How long should an appraiser look at a house?

[MKBURNETT]

Box like 25 minutes, and I do 2 or 3 photos per room, FAU, Water heater, a/c units etc so everything has a photo. If this is FHA, then I drag my ladder with me and attic is another 10 min as I am old and slow

 

[prasercat]

Based on that data I could probably get what I need in about 15 minutes outside and may 10-15 minutes inside. It depends upon the condition, etc. If it is clean and in good shape it goes pretty quickly. If there are condition issues it takes a little longer. My favorites are vacant on lock box.

Having the owner following me around pointing out every $1.50 switch, new toilet paper rolls, and new light bulb is annoying. I once had a lady follow me around spraying me with Febreze because I had just come from a home inhabited by heavy smokers. I quit smoking in 2002 so it wasn't me. The bigger issue is sending out runners that are not even apprentices to make the inspections.

When engaging a homeowner, open-ended questions balanced with closed ended questions provide the best tool for obtaining info efficiently, while at the same time directing the conversation (the close ended one's keep the conversation on track). Open ended: "Are there any particular amenties in the community" Response: "yes, there is a common equestrian facility and that over there is the trail that goes through the community for horses, and a pedestrian trail" Closed ended: Do you pay a fee for the use of the facility, or is this an amenity paid for in your HOA fee? Open ended: What do you pay for and what do you not pay for? The road up here was a bit difficult. Open ended: How is it in the winter months? Closed ended: Is it county maintained and snow plowed in the winter? etc... If you can answer a question with a yes or a no, it is a closed ended question. The open ended questions are a type of reconnissance tool. When an important issue is discovered in this process, then a directed closed ended question extracts the info needed regarding the issue.

While it is simply a part of effective communication, it is useful in life in general (even in your personal life). My first exposure to this subject was when I needed to uncover the investment needs of wealthy clients. The open ended questions allowed me to find out what was important to them, while the closed ended questions allowed me to provide to zero in on those important needs and provide specific solutions. While it was all done subconciously and naturally, I later learned what in fact I was doing with the application of open and closed ended questions. Most people in the office were not very effective at this, since they preferred to ask only closed ended questions. Basically, they took the position that they already knew what the client wanted (it was the expression of their own egotism), which was to their folly and lack of success.

Most people provide honest responses, a few will try to skew info to their benefit, but that can usually be noticed. Corroboration is always expected of us anyway. Questions may take a couple minutes or much more, depending upon how complex the property or appraisal problem.

 

[TheXman]

Time to quit looking for a free answer and hire someone. If you are convinced you are correct, pay an appraiser and find out what someone you hire thinks. Not everything can be answered on a message board.

I'm not looking for a "free" answer here. You will notice that nowhere on these boards do I ask anyone for their opinion of how much my home is worth. I am merely trying to understand as much about the process as possible so that I have enough information to be able to ask the right questions, know what was done correctly, and hopefully be able to spot what wasn't done correctly on the appraisal that I already paid for. I think that most people here believe that an appraisal should be able to stand on it's own, but the one I got couldn't which is why the AMC is now telling me that if the appraiser does not change his appraisal, they will send an appraiser from my "immediate area" to conduct a field review. I've convinced my loan officer that the appraisal is not accurate, and now I've also convinced the AMC that the appraisal isn't accurate, so I think I'll wait and see what the appraiser does and go from there.

 

[JAgnello]

I definitely agree that the easiest part is the inspection. The real work is doing the research, forming an opinion and preparing any reports. When the homeowner is giving me the tour of the property, some (not all) have a tendency to give too much unnecessary information to the point where it starts to derail the inspection. I don’t think many homeowners understand that many things that they think add value mean nothing whatsoever.

 

[TJSum]

I am merely trying to understand as much about the process as possible so that I have enough information to be able to ask the right questions, know what was done correctly, and hopefully be able to spot what wasn't done correctly on the appraisal that I already paid for.


They will send an appraiser from my "immediate area" to conduct a field review.

Here is a question for them, why didn't they send an appraiser from the immediate area from the get go ???

 

[prasercat]

I'm not looking for a "free" answer here. You will notice that nowhere on these boards do I ask anyone for their opinion of how much my home is worth. I am merely trying to understand as much about the process as possible so that I have enough information to be able to ask the right questions, know what was done correctly, and hopefully be able to spot what wasn't done correctly on the appraisal that I already paid for. I think that most people here believe that an appraisal should be able to stand on it's own, but the one I got couldn't which is why the AMC is now telling me that if the appraiser does not change his appraisal, they will send an appraiser from my "immediate area" to conduct a field review. I've convinced my loan officer that the appraisal is not accurate, and now I've also convinced the AMC that the appraisal isn't accurate, so I think I'll wait and see what the appraiser does and go from there.

The primary motivation for the biggest AMC's is to contract with the lowest bidder. When you shop a discount store that has products made at the minimum price from a third world country, do you expect quality? Do you walk into a Lexus dealership with the money you were going to buy economy car with and expect that money to buy you a lexus? Quality has a cost because quality takes time and analysis and an expertise. Quality is also something that takes a certain work ethic and high standards. When your only motive is cheap, then all this other stuff is unimportant.

I for one cover a large area, but I know the amount of effort I put into an appraisal and my standards would not allow me to work for cheap - it would bankrupt me. I would rather have to do something else than do something poorly or just "good enough" , it's just not good enough for me. One of my specialties is resort properties but I have to travel about 50 to 60 miles to get to the ski resorts. I was trained initially in an office with its base within 20 mintues of 4 ski resorts. I know live in a mountain suburb not in the ski resorts. The fact is, the location of my office has little to do with my expertise 60 miles away. In fact, a considerable junk of my work is in that resort area.

It's no so much the location of the appraiser that is the problem - since a "quality appraiser" will only work on assignments they understand can be performed with competence. The tendency is to make as much profit on the transaction as possible by contracting the cheapest work and when problems arise (that are sufficiently evident by the reviewer, then a review is ordered, which is essentially another appraisal ordered at a fraction of the price of the original appraisal. Therefore, even the review may not be worth much. The best banks and lenders are the local one's, they tend to look for quality appraisers, the big box banks are the worst offenders.

 

[hastalavista]

so I think I'll wait and see what the appraiser does and go from there.

Please post the results (not the appraisal, just your summary of it) regardless if it is in your favor or not.

Good luck.

 

[Lisa Reed]

When the appraiser calls to set the appointment, they may let you know then, how long they will need at the property. If not, that would be the time to ask them how long they need at the property.

 

[TheXman]

Here is a question for them, why didn't they send an appraiser from the immediate area from the get go ???

This is another bone of contention that I have with the AMC. The appraiser is from Aptos which is about an hour away from my home. I did not realize this until after I got the report and saw his address. When I first raised this issue with the AMC, they said that Aptos was sufficiently close and that the appraiser was familiar with my area. I responded that I disagreed, and questioned why they could not find a local appraiser who knew the local market better, especially since I live in the middle of the biggest city in Northern California.

 

[hastalavista]

This is another bone of contention that I have with the AMC. The appraiser is from Aptos which is about an hour away from my home. I did not realize this until after I got the report and saw his address. When I first raised this issue with the AMC, they said that Aptos was sufficiently close and that the appraiser was familiar with my area. I responded that I disagreed, and questioned why they could not find a local appraiser who knew the local market better, especially since I live in the middle of the biggest city in Northern California.

I presume you live in San Jose?
I would not automatically disqualify an appraiser from Aptos for an assignment in San Jose. My office is about 30-minutes north of San Jose, and I routinely appraiser in San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy (which would be about the same distance as San Jose to Aptos).


Unfamiliarity with the market may be an issue. Or, it may not be. If I recall, the issue wasn't so much with the specific comps but it was with the weight given to a particular comp (the low one).
I think you'll be able to better conclude if market competency is an issue once you get a copy of the review (which I assume you are getting, no?).