No more MLS Photos

[Calvin the Airedale]

Some of you guys need to check under your kilts and make sure you have the right equipment for this business.

If not, stop calling them kilts!

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

You did not answer a question I posed earlier. If you take the time to go up a long driveway and knock on the door and nobody is home will you snap a picture anyways?

Absolutely.

 

[Michigan CG]

When I got into this business I worked for an MAI and we did no residential work. He took verifying the sales/leases very seriously. Knocking on doors and asking questions was part of the game.

A couple years into it I wanted to do some residential work and reluctantly he let me, with one condition, that the verification was performed to the same level as commercial properties. Every report is to be written as if it were going to the state board or in front of a jury.

He also insisted the work product is part of your advertising plan -- quality sells. When there is someone outside of the comparable property I get out of the car and introduce myself, and what I am doing. I let them know for the next six months or so appraisers will be taking photos of the home. This typically opens upa conversation and further verification of the property can be made. It works 99% of the time.

As to bad areas of town, not all people who live in these areas are bad, they are just poor. They are still people. Last summer I was appraising an apartment building and a comp was in the bad area. I needed to verify some of the information about this property because the assignment was a litigation situation and the other appraiser used the building as a comp when it was not comparable. There were folks sitting on the porch and three or four weeks prior someone was gunned down a few houses down.

Nicest people ever and I got what I needed. I do not knock on doors for typical lending work, but like Calvin I do it sometimes. If it is a litigation assignment (say divorce) and I am reviewing the other appraisal I knock on doors and what they tell me goes into the report.

I am yet to lose any litigation case when the opposing appraiser is a residential appraiser, the thoroughness and details of the reports wins every time.

I don't live in Mayberry, I live 30 miles from Detroit and 20 miles from Toledo.

 

[Delta85]

Absolutely.

So you ARE willing to break the law just to view a comp and snap a photo? That's very brave of you. Or very ignorant.

There may not be a law that says you can't go onto someones property to knock on the door, but god help you if you are caught on their property snapping a photo without their permission.

Just because you knock on the door and they do not answer does not mean they are not home. They may simply not want to answer the door for an unexpected caller. If they see you snap the photo they may come charging out of the house fully enraged, capable of anything. Or they may take down your license # and call the police. Or they might let their dogs loose. Any number of things can happen. You might be able to explain to police knocking on the door, but snapping the photo on private property may get you a ride downtown in bracelets.

All that to view a comp? Forget it.

 

[Delta85]

As to bad areas of town, not all people who live in these areas are bad, they are just poor. They are still people.

I agree. I am in no way racist or prejudiced in any way. But why take the chance? We all know where the high crime areas are and what happens there. Getting out of your car in these areas, camera in hand, is just asking for trouble.

Is it worth the gamble of getting assaulted, robbed, or even killed? Is it worth it to have your car jacked or damaged? All for the chance to view a comp?

I wish those of you well that do this. I won't be.

 

[Delta85]

I do not knock on doors for typical lending work.

Exactly.

If it is a special circumstance I might make the effort to go the extra mile or a divorce appraisal or any litigation oriented report. Even then it's only if I feel comfortable.

But for the standard lending appraisal I'm not doing it. I'll drive by and report on what I could see from the street.

 

[Delta85]

Some of you guys need to check under your kilts and make sure you have the right equipment for this business.

That's too easy to say on a chat site.

I'm a 235 pound former bodybuilder who can bench as much as 435 pounds (my personal best). I've studied martial arts and worked as a bouncer when I was younger. I've been in my share of brawls and am not afraid to stand up for myself. I probably intimidate more people than intimidate me.

It's not about having the right equipment for the business. It's about making common sense decisions based on the realities of the world.

Safety for yourself and your car vs. viewing and photographing a comp? That's not a tough choice at all. 9 out of 10 times nothing might happen. But what about that 10th time? Is it worth it for a $350 report?

No way.

 

[coolhandluke]

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

I agree. I am in no way racist or prejudiced in any way. But why take the chance? We all know where the high crime areas are and what happens there. Getting out of your car in these areas, camera in hand, is just asking for trouble.

Is it worth the gamble of getting assaulted, robbed, or even killed? Is it worth it to have your car jacked or damaged? All for the chance to view a comp?

I wish those of you well that do this. I won't be.

Delta-My guess is you use MLS photos for all your work, even the stuff in the 'nice' areas. You are trying to justify to everyone, and yourself, that its okay to use MLS photos, Appraisers Certification be damned.

If you're afraid of getting "assaulted, robbed, or even killed" I suggest you decline assignments in the 'bad areas' and let them go to appraisers who don't mind doing their due diligence.

Some of us even live here and "view the comps" every day when we walk out the door.

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

So you ARE willing to break the law just to view a comp and snap a photo? That's very brave of you. Or very ignorant.

There may not be a law that says you can't go onto someones property to knock on the door, but god help you if you are caught on their property snapping a photo without their permission.

Just because you knock on the door and they do not answer does not mean they are not home. They may simply not want to answer the door for an unexpected caller. If they see you snap the photo they may come charging out of the house fully enraged, capable of anything. Or they may take down your license # and call the police. Or they might let their dogs loose. Any number of things can happen. You might be able to explain to police knocking on the door, but snapping the photo on private property may get you a ride downtown in bracelets.

All that to view a comp? Forget it.

Criminy, do you jump up on a chair whenever you see a mouse too?

 

[Gregory Beck]

I like to look at the interior photos of the compables. They show upgrades I save those photos. I take the all the comp front photos myself, use MLS if gated and cannot get in take a pic of the gate and use the MLS most lenders accept that.