First Residential Appraisal In 10 Years

[RCA]

What unwritten rule do you think it is? Hopefully most reasonable appraisers wouldn't turn in one of their own unless it was fraud or just awful. I have appraised several appraisers houses. Its not ideal...awkward at best. Only marginally better than doing a realtors house, but better for sure. Most do as I do when the shoes on the other foot, I just let them be and don't intrude in any way or go near them unless they ask a question.

One of my worst experiences ever was appraising an appraisers house. He was trying to buy, as a short sale, the house he was the tenant in. When I got there he acknowledged the awkwardness and said he would stay out of my hair. He then proceeded to follow me every step of the way pointing out the most mindless things ever in an attempt for me to come in "low" as he was trying to get a deal. Minor peeling paint, broken light switch, caulk discolored on flooring, loose soap dispensary, etc. Badgered me non stop and threw a fit when I took pictures of his small horse corral as he stated the tin roofs on the corral were personal property and couldn't be factored in the appraisal because he was going to take them with him if the deal failed(not sure how he thought that would make any difference but he couldn't stop)..At the end I'd had enough and told him I could care less what he wanted it to appraise at, could care less the "short sale" price and could care less what the lender hoped it would come in at. It would be whatever it would be.

After being pissed off and upon reflecting for a day I cancelled the assignment and didn't even charge a trip fee. The only time I've ever done that but it was the right choice for me. Not worth the potential liability or issues that could come up as this guy was a total nutball...

You gotta be kidding. I would have just walked out.

 

[RCA]

Glad you have a good perspective and love your life. Ocean view, must be nice. Trade you for some desert views?

 

[RCA]

How about some ignore the rules and shortchange the process? I’ll give Bert this much he ain’t a Skippy. He is a walking talking AVM . Not that in the future that is not where we are headed. Digger on the other hand is part of the reason there are sub $100 offers for “alternative” appraisal products and will be among the first to suffer the consequences.

I wouldn't say I'm a walking AVM. It's kind of a combination of two extremes, advanced statistics and gut feeling. The comps are treated almost machine like, although I have to manipulate MARS to get the right kind of model. When it comes to the subject, I rely very much on our innate ability to judge complex objects and put them into rank order - in combination with the MARS model. I am thus in a much better position to support my adjustments - especially when the comps are poor, the market complex.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

I applaud you for doing your thing. Keep on and hope you find a market for your service. I think it's niche but someone needs to fill those.

Your presentation tho, is entirely too passive. When you are the only one doing it right, you should try to emphasize your superiority a bit more.