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Drive By Or "windshield" Appraisals

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My "drive by fee" is the same as any other "interior inspection fee". :mrgreen: The AMC's don't like it, <_< but it's at least the same amount of work...... if not more. Got to dig more for subject data. In general though, if I can't see it from the road, and public records are crummy, I won't do it. The only exception is for pre-foreclosure, in which case the client ususally has a previous appraisal.
 
OK, you "know exactly what you're dealing with" on both the subject and all the sales. As in you locate and measure all the surveyor's pins to verify the property boundaries, you shoot the site grade to verify positive drainage, you perform both compaction & perk tests on the soil, you verify the proper size and quantity of the steel in the foundation, you stress test the foundation's concrete, you verify the grade of lumber in the walls, you verify proper bracing throughout the super-structure, you look inside the water supply lines and sewage discharge lines throughout, you check inside the water heater, you check the flue tiles in the fireplace, you disassemble the AC compressor, you check inside the oven walls to make sure it's insulation has never been stressed, etc, etc, etc.

No Ed, you have never, don't now, and never will "know exactly what you're dealing with".

:asleep: Yawn :asleep:
 
From a VALUE stand point I do and attempt to know exactly what I'm dealing with. I'm not a surveyor, structural engineer, roof specialist, appliance specialist and what ever else you babbled about. I'm a Value Guy period.

I'm an Appraiser Trainee with a very good mentor that knows what he's doing and I consider myself lucky to be training under.
 
Originally posted by Mike Garrett@ RAA,Oct 16 2003, 08:23 PM
You do not need a seperate certification for a 2055....it's already built in! Just be sure to indicate that you did not inspect the interior! The form was designed for this purpose, USPAP has rules covering it, and Fannie Mae accepts it. You are appraising with certain assumptions such as average condition.
Mike do I understand you don't have any extended comments for an exterior assignment? I still add specific extended comments depending on the assignment. I do exteriors for pre-foreclosures, quality control and equity lines/refinance for cookie cutters when the data is sufficient. I do not perform exterior assignments for multi-levels, older dwellings or if there is even a hint of deferred maintenance.
 
You're right Ed! It was just a test, none of the things I babbled about has any influence on the value of a property. Good job!!!
 
OK Dan.....Without knowing you I don't know if you're being serious or a smart #ss. Yes, those things you "babbled out" can affect value, but if I the Appraiser see something in question, (i.e. roof leaks, standing water in basement, ect...ect...) I call for them to be inspected or certified by their specific trade professional (i.e. Roof Specialist, Basement/Foundation Engineer...ect)
 
Ed - you appear to have a case of "my way is the only right way," something that is pretty common in this business. I might even have been accused of that myself. :D Just remember that there are others who are just as smart as you, and may have even been doing this a little longer who have different opinions.

Your box analogy is nice, but flawed. When you do a drive by (and like I said earlier, I do very few) you know what the exterior looks like and the type/style of the house. You can see what the yard looks like, and what the neighborhood is like. You can get an idea of the interior from public records (which are good in some areas and less reliable in others...there are areas around here that I would not do an exterior only because the records would be so unreliable, but there are other municipalities where they are always really close). All you have to assume, really, is that these records are correct and that the condition is average. If the house clearly is below average from the street, you do not finish the assignment as is. If it appears to be above average or average, you do the report as if it is just average. You explain that it is based on the assumption that the house is in average condition. And, the few times I have done one, I tend to be a little more conservative than I might if I had seen the inside. Everything you do is explained, and the client understands that these assumptions are all part of the report. If they really cared what the market value was, they would order an interior appraisal. But, since all they want to know is a ball-park estimate as to what the property is worth, they have no interest in bothering their client with a walk-through. And that is the reason for most of these orders, not saving money. I charge the same or slightly less, depending on wher the property is located.

Guess what? When a bank has a client that has a very good credit score, and a lot of equity, they really aren't interested in what you consider to be the only way to get a report done. They are interested in pleasing their good to very good customers. These are not people who they are concerned about foreclosing on, and they are not people with 95% LTV loans. Feel free to take what you consider the high road, and rail against those who actually provide a service for their clients. And do not compare this to number hitting, as they are two entirely different things.

That said, I would rather have trained under a mentor who would not budge on these types of things than one who would please everyone, no matter what.
 
Trust me, I'm being a smart ***. The point I'm trying to make is that no matter how thorough you view the property, there will always be a lot of unknowns, even if you have a roofer, electrician, or plumber standing next to you. Therefore, based on your own words, you are "guessing".

You missed Kevin's point by a country mile. In the mid 90's the majority of the end users (the lenders/rulers of this industry with the gold) put the appraisal profession on notice that they wanted a product that was faster and cheaper. Their argument at the time was "less than 1/4 of 1% of owner occupied mortgages go bad". Think about it, you could set at a loan officers desk and borrower $50,000 for a new Mercedes in a matter of minutes but it would take 2 to 6 weeks to borrow $30,000 for a real estate related loan.

The almighty & all knowing appraisal profession stood it's hallow ground and bucked the rulers, who simply turned to Congress to render deminimis useless, gave credibilty to the AVM's, and allowed for limited scope analysis. We used to be a necessary evil, now we are an unnecessary evil. And we are becoming more unnecessary with each passing day.

Certainly, when performed by an experienced, ethical appraiser the degree of reliablity is higher when a complete viewing is performed. But to label limited scope work as "guessing" is out of line. My limited scope "guessing", typically done because of a hostile environment/pre-foreclosure situation, is far more accurate than the original full viewing by the latest 'Skippy' who always hits the magic number.

Sherryl Andrus was presenting a 'Scope of Work' seminar for the AI. If you are doing any lender related work it would be worth your money to see where this section of the profession is headed.
 
Ed,

Welcome to the Forum! We look forward to your continuing contributions!

Other posters have commented about how a "drive-by" appraisal can be performed and noted that it can be USPAP compliant.

I appreciate the fact that you feel an "appraisal" needs to include a thorough inspection of the subject property. Apparently your mentor is of the same opinion. No problem. Your business decision to not accept drive-by requests is yours to make.

Consider why a client might want such a seemingly limited report. As others noted, perhaps the subject is being considered for foreclosure. In this case, the lender may not want the owner alerted to the fact that his property is being appraised. Perhaps a property was appraised a few months earlier and the lender needs assurance the market hasn't changed. For his purposes, he doesn't need another full appraisal. Maybe the house in question is the object of dispute in a divorce case and one of the attorneys wants an idea of its current market value but doesn't want the spouse who is occupying the house to know it's being appraised.

In short, we aren't always privy to the motivations of our clients when they order a particular appraisal service. If we have any reason to decline an assignment (competency, too busy, don't want to do drive-by), then that's a business decision each of us has to make.

With adequate public records, experience and appropriate disclaimers/disclosures, there's no reason an appraiser should not be able to form a credible opinion of value on most properties using an exterior only inspection. Whether we choose to do so remains a personal/business decision.
 
Yes, It's a business decision that we have in the office. We've been pretty successful with our decision and all our clients understand our position.

As a matter of fact the CEO of our largest client Re-Financed his personal home and the L.O. thought it would be OK (being the CEO and all) to order a "Drive By". Needless to say the CEO threw a fit that an Appraiser did not schedule an inspection appointment with him, because he completely renovated the interior of his home from top to bottom and he felt he did not need to disclose that to the L.O. because the Appraiser would be able to see it when he/she inspected the property. So without saying, he "pulled the plug" on all Drive By/Exterior Appraisals being ordered from his Branch Offices.

One More Time - HOW CAN YOU APPRAISE SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T SEEN. Simple, You Can't.........

I'm Done with this Post, I'll see you in other Posts.
 
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