The Ugly (and Filthy) Truth About Wearing Shoes in the HouseExcerpts: “Shoes off, please.” A reasonable request? Or are those fightin’ words?
Arguably, no other three monosyllabic words have ever led to more irritated house guests, resentful homeowners and thriving sales of shoe racks, slippers, and sing-songy, passive-aggressive signs. (“Since little fingers touch our floor, please remove your shoes at our door!”)… “So many germs and bacteria can be brought in from your shoes, including toxins and E. coli,” Mitzner explains…
“So, if one removes their shoes,” he asks, “what about all the potential bacteria on their socks?” Plus, even if you abide by a strict rule of “no shoes,” you can’t escape the fact that the interior of your home is still covered in germs, Adalja says. How reassuring.
While there are scientific arguments both for and against pulling off footwear the moment you enter the front door, experts do seem to agree on one thing: To minimize the risk of getting sick, go out of your way to keep a clean home.
My comment: I hate taking off my shoes in a house!! I have to put them, or disposable booties, back on when going in and out of the house. But, since reading this article, I am so glad I have hardwood floors with no carpets and no small children ;> Of course, the bottom line: it is their house and they can decide. Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!! |
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To Form or Not To Form? What will it be? A new 1004?By George Dell
Excerpt: What’s the difference between a form and a data entry page? Will “forms software” even be necessary? Will the result require less appraiser expertise – or more? Will it encourage the “form-filler” people, or will it require some real understanding of problem identification, data selection, predictive methods, and communication? Will the transmittal require both an electronic data stream and human actionable views?
Will it require appraisers at all? Or will the “data analysts” simply create the ultimate model.
These are big questions. From my point of view, some of the answers are obvious. But first, let’s outline how we can even ask the right questions . . .
My comment: Fannie Mae has been planning on revising the forms. I have known George for quite a while, heard him speak and taken his class. Looks like people are finally starting to pay attention to what he says about stats, data, etc.!! His blog posts are fine, but sometimes you want more. The September issue of the paid Appraisal Today will have George’s 6 page article, “Why, Why, Why? Why do we put “stats”, “graphs”, “data,” and “science” together?”
Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!! To read more of this 8-30-18 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!! ===========================================
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Schizophrenic Adjustments
By Dave Towne
Excerpt: Appraisers, I’ve written in the past about what I believe are strange ways to report adjustments in appraisals, and suggested ’rounding’ is a perfectly acceptable way to report them. This is largely due to buyers and listing agents thinking and listing in $100 increments – not down to exact dollar amounts.
During the past couple of weeks, I ‘came in contact with’ two separate appraisals done by different appraisers on totally different properties, in different market areas.
What struck me was the incredibly precise adjustments made for only certain items in these reports, while the rest of adjustments were ’rounded’ to even dollars. Here are the examples:
Click here to read more:
My comment: I love the image at the top of this post….. sorta creepy but very appropriate ;> Who do you think it represents?
Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe
For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com
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To read more of this 8-23-20 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!
Here’s How America Uses Its Land
Excerpt: What can be harder to decipher is how Americans use their land to create wealth. The 48 contiguous states alone are a 1.9 billion-acre jigsaw puzzle of cities, farms, forests and pastures that Americans use to feed themselves, power their economy and extract value for business and pleasure.
One of the many interesting tidbits:
The U.S. is becoming more urban-at an average rate of about 1 million additional acres a year. That’s the equivalent of adding new urban area the size of Los Angeles, Houston and Phoenix combined. U.S. urban areas have more than quadrupled since 1945.
Click here for very interesting graphics and more analysis:
Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe
For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com
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To read more of this 8-2-18 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!
Appraiser Imposter Captured on Video!!!Click here to see the video of the imposter and the owner’s comments. Note: You may have to wait for the ad to finish. Worth the wait!!
——————————-Imposter posing as appraiser, utility workers target Phoenix neighborhood
Excerpt: Last Wednesday, as construction workers bustled inside Huddleston’s home near 22nd Street and Glendale Avenue, a woman came to her door claiming to be an appraiser for the bank.
Huddleston said the woman told her she was there to take pictures, and had arranged the time with Kacia’s husband, Bryan.
“She knew my husband’s name, and as I was in the midst of texting my husband to see if she was supposed to be here, she walked right in,” said Huddleston.
My comment: Have you inspected the wrong house? I have definitely knocked on the wrong door, but never went inside… so far ;> |
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Stories of Surprising Roadside HotelsIt’s check-in time for your memories of unforgettable travel lodgings.Just For Fun!!Excerpt: Lots of interesting places!! Here are a few:
Red Caboose Motel Ronks, Pennsylvania
The guest rooms are actual train cabooses. Think tiny houses on rails.
The Atomic Inn Beatty, Nevada
“It was alien and bunker-themed, and was decorated with atomic bomb art.”
Wigwam Village #2 Cave City, Kentucky
Stay in a teepee.
Movie Manor
Monte Vista, Colorado
“It’s in a drive-in theater and you can watch movies from your bed.”
Click on the Motel/Hotel name for photo and more info
My comment: Back in the 60s I traveled between California and Oklahoma regularly, using Route 66, before the Interstate was completed. Lotsa strange motels!! Before motels morphed into chains that looked the same. There are still a few of these “old timers” left. |
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Why do clients complain?
By George Dell
Excerpts: … As you might guess, there are issues with general sloppiness and just plain errors. But the gloomy, uneasy complaints are about two basic issues: 1) poor selection of comps; and, 2) lack of “support” for adjustments. Let’s look at each of these two issues, and what might be solutions. Why do appraisal clients complain?
Comparable Selection
We have been taught to select sales which are competitive, similar, and therefore comparable. Unfortunately, those three words are used circularly to define each other. USPAP is of no help either. Although the word “comparable” is used dozens/hundreds of times – it’s never defined.
No wonder we have problems. This one word, this one concept – so central to the “process” of valuation – no one seems to know what one is! (Except me: You can trust me – I know a good comp when I see a good comp.)
For lots more interesting comments, click here:
Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe
For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com
Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!!
To read more of this 6-21-18 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!
13 of the Craziest/Coolest Public Bathrooms
Just For Fun!!
Excerpt: We know, there is a lot to hate about public restrooms, but we’ve found they can actually be a very unexpected but very potent source of inspiration. We’ve never seen tile layouts like the ones in public facilities-and that’s why we like them. Overlapping squares with zigzag edges? A woven look with a whopping five different colors and two different tile sizes?
My comment: Wow! Vibrant colors and tiles….
Covid-19 Residential Appraisers Tips on Staying Safe
For Covid Updates, go to my Covid Science blog at covidscienceblog.com
Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!!
To read more of this 6-14-20 long blog post with many topics, click Read More Below!!
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It’s not all about square footage in real estateBy Ryan Lundquist
Excerpt:
Myth: Extra square footage is always worth more.
Factors:
1) Single story vs two story
2) 55+ Community
3) Layout
4) Dangerous to always adjust
Worth reading, plus appraiser comments at:
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Goofy Buildings: Revisiting the Heyday of California’s ‘Crazy’ Novelty Architecture – Giant hats, portly pigs, and drive-thru donuts.Just For Fun!!Excerpts: In the 1930s, a British traveler in Southern California wondered if the local architects had gone a little nuts. It was either that or he had stumbled into a fantasy universe. There was something trippy about the roadside shops he saw along the way…
The unusual businesses he saw weren’t on some Hollywood backlot, but were California’s classic coterie of mimetic architecture-that is, buildings shaped like, well, anything but buildings. According to Cristina Carbone, a professor of art and architectural history at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, the practice dates back to at least the Renaissance.
Fascinating!! Lots of photos and interesting comments at:
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It’ll never sell that high (but then it did)Excerpt: There’s no way it’s going to sell that high. Have you ever thought that in real estate? Well, let’s talk about a property that many said would never sell at $4.1M, but then it did. I definitely have some takeaways about this lofty condo in Downtown Sacramento (CA), and I hope non-locals will relate to the commentary. (My note: median home sale price is $367,500)
Details and lots of graphs at:
My comment: The median home sale price is $367,500. This is definitely an outlier for the area.
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A floating Pacific island is in the works with its own government, cryptocurrency and 300 housesJust For Fun!!Excerpts: The Floating Island Project plans to create off-shore housing that uses its own currency and operates outside of government regulations.
– The project is a pilot program in partnership with the government of French Polynesia.
– A long-term vision for the project is hundreds of new countries floating on the ocean.
As well as offering a home for the displaced, the self-contained islands are designed to function as business centers that are beyond the influence of government regulation.
Check out the video and lots more details at:
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How Lenders and Appraisers Can Work Better Together Through Increased TransparencyBy Wes Costello
Excerpts: The relationship between lenders and appraisers has never been quite right. The association was scared by improprieties of the few that led to a fallout of the many, with each party retreating behind walls of mistrust and perceived regulatory requirement. Recently, communication is civil but has been described as resembling two parties of a legal arrangement who speak to each other on an as-needed basis….
Anyone who has directed appraisal management knows that they are only as good as the appraisers they partner with. This makes it vital to value each member of your appraisal panel as an integral partner in your company’s business.
My comment: Well written and worth reading, plus the comments, of course. The author is a Senior Vice President of Quality Management & Collateral Risk at AnnieMac Home Mortgage… He is a Pennsylvania Certified Real Estate Appraiser. |
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Public Restroom App by Charmin: Find Clean Bathrooms!Excerpt: A clean nearby public bathroom can be hard to find. But not all restrooms are created equal.
With SitOrSquat we put clean public toilets on the map. Literally. Clean locations have a green “Sit” rating. Less desirable ones have a red “Squat.”
So, the next time nature calls and you need to find a nearby restroom, SitORSquat will help you know where to go.
My comment: Thanks to appraiser Jerry Walsh for this great tip. He has used it for years. I am downloading it today!! I coulda used this 40 years ago when I started appraising in rural areas….. Better than The Bushes or Behind A Tree ;>
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