I am not trying to be a pain here but two hours to the inspection, two hours back, at least an hour taking comp photos, 4-8 hours once you get back minus the gas is $400-$50gas= $350/13hrs for the first trip, 4.0 hours for the second trip-$50 in gas is equal $300/17. hours or $17.58+/- an hour. Just one question how can you afford to be an appraiser, I did not include the equipment, software, MLS, power, office space, wear and tear of your cars eight hours on the road. By the time you take that into account your around $10 an hour at best.
I don't think I could do this job for $10 an hour. This is not a mean comment its an analysis of working some two hours away from your area. In business time (labor) is just as important as any other factor in capital. I guess I am just amazed by that when you could have stayed home done some AMC work for 2/3 price and made more money per hour.
When I was in college a management professor made a great statement "always know the cost to benefit of every action, if the cost exceeds the benefit then the action is prohibitive." Your four hours in the car was the cost to do the FHA appraisal as it was time you could have spent doing work in your own area and even making two inspections or working on more than one report, now the additional trip has doubled the cost and the benefit number has not moved but your cost is now two times higher.
In my humble opinion such an action has not been a benefit and the cost of working outside of geo competency is very prohibitive. I wish you luck to two hours from your area unless your a commercial appraiser I would think that such actions could result in trouble. Good luck.
