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Covid-19 and Appraisers FREE Newsletter

By on August 4, 2020   /   appraisal business, Coronavirus, COVID   /   Leave a comment
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In the August 1, 2020 Issue of the monthly paid Appraisal Today Newsletter

Lots of tips for keeping safe in Covid-19 and Appraisers FREE Newsletter in the August 1, 2020 Issue: Covid-19 and Appraisers FREE Newsletter

  • How to keep safe from COVID-19, including tips for appraisers
  • The Vaccine Race
Click here to download the 1 column version, easy to read on your computer, laptop, or tablet.
You can scroll through the article sections with titles, looking for the topics that you want. I have done lots of research and give you short summaries with where to get more information, similar to these email newsletters.
Or, go to appraisaltoday.com/coronavirus to see a full table of contents and download the free newsletter.
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Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested. It focuses on appraisers who go inside homes, but much of it is relevant to anyone.

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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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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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Strange Appraisal Terms

By on June 19, 2020   /   appraisal business, bifurcated appraisals, Coronavirus, humor, liability, va, weird homes   /   Leave a comment
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Excerpts: Since space is the only place that is pandemic free, I thought it would be fun to try to apply space and science fiction terms to real estate. Let’s take a little break from the stressful atmosphere we are experiencing here on earth and have a little fun. Perhaps you can think of more.

Here are two:

Orbit– The path homeowners take whilst following the appraiser around the home, trying not to follow too closely by maintaining at least six feet of distance. (Probably taking pictures of the appraiser in the PPE)

Blackhole – The place where Zestimates go after being debunked by reality.

To read and see lots more Strange Appraisal Terms, click here.

My comment: I love Jamie Owens’ blog posts! Unbelievably creative!! Plus, outstanding/strange videos, animated gifs, etc. etc. I have been a big SciFi fan since high school and used space videos in my experimental music band for many years.

More 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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7 Things to Watch in your Appraisal Market

By on April 18, 2020   /   adjustments, appraisal classes, appraisal regulations, Coronavirus, desktop appraisals, Fannie, FHA, Freddie, FUN, real estate market, va   /   Leave a comment
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Seven things to watch in real estate during a pandemic

April 14, 2020 By Ryan Lundquist

Excerpts:

1) Listings: We often think about listings increasing as a way to see the market changing, but right now many markets across the country are seeing fewer new listings. So at times change is best seen with less of something rather than more. It’s not a surprise to see fewer new properties during a pandemic, right?…

7) Prices: In real estate we are so obsessed with prices, but that’s really the last place to look to see the market. What I mean is change happens first in the areas above before showing up in sales stats a couple months down the road. In short, for now the slower pandemic trend hasn’t infiltrated sales price figures as of yet in Sacramento. This doesn’t mean the market is stable in every price range and location. All I’m saying is regional and county stats don’t show price declines right now. Normally I pull monthly price data, but I’ve switched to weekly in order to see the trend sooner rather than later.

To see the other 4 factors plus lotsa graphs and many appraiser comments , click here

Appraisal Humor

Appraisal business tips

Pandemic and market for buyers and sellers: Appraisals(Opens in a new browser tab)

Very, very funny appraisal video!!(Opens in a new browser tab)

To read about lots more appraisal topics, continue reading below!

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