Low effort appraisers

[cpursley]

I still can't get over the fact that so many appraisers use unprofessional personal email addresses like @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @verizon.net, @comcast.net. This just screams low-effort to clients. A custom domain is like $10 per year on https://www.namecheap.com and an Outlook 365 or Gmail pro email account for it a few bucks per month...

Think of it this way: would you trust a lawyer or doctor who uses a mustang67law@gmail.com type of email address?

 

[Joe Flacco]

I have my own domain but I don't think it really matters.

But when I see @aol.com I instantly assume they must be 80 years old.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Maybe it matters a little bit if you are targeting the general public.

 

[Joe Flacco]

AOL instant messenger and chat rooms were the greatest.

 

[cpursley]

AOL instant messenger and chat rooms were the greatest.

Yeah, the AOL messenger was great. In retrospect, that entire ecosystem was. Brought internet for the first time to so many.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

I use an @gmail. You could also say an appraiser not showing up in a suit is low effort. Seems like nit picky minutia to me. There is no less functionality. Now Bigballs@aol.com sure.

 

[cpursley]

I use an @gmail. You could also say an appraiser not showing up in a suit is low effort. Seems like nit picky minutia to me. There is no less functionality. Now Bigballs@aol.com sure.

If you really want to separate yourself from the hobbyists in the eyes of clients and potential clients, I highly recommend just picking up a domain for $10 a year if you don't have one and setting up Gmail Pro or Outlook 365 email (it's cheaper than gmail). Takes an hour at most and comes across as much more professional. Maybe I should write a blog post on the steps.

 

[Flakey]

I have had gmail since it started in 2004. I was working at a firm at the time. When I returned to working alone, I just kept it. After 21 years, that address is in a lot of places. I get orders and referrals from clients I haven't heard from in a while. I just screams experience and stability. There are a lot of cool and very now sounding addresses out there. Doesn't tell me a damn thing about how good they are. Maybe I need to update my phone number too.

 

[Vermonter]

Most residential appraisers don't need their own domain to deal with the same clients they have been for decades. There's no one to impress. Even with larger clients like AMCs they don't care. They just want a license #

I've had my own domain for decades, but use a generic gmail account for most everything

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

This just screams low-effort to clients.

Why? They all work the same, don't they? I have an email with my website. It's Thunderbird and extremely difficult to receive or attach documents. Too many reports fail to attach so I reverted back to something that did. Since I couldn't get reports to go to xxxxxx@roxnoil.com I gave up and send reports via hotmail. And most of my contacts are from the contact form on the website. And those are forwarded to all 3 of my email addresses as well as my web master who monitors for bots and scams.