Commercial Appraisal Templates

[Terrel L. Shields]

I was trying to locate a shorter or better template.

My hint would be to break the report up into segments. My exhibits and photo section is created separately from the other segments. Each approach is created separately, or for some residential, combined into the 2 approaches I would use. Likewise, the summary section and certification pages are created last after I have developed the approaches and then I combine the subdocuments into a single report. This means for many commercial reports I have 40 to 50 pages, and one of my former commercial trainees had software that created 80 - 100 page reports that contained a lot of white space.

WordPerfect does keyboard merges and templates. They work differently. The keyboard merge allows you to go thru the skeleton report from input to input (or skip if you want) and the template means you fill out a menu and then the document is created. I use both in a report. Also, I create my comps the same way and file them away under year and area. But all these are highly individual and so trying to teach someone how to do them may confuse the user unless they learn to build and understand what they did as the documents are created. I will post a pdf of an example comp which is created as a template and a portion of the summary as a keyboard merge, too.

This is a segment (actually 2 segments) from my summary subdocument showing the keyboard merge... I am thinking Word does something similar as "fill in" maybe. I use check boxes and calculating tables (which WP does much better than Word) which eliminates going back and forth to Excel (or Quattro Pro in WP Office). My exhibits section has templates according to the number of photos I have - 4, 6, 8, 10, 12... and I have a few specialized templates such as one that puts more but smaller photos in a report.

 

[kclagett]

I'm new to the appraisal profession and use RealQuantum- https://www.realquantum.com/ -it's intuitive, easy to learn and has integrated spreadsheets. and an IOS app for property inspections. It helps avoid a lot of the complexities involved in learning/ using a patchwork excel system. Highly recommend checking it out.

 

[Mr Rex]

I was in a CE class once with a Commercial Reviewer that worked at one of the 15 largest banks in the US. I asked him this question and about a software package and he said to learn to use Word or WordPerfect and their associated spread sheet programs and use the 11(?) required items in Standard 2 as a basis for your template.

 

[Deleted member 152047]

Narrative1 is the most cost effective and widely used. If you dont have a solid database and linked excel and word docs, you really have no idea how much more efficient you can be. Furthermore, you can really make your reports look nice without having to customize every single one.

Valcre makes a nice product, but the numbers only work for very high production shops.

RealWired makes a product called Edge that is very reliable and cheap. However, the technology is outdated by more than a decade (doesn't matter if you are a small shop).

 

[Michael P Jacobs MAI]

<SNIP>...But all these are highly individual and so trying to teach someone how to do them may confuse the user unless they learn to build and understand what they did as the documents are created...

This sums it up right here... Appraisal Template Processing is much more efficient for appraisers that have mastered the technology AND HBU first, and that just takes practice.

I grew up in an era where word processing (WP) was "for women" and remember older appraisers looking down on my skills. I've always thought of WP as my only hope of effectively and efficiently conveying complex data relationships and economic structures (HBU) directly from my ADD mind without that limiting filter. It also helps me check for errors, which go along with AADD.

Yet as effective as my template is for me, another would find it a mess, sticky from grinding my brain cells into it for many years and obscured by heavy cobwebs for the analytical tangents that remain in there "just in case" they are ever needed again (some of the roots driven deeply TUI - "typing under the influence").

No, giving someone my template would do them very little good or even a disservice, I'm afraid, as others are saying as well.

Take what you are using and print screenshots when you come across something you could have done better. When it's slow or you just can't stand it anymore, make the changes. GOOD writing is RE-WRITING, I read somewhere (Stephen King?). I must make little edits a couple times a week and major enhancements monthly, and after 25 years using templates mine are starting to look almost decent.