Advise To A Trainee

[Doug in NC]

Advise? Spell check and proof read before transmitting.

A lot of truth to that statement. Written communication is key to being a good appraiser. Proper spelling and good grammar are essential to every report.

From personal experience as a mentor, I'd suggest watching and heeding the advice of your supervisor - the first time. Nothing more frustrating for the supervisor than having to correct the apprentice multiple times on the same subject. The trainee is essentially being paid to learn the trade. The faster he/she learns to do the job with little assistance, the more profitable it becomes for the supervisor. In turn, the more quickly the trainee can expect to be adequately compensated for his/her contribution.

 

[Bobby Bucks]

Subscribe to the ASC Public Daily Notice, if your mentor has been throwing a wide loop, the sooner you know, the better.

 

[Thomas Holding]

Always remember that anything that you put into your report, you might have to defend either in court or before a state appraisal board. Be able to support every thing with either logic, stats, or both. Also, before you slap your certification and signature on a report and hit send, always ask if you yourself would actually purchase the property you are appraising for the value you just put on it, Never stop learning.

 

[timd354]

always ask if you yourself would actually purchase the property you are appraising for the value you just put on it

Sorry, but what I (the appraiser) would pay for a property simply is not relevant to the market value. The question is not what I (the appraiser) would pay, the question in a market value appraisal is what is the most probable price a typically motivated, well-informed or well-advised buyer would pay.

It has been my experience that far too many appraisers allow their own personal feelings and biases affect their results and conclusions. The appraiser's job is to measure and report the market, not to insert their own personal biases into the transaction.

I have appraised many homes for higher values than what I personally would pay for those homes, however, there were plenty of market participants that would pay those values/prices for those homes.

 

[azbassman21]

After 40 years+ in the business, learn AC, Plumbing, etc. you will do FAR better than being an appraiser.

Exactly what i was going to say. My advice would be to go do something else. It's a good living if you grind and work your butt off, but dealing with banks, realtors, underwriters, AMCs, etc., is enough to make your head spin.

Plus, with the future of this industry in jeapordy and FNMA now looking for ways to reduce our fees and take us out of the field, I'm not optimistic.

 

[Thomas Holding]

[It has been my experience that far too many appraisers allow their own personal feelings and biases affect their results and conclusions. The appraiser's job is to measure and report the market, not to insert their own personal biases into the transaction.[/QUOTE]

I agree, to an extent, but it is an "opinion of value" after all. Maybe I should have added to my little bit of advice. It was not meant to imply that you should skew an opinion of value due to your own personal bias. It was meant that your opinion of value should pass the "reasonableness test" in the context of what is actually occurring in the market. Sometimes appraisers rely too much on the value that the computer spits out or are in such a hurry to get the report out the door without ever asking themselves if the value they arrived makes sense in the first place.

 

[timd354]

[It has been my experience that far too many appraisers allow their own personal feelings and biases affect their results and conclusions. The appraiser's job is to measure and report the market, not to insert their own personal biases into the transaction.

I agree, to an extent, but it is an "opinion of value" after all. Maybe I should have added to my little bit of advice. It was not meant to imply that you should skew an opinion of value due to your own personal bias. It was meant that your opinion of value should pass the "reasonableness test" in the context of what is actually occurring in the market. Sometimes appraisers rely too much on the value that the computer spits out or are in such a hurry to get the report out the door without ever asking themselves if the value they arrived makes sense in the first place.[/QUOTE]
I hear you, but if appraiser's are relying on a value that the computer spits out or not already considering whether the value that they are opining is reasonable based on their analysis of the market data, then we have bigger problems.

In any case, it is worth emphasizing that reasonableness should be judged in relation to the market data not in relation to what the appraiser would personally pay for the property

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Never stop learning.

I can predict the quality of an appraiser by the number of books in their library. If they have nothing but the stock books they got in class, then they are just a hack appraiser 9 of 10 times. When I see the "old" books of appraiser in one's library - Ratliff, Graaskamp, etc. I have some idea that they actually study the craft. And you can build a very good library of books from downloads and used books from B & N or Amazon.

 

[ucbruin]

No sheet sherlock.

 

[FiredUp]

After 40 years+ in the business, learn AC, Plumbing, etc. you will do FAR better than being an appraiser.

I completely agree. My husband had to take a break from his business and now I am begging him not to restart. This is a horrible career in my opinion for someone with degrees in economics and finance, he is treated very poorly by the AMCs. The scope creep over the past few years and the micro management of commentary is ridiculous. I wouldn't suggest this to my worst enemy as a career.