Is AI too honest for appraisal work?

[J Grant]

Stop the gaslighting.
People are worried about street crime. Crimes of violence and crimes against their personal property and which directly affect their personal safety and quality of life. Carjackings, home burglaries, fights at the Olive Garden, etc. They're not as worried about crimes against the haves that generally don't trigger a 911 call for the emergency response.

Nobody ever made a home purchase decision off of reports of fraud or income tax evasion.

That you want to equate these different forms of criminal behavior as having the same effect on the general public says a lot. And it's not good. People leave the urban areas for cause, and increased levels of street crime is one of those causes.

If the employment wasn't there a lot of people would choose to leave. There's a reason all those made-for-women movies on TV are set in small towns. And not in the urban areas.

I am allowed to go off on a tangent as others here do- wrt your snarky comments about females, that you take the time to include in your posts -made for women movies? Gaslighting much-lol.

People live in urban areas for many reasons, and big cities are actually a collection of small neighborhoods. The ignorant painting of cities as a cesspool of crime and nothing else is tiring.

 

[George Hatch]

Who do you think you're talking to? I've lived in an urban area for most of my life AND I have worked as a cop in an urban area so I know I'm talking about when it comes to street crime. I just did an inspection in So Central yesterday and I'll be back down there again within the next week. Unlike a couple people around here I don't duck assignments because of their location.

You need to check your biases.

 

[Elliott]

"Willingness to visit or tough talk about South Central Los Angeles itself does not directly constitute bias, but evidence from social science research suggests that attitudes about racially segregated or high-crime neighborhoods can reflect implicit or explicit biases shaped by stereotypes, limited intergroup contact, and media portrayals. Studies show that implicit biases tend to be stronger in areas with less diversity and more racial segregation, where residents may have fewer meaningful interactions with people from different racial or ethnic groups.

Furthermore, racial biases can be reinforced when people live near but lack close social ties with marginalized groups, which may cause group threat perceptions fueled by stereotypes rather than objective neighborhood conditions. Media often portrays neighborhoods like South Central with a focus on crime and danger, which can strengthen biased views in those unfamiliar with the area. Hence, the mindset of “being tough” to go there might lean on outdated, stereotype-based narratives rather than nuanced understanding.

In appraisal or professional contexts, such perceptions warrant caution and awareness to avoid bias influencing evaluation or decision-making. The key is differentiating attitudes grounded in factual knowledge from those stemming from unconscious or systemic social biases."

: )

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

This is a dishonest post

Then make of it what you will. Crime DOWN in Portland by 17% (over last year) but still WELL ABOVE the national average.

Portland Police Reported Crime Data

Interactive report summarizing the type and number of report offenses by Neighborhood.

www.portland.gov

 

[J Grant]

Then make of it what you will. Crime DOWN in Portland by 17% (over last year) but still WELL ABOVE the national average.

Portland Police Reported Crime Data

Interactive report summarizing the type and number of report offenses by Neighborhood.

www.portland.gov

Again, so what? If people are still buying in Portland and there is a demand there for houses, that is what we look for in appraising.

Urban areas can have more crime - they also have in many cases, more opportunities, higher wages, a certain culture or other factors that mitigate. And some folks at the bottom of the economic ladder or who are just plain bad are going to do crime or become addicts, no matter where they live. They might concentrate in the worst urban areas. Then again, I read that part of the reason rural areas have lower crime rates it that it is vastly under-reported. FWIW.

 

[J Grant]

"Willingness to visit or tough talk about South Central Los Angeles itself does not directly constitute bias, but evidence from social science research suggests that attitudes about racially segregated or high-crime neighborhoods can reflect implicit or explicit biases shaped by stereotypes, limited intergroup contact, and media portrayals. Studies show that implicit biases tend to be stronger in areas with less diversity and more racial segregation, where residents may have fewer meaningful interactions with people from different racial or ethnic groups.

Furthermore, racial biases can be reinforced when people live near but lack close social ties with marginalized groups, which may cause group threat perceptions fueled by stereotypes rather than objective neighborhood conditions. Media often portrays neighborhoods like South Central with a focus on crime and danger, which can strengthen biased views in those unfamiliar with the area. Hence, the mindset of “being tough” to go there might lean on outdated, stereotype-based narratives rather than nuanced understanding.

In appraisal or professional contexts, such perceptions warrant caution and awareness to avoid bias influencing evaluation or decision-making. The key is differentiating attitudes grounded in factual knowledge from those stemming from unconscious or systemic social biases."

: )

Any of us can have bias - some of it against the very wealthy !! or against certain urban areas or group etc - the thing is, we have to put that aside when we appraise. If we can not do that, then we should avoid certain areas or economic price assignments.

A few times I felt really unsafe pulling up to a property (drug dealers out front, though I did not ask them doh...) so I drove off and gave those few assignments back. The rest of the time, in certain areas, I just use situational awareness. The one time I felt endangered was in a middle-class subdivision villa, where the teenage son pointed a rifle at me. So you never know. Never take anything for granted. We do not know who lives in the places we enter for appraisal or what stress or influence they are under.

Most law-abiding people are against violent street crime or frightened of it, including the decent people who live in those areas and are the most affected.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

If people are still buying in Portland

estimates for 2024 show a small population increase after several years of decline. The city's population has stopped shrinking and started to grow slightly, though it remains below its peak level.​

Tell me crime is not a factor here

commercial real estate in Portland, Oregon, is declining, particularly the office sector, which has a high vacancy rate of around 35% that has not recovered like in other major cities​

 

[Retired-70]

I asked for areas in Portland, OR that have higher crime rates and this is what I got:

"In the Portland metro area, neighborhoods with higher crime rates include:

• Powellhurst-Gilbert: Crime rates around 228% above the national average, with high property and violent crime incidents.
• Lents: Total crime rate 42% higher than Portland average, violent crime 188% above national average; known for higher homicide and shooting incidents.
• Hazelwood: Crime rate 36% higher than Portland average, with violent crime 175% above national average, including shootings and assaults.
• Sunderland: Small neighborhood with crime rates 259% above national average; issues include drug trafficking and violent crime.
• Lloyd District: Crime rate 247% higher than national average, with common crimes like vehicle theft, burglaries, sexual assaults, and prostitution.
• Centennial: Known for drug trafficking, homicides, burglaries; crime rate 234% higher than national average.
• Mill Park: Crime rate 207% above national average, with violent and property crimes prevalent.
• Parkrose: Property crime and violent crimes like robbery are concerns; crime rate 204% above national average.
• Kenton: Crime rate 171% higher than national average, with property crimes and violent crimes such as assaults and robberies.
• Downtown & Old Town/Chinatown: High volume of property crimes, theft, vandalism, and assaults reported."

....................
Good luck with shoehorning any of those observations in a report and not being rejected.

Yeah, I grew up in Oregon, mostly on farms between Eugene and Junction City. I spent the last two years at North Eugene High School 1963-65. I remember some of the better students coming out to visit me at the time, who would try to convince me of all the great things about smoking pot. But by then, I was already very anti-communist and conservative, lucky for me. It always seemed there were a number of other boys back then who were gay and girls who were probably lesbian, especially from the Portland area. There weren't any Blacks at all, and very, very few Hispanics. The presence of people of Scandinavian, German, or other European descent was very obvious. Junction City still has its "Scandinavian Festival" in the summer. - It was almost totally white back then, and you can look at the HS Annuals to try to find a single Black. Portland, I suppose, was different in that respect.

So, now I see the stats on crime, drugs, and homelessness - they are pretty bad. Of the three largest cities in Oregon: Portland, Salem, and Eugene, Eugene has the best stats. In fact, Eugene's crime statistics have been improving over the past several years. Air pollution is a problem at times, especially during winter with wood-burning stoves and during forest fires. The average AQI is around 30 (good), but if there are fires, it can jump up to around 500! Going up there in cold December/January, the air is laden with PM 2.5 particles from wood-burning stoves and, at times, suffocating. But increased regulations on wood-burning stoves in recent years have helped reduce that problem.

If it weren't for the forest fires, Bend and Sisters would be nice places to retire, although somewhat expensive.

Would I move to Oregon? I would wait another 3 or so years and see if things improved more. Then I might. Some say living on the other side of the Columbia river in Washington is optimal: You avoid Oregon's state tax and can drive to Portland for shopping, to avoid Washington's Sales Tax.

So maybe in 2027-28, I will give it another look. Or, I might stay here in Pacifica.

 

[Fernando]

I don't know how Zillow works.
I was surprised my subject's sales price is 20% below Zillow's estimate. Best for human appraiser to figure out the truth.

 

[Elliott]

(NY Post 12/3/25) "A truck driver charged with killing a newlywed couple in a horrific crash in Oregon is an illegal immigrant who was granted a commercial driver’s license in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California, according to the feds.

Indian national Rajinder Kumar, 32, was arrested after he jackknifed his semi-truck and collided with a vehicle in Bend back on Nov. 24, killing William Carter and his new wife, Jennifer Lower.

Kumar was in the US illegally, having been released into the country by the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security revealed Monday as it announced that an immigration detainer has been lodged."