Bad Mentors

[Joe Gomberg]

Gotta go with Mike (old crusty dude) on this one...

Not too mention that your mentor's adjustments are probably not several thousands of dollars off of a paired sales analysis. Are you good enough to dispute the difference in a 2000 dollar adjustment for a fireplace vs. a 3000 dollar adjustment in a $K - K home? Did the overall adjustments for this property put it under or above your opinion of value? Do you think that your opinion of value is so precise that you can state it should be so down to the last buck? I don't think I would ever get that good...but I have so much more to learn. JMO... wurfless as it maybe.

 

[Mike Simpson]

"Crusty Old Dude"--I like that.

Man time goes by fast--can hardly believe I'm part of the establishment.

Thanks for the compliment!

-Mike

 

[Steve Gish]

Kali,

Quotes from Mike

Kali....I will agree with you one this...most appraisers don't do pairs analysis on every appraisal to make the adjustments. First of all, if we did that, we would have to charge $1,000 per appraisal. Secondly, after you have done more than 9,000 appraisals I will give you the right to tell me my adjustments are not correct. You see, we development adjustments based on the market and those files are maintained in two places... our appraisal files and our mental file.

Do yourself a favor and develop the concept of percentage of contribution for adjustments. As an example, what is the adjustment for a two car vs three car garage? Would it be the same in, say, a $150,000 house as compared to a $350,000 house? If that percentage works out in your market to be, say, 2% then the adjustment in the $150,000 range would be $3,000 and in the $350,000 range it would be $7,000. This could be what your mentor is mentally doing when she reviews your work.

I'm just a couple of months into this learning process (200 hours) and I remember my first week on the job.

Everyday I went home and complained to my better half about how my mentor didn't do adjustments right, did cost approaches with numbers from his head, would pull a "range" of values out of nowhere or guestimate the square footage of a finished basement by the pictures, a tax record, and an MLS data sheet. All this after they'd just spent 90 hours teaching me another way to do it, and I'd passed a test on it.

As I become competent with my area, I'm learning lot values, construction costs and market value ranges for the neighborhoods I work. I know that in a certain subdivision a lot sells for $xx,zzz, it'll appraise out for $xx,zzz and a corner contributes $x,zzz to the value. My supervisor has been appriasing in Kansas City for 24 years. He was here before most of it was built I think. So, I got to give him the benifit of the doubt.

There's a method to the madness... efficiency. Competence, Efficiency and Accuracy all come with experience, he's teaching me how to operate a business along with how to appraise a house. You'll never make it if takes you 3 days to do an appraisal.

What Mike's saying is dead on right. It may not jive exactly with what they teach you in school, but it's reality. Give it some time, it'll all make sence and it'll come together.

 

[Mike Simpson]

My first appraisal took me 5 days--10 to 12 hours a day!

I continued to struggle for the first three months & my employer allowed it to happen. They knew the learning curve was straight up & believed I was tenacious enough to stick with it. They also understand once I grasped the basic concepts my value to them would increase significantly (& it did).

You can equate starting off in this business like a rocket ship (for you--"appraising isn't rocket science buffs"). All the energy & fuel is expended in the beginning just trying to break free of the earths atmosphere. But, once your ship is in orbit, you'll find that the trip was well worth it (just watch out for the occasional meteor! ).

-Mike

 

[Kali Beck]

Whew! Well thanks guys. I am relieved to hear all what you said, because that is exactly how I've been feeling..just very worried that my mentor wasn't doing things right (pulling things out of his head). I definitely know that experience will help speed things up & not have to do pairs analysis every time. The only thing I'm worried about is when I turn my log book in and the State wonders why I don't have the grid in the file for every appraisal & for every neighborhood & the long version cost approach backing up my figure on the report. I swear, the more I learn the more mind boggled I get!!! I think I should've gone to medical school instead...I would be a physician sooner than I'll be a certified appraiser!!

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Kali...the state isn't going to ask you for a grid other than the one in used in the report. You will need to be able to tell them how you arrived at your adjustments...and that correct answer is ...."pairs analysis" but it can be pairs analysis from other appraisals, from files in the appraisers office, and information received from your mentor. I wish you well. If it is of any reassurance, I have been in this business for 23+ years, been a certified residential appraiser since licensing in 93 and have never had to produce a work file for the state. If you do a good job, most likely no one will ever question your work.

 

[Dee Dee]

:lol:
Kali,

Those of us who are newer to the profession know exactly what you're saying (six years here). During the first few months of training MOST apprentices wonder what the h*ll they've gotten themselves into. It's a wake-up call when they realize that much of the disappointment is their own fault because they entered into the field with preconcieved and unrealistic notions about their own abilities and how easy they thought it would be to learn the profession and start making the big bucks.

The more appraisals you do the more competant you will feel. If you're still hanging in there, a few months from now you will look back and realize how far you have come and be less intimidated and more comfortable with the knowledge that becoming a good appraiser simply isn't going to happen as quickly as you thought it would. You'll learn how to push yourself and accept that a good mentor will be snapping at your heels if you slack off or try to take short cuts.

Good luck, and don't forget you're not alone.

 

[Stephen Wood]

I have been a lurker on this forum for sometime; before I decided to become an appraiser, while I was in school, and now that I have a learner's permit and a mentor. You must question my sanity that I still decided to enter the profession ! This topic struck a chord with me because I had the same kinds of doubts and questions about the methods my supervisor employed when I first started fresh out of school (July, 2003) with all this book learin'. I quickly learned, though that there is method to her madness by laboring through my own matched pair analysis which generally validated adjustments she seemed to pull out of the air. I just as quickly learned how much I have to learn. It was a humbling experience.

For the past 7 years, I was a Director at a telecom equipment company and it is difficult to make the transition from expert to newbie. At 50, I may be kind of a "old guy" to be starting a new career, but I intend to be one of the new licensees that succeeds. I try everday to put my ego aside and learn. This does not mean that I accept everything I am told as gospel, but that it is incumbent on me to do the research and work required if I question my supervisor's analysis.

I am appreciative of the time you seasoned appraisers take to discuss issues and answer questions.

Stephen Wood
Humbled Newbie

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

A BIG and warm welcome to you Stephen!

 

[Mike Simpson]

Stephen-

This information is dated, but years ago I heard a statistic that the average age of appraisers nationwide was 54 (USPAP Instructor). If this stat is right--about the time you get your license...you'll be average!

-Mike