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3.6 Crunch Time

Airstream said:
Changing software is very difficult to do; especially since not one single software company is really beyond beta or development stage
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Not true, UAD 3.6 is completely different specification, there is very little carry over. It's the best time perhaps ever to kick the tires on other options. Learning new software takes a day or two, maybe a week, unless you are Special Ed.
 
cashcatz said:
Not true, UAD 3.6 is completely different specification, there is very little carry over. It's the best time perhaps ever to kick the tires on other options. Learning new software takes a day or two, maybe a week, unless you are Special Ed.
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Not true. There is carry over with regard to the sketching program (which in a complicated market like I often do that is VERY important because a lot of time is taken up with sketching the house) and the mobile app for Total users. And I would remind you that it is not just about doing 3.6.
1) Private work. When I was full time I did about 30 to 40% private work. All those forms, templates, comp data, etc was in my program. I would have to recreate all kinds of stuff such as quick lists, etc.
2) When you buy a new program that doesn't mesh with your old software that means you still have to keep around your old software in case you need to open reports. Now you have to pay for 2 programs. I don't know how many times I have resent reports because the private client lost their copy. Then I keep all my work file data as a digital file in the report. What I have seen is that isn't possible for most software. And I don't know how many times I have been asked to appraise a property I had previously done.
3) And what other options are there right now that actually work the way I work? For example I looked at SFREP. Looks like a good program. But the sketching program isn't as good, and it can't keep digital work files. That made it a no go. ACI is basically not functional. And because I am retired and only do this part time, I'm not going to spend a bunch of money on a program like what Bradford is developing. The cost is too much.
4) And then you spend the time and effort learning a new program and you do some reports, and you find it sucks. Then what? Try another one? And that sucks. Then what? How long of a process and how times does it take to learn not only one but now two, and then you decide they all suck. Then you think...well maybe I just stick with what I have. It may suck but it is familiar on non 3.6.

This is why when I changed from ACI to Total I did so because I was able to see it in action with a friend in the office. It made learning it far easier. And what made it easier to go from ACI to Total is that Total could open ACI reports.
 
Airstream said:
Right now what is an appraiser supposed to do?
1) Changing software is very difficult to do; especially since not one single software company is really beyond beta or development stage. When an appraiser has been doing appraisals for 10 or 15 years with one software and knows it well, to change takes tremendous time. And it is still necessary to keep the old software because files are not easily transferred. And how is one supposed to try different software without actually having to do an order? You don't really know how bad or good a software is until you have used it for weeks. We don't have weeks of experimenting. If this was a year out from full implantation, and software companies had their acts together it would be different. Also not only does an appraiser have to learn software, but an entirely new form and how it operates. This is just idiocy.
2) We only have 2.5 months before this goes full time all the time. That's not much time. This is the busiest time of year for appraisers. So deciding to change software this time of the year is the worst possible time to do that. I have changed software before. I went from ACI to Total back in about 2000. It was not an easy thing, and that was when the programs were pretty simple, forms were far less complex, the scope of work was simpler, and they weren't very expensive. And it took me weeks to learn it well enough to become efficient, and I only did it because there was someone else in our real estate office that was using it and I could see how the software actually worked on a day to day basis.
3) The GSEs pushed this down our throats without enough time to adequately prepare. This is terrible mismanagement. Based upon what I have read on the Total web site about their software they are really months away from just getting a truly operable system. And when I mean operable, I mean the bugs are worked out and the necessary features on included. No software will be perfect; especially when it is essentially new. But at least it should be functional. Therefore, testing beta software is really a worthless endeavor because we really don't have anyone with a final finished product.

And as far as the GSEs yes, I don't expect them to recommend. But they should also be listening to what appraisers are saying. WE ARE NOT READY, BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE COMPANIES ARE NOT READY.
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The GSEs are assuming appraisal vendors will be ready by the deadline, because AI, e.g. Claude Code, exists to speed things up by a factor of 10. But the problem, as I see it, is that software engineers are overwhelmed by the complexity of appraisal, UAD 3.6, and the greater complexity of how they interact.

The reality is that even the most advanced appraisers cannot grasp the programming and statistics side of things and the most advanced software engineers (with very few exceptions) can grasp the appraisal side. And the two groups have a big problem communicating with each other. Really. What do I see: Muck, Nonsense, Obfuscation, Guessing, ....
 
Seems like all the folks saying how easy it is to sample other software and compare them like donuts in a box are not actively appraising.
 
I don't recall anyone saying that finding the right one would be easy.
 
I wouldn't say that AI "isn't any better than the person running it." It certainly is in many respects. But even the best systems run on a certain amount of guessing. ALWAYS. They likewise run on assumptions about context. ALWAYS. Even if the person managing the AI does a very good job of conveying context, the AI will still end up doing some guessing.

The reality is that AI only works if one or more people manage it to verify its factualness and logic. There needs to be constant verification and testing. Good/Excellent quality verification and testing. That takes effort and time, under the supervision of knowledgeable and experienced "product managers" - or whatever you want to call them.
 
cashcatz said:
Not true, UAD 3.6 is completely different specification, there is very little carry over. It's the best time perhaps ever to kick the tires on other options. Learning new software takes a day or two, maybe a week, unless you are Special Ed.
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I'll take the Special Ed class if available.
 
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