Fee For Desktop Reports

[NC Appraising]

Op, this is how/what you should charge.

I would not use the hourly method. We are not hourly employees and under current volume/market conditions doesn't make sense.

Here is the equation:

1. How much do you need to survive per year? Not per month as our volume varies each month, cyclical profession.

2. Volume. What is YOUR expected future volume? NOT your past volume....in 2021.be realistic. Not based on hope or wishes.

3. Do the above equation and it will tell you what YOU need to charge.

Good luck.

 

[ucbruin]

The volume of work will be lower, because with hybrids an appraiser can complete the report in less time, so there will be less to go around. And what will the I lowered my fee to $125 guy do when the next guy lowers it to $100?

NEBWBIES, do not go into this field on the residential side, because barring a regulatory change, this is the future, at least regarding AMC work, and the entrenched by-design AMC system has a large share of the lender volume, unfortunately. Appraisers who have good direct lender clients won't be giving them up and those clients have limited spots on their panel. It is career suicide for any young person to consider getting a residential-only license, imo.

I don't see how commercial will be spared....
In some regards it could be more vulnerable because most the "value" is based on rental income/income....
That can be found in the leases....

Commercial properties....
New carpet, no big deal....
New paint, no big deal....
New exterior, no big deal....
New heating/cooling system, no big deal....
Rental income, big deal....

 

[J Grant]

I don't see how commercial will be spared....
In some regards it could be more vulnerable because most the "value" is based on rental income/income....
That can be found in the leases....

Commercial properties....
New carpet, no big deal....
New paint, no big deal....
New exterior, no big deal....
New heating/cooling system, no big deal....
Rental income, big deal....

Commercials will be impacted because as it develops, AI can do more and more of the analysis, and as you said the math-centric element lends itself to that.

However, imo, it will not be as impacted as residential was, because commercial is far less dependent on a limited client source, which the regulations on the residential lending side imposed, making residential appraisers vulnerable. And though commercial has a small group of banks using /AMC's, the amount of their volume is far, far smaller than on the residential side, since no private order or company needs to use an AMC to "manage" the appraisal.

The reason AMC's are so dominant on the residential side is that when the HVCC hit, the AMC and stakeholders lobbying corrupted the regulators to get the legislation and policies passed, which empower and enrich the AMC at the expense of the Appraisers The residential lender side of the business was doomed the day that happened, even if some clients refuse the AMC route ( for how long?) and thus some appraisers are still managing to make a living in it. There is simply a limited amount of private order demand on the residential side so the advice some toss out to "get private work" is not feasible in scale.

 

[OSU Beavers]

With the COVID scare gone and appraisal volume returned to normal due to higher interest rates, there is absolutely no reason for hybrid or desktop valuations to be completed other than fraud.

 

[ucbruin]

Because the commercial side is heavily "math centric" as you mention....
Once AI begins it's growth will be exponential....

 

[RustyTapeMeasure]

I HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT AN AMC I USE IS GOING TO START ASSIGNING DESKTOP REPORTS. LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON CUSTOMARY AND REASONABLE FEES TO CHARGE FOR DESKTOP REPORTS. THEY ARE GOING TO SUPPLY FLOOR PLAN AND PHOTOS AND INSPECTION DATA.

My first advice is DON"T USE CAPS. Second advice is lower your fee, then lower it again, and again. Take on all the liability of your signature and the value you ascribe in the report. GL

 

[RustyTapeMeasure]

Why doesnt the OP ask them what is their range of pay

That would take too much analysis on how to define the problem, issue to be solved and scope.

 

[RustyTapeMeasure]

It depends who wants to win the race to the bottom the most.

The race is over. Appraising is a dead man walking for 90% of those that are still here/licensed and they shouldn't expect to make a living wage. It will not recover based on interest rates or loan volume. By the time that happens they will be doing 75% waivers, then hybrid, desktop, tiny paid fee but full liability orders and the even bigger trickle down, a full blown appraisal you won't get a fee similar to past 5 years and the property will have issues of some sort or another and if you don't have perfect comps to your igloo or tree house or 5000 sq ft 1 bedroom home you will be attacked by agent, LO, Fannie, etc. GL

 

[Dale Floyd]

I've been an appraiser since there were no licenses, and one thing I can always count on - every year - with every change - and every cycle - many other appraisers only see the end approaching very clearly. Most are unable to see anything good ahead. I think that's just a byproduct of being an analyst.

I don't believe there is any industry or profession that hasn't experienced a great deal of changes since 1991 when our profession was first licensed. We will always be faced with modernizations, but we aren't going anywhere. We will adapt, and we will be better or bitter when the next crisis happens.

The banking profession is also due for a huge change, and that is already happening. (Most of us do banking online or by app today.) There are a fraction of employees working at the banking institutions I once supervised. The selling of real estate tomorrow, will look very different than today with fewer people involved. Title business looks nothing like it used to. Heck, I even noticed a local fast food restaurant had kiosks that have replaced humans.

It is pointless to tell everyone to stay positive. It is more prudent to remind everybody to continue to grow in technology and knowledge, even though difficult times may be ahead. The appraiser of tomorrow will likely make us all look inept because he/she will be much more advanced than our limits allow us right now. Things are going to change, with the exception of He who created us all.

That's my 2 cents anyway.

 

[Charles West]

It is not just your eyes, but you don't have your other senses like a prudent buyer would to detect the smell of a cattle feed lot one mile away, the feel of the cold wind that only cuts through that part of the valley, the sound of heavy industry, the shadow or glare from nearby high-rises, or the vibration felt from rail or freeway transportation.

Seriously, my friend's kid bought a new house on top of a ridge above the freeway and he asked me if a title search should have disclosed if the house was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, because the spring door stops would randomly vibrate on their own. I asked them to look and see if a big rig was driving on the freeway below when they shook. Sure enough, that was it. The low frequency rumble was traveling through the ground and shaking the house even though he could not hear the truck.

Soil is a great transmitter of vibrational frequencies!