How Many Appraisals Do You Complete Each Week?

[TRESinc]

IMHO the AMC likes to justify it's existence so there are *always* at least little changes. (IE comment on the style of the fireplace).

that does not make sense. why would a company make their employees waste company time and money having you change anything only to be forced to review it again at a later date? would you complete a report and then some time later decide to change it and resubmit? of course not, it's a waste of time and a profit killer. if this is truly how you think then i hope you work for someone else for the rest of your life because yo have no business acumen.

 

[TRESinc]

So I’ve been around the industry for a long while. But never actually done the processes myself.

yet that doesn't stop you from trying to berate or belittle those who have been doing this forever. come back after you have actually done the things appraisers do for at least 5 years and then you can let us all know how wrong we are doing it.

This is what I’m learning. Selecting comps prior is a fools errand. Not sure what I’d be better at, trading penny stocks or selecting the best 3-6 (whatever # it takes) every single time.

it can be a fools errand, and it cannot as well, it is situationally dependent. based on your posts maybe you should trade penny stocks - that would open up a whole new avenue of people for you to tell them how they are doing it wrong.

My question to you and appraisers like you that do it the way you have chose. How do you verify 2 sources for everything, GLA, how sold, etc, etc? Doesn’t that take a long time for realtors to get back to you? Example, out here, in older areas, MLS GLA is just made up and assessor is different. So you have to reconcile. Are you doing this in the field? That would take me 4 hours in my car.

so you admit you don't know the process. that is step 1. no one ever said being an appraiser is easy. if it was then everyone would be doing it. yes it can take a while for a response from an agent, but that is dependent on how you approach it. some agents are faster to return a phone call, some a text, some an email. you have to learn your market, and it's participants, and work accordingly.

 

[Overimprovement]

IMHO the AMC likes to justify it's existence so there are *always* at least little changes. (IE comment on the style of the fireplace).

Actually, my revision rate with most AMCs is about 15% on refinances, and 30% on purchases. Not counting my mistakes. Once you start seeing a pattern of revision requests with a particular AMC/lender, just pre-address it in the report. I have found requests for another comp usually only come in 1) when my value is below SP, or 2) if something the underwriter thinks is important is not bracketed. I can usually tell what those might be, and try to address those too, explaining why it could not or was not bracketed--my market is largely rural so bracketing everything can be nearly impossible. Lucky to get 3 good sales sometimes.

Most of the revisions requests I do get are because my market is rural and the U/W in the big city doesn't understand that sometimes there just aren't any good comps for a certain amenity to be bracketed. Sometimes across-the-board just has to happen. Fannie's C/U is brutally stacked against rural appraisers, IMHO. My favorite was "appraiser to explain why 1 mile guideline had to be exceeded." Because subject is rural, not urban, and there are only 16 homes within a one mile radius of subject, and regrettably, the one home of those 16 that is similar to subject had the audacity to not sell in the last 12 months.

One lender demanded live, IN-SEASON comp pics. So if I visited a comp in March, and 2 months later used that sale again for a different report, they would need new pictures. Don't work for them anymore either. I don't inspect the subject twice, not gonna inspect the comps twice either.

Bottom line, you have the choice of who your clients are. I know finding new ones is hard, but being an independent appraiser is sometimes as much about being a good business person as being a good appraiser. Better to go hungry for a week finding better clients, than hating your job the rest of your life.

Of course (and nothing personal, I've never seen any of your reports) it could just be your reports do have issues that most reports would not have. Look at every revision request as an opportunity to become a better if not appraiser, than report writer at least. Tell the story they need to hear, but in the words they want to hear.

 

[Bob Ipock]

I am very inefficient as an appraiser. I rarely get comp photos on the first trip.

I am astounded by the volume some appraisers claim they complete each month. They must be perfect human machines of efficiency and very lucky on assignments sent to them.. On balance most appraisers are probably considerably less than the outlandish claims and most certainly a good bit more than me. Good for you!

There is a limit for preparing a credible appraisal. Mine is 5 or less per week. I don't believe some of these numbers either.

 

[Eli]

I can’t cherry pick in a market with few cherries. Nor do I care too. Those are the first jobs that will disappear due to technology.

Or be altered significantly. Technology can’t handle complex assignments in a very heterogeneous market. It can’t work like a human brain in a very heterogeneous market.

At least not on “market value”.

 

[Digger88]

There is a limit for preparing a credible appraisal. Mine is 5 or less per week. I don't believe some of these numbers either.

if you dont believe it its because you dont know everyones market obviously. its not a knock on you it is what it is. there is a difference in being in disbelief and thinking someone is making something up. unless you do nothing but inspect condos in big cities id put my market up against any other in the country for ease of work. massive turnover, townhomes and detached colonial subdivisions as far as the eye can see, its crazy!

 

[hastalavista]

So I’ve been around the industry for a long while. But never actually done the processes myself.

This is what I’m learning. Selecting comps prior is a fools errand. Not sure what I’d be better at, trading penny stocks or selecting the best 3-6 (whatever # it takes) every single time.

So I've been around the industry for a long time. And, I've actually done the process myself.
This is what I've learned: Depending on the data, selecting sales as potential comparables is a good practice for my markets. Of course, I interview the borrower prior to the inspection to confirm what I have researched for the subject property on whatever data sources I use is consistent with what exists. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Most of the time this is ferreted out when the owner is interviewed. Certainly in some cases, what I am told is not what exists, so in that case, I may have to come back and shoot additional sales for comparables. Usually, what I think is out there is what is out there after I go through my process, so the sales I've selected as comparables prior to the inspection work for the majority of the time.

Some appraiser prefer to inspect first and come back and select comps afterward. No one can argue against that.
I prefer to select sales which appear to be good comparables, and when I go out to the property I then can confirm they are good comparables, and then I can drive-by them when I'm out there in one trip.

Certainly I get assignments where I say to myself, "Self: For this one, we should inspect first and then come back and do the research." And that's what I do. But for most of the typical SFRs, I don't have to go back that often if I've done my research correctly before the subject inspection.

YMMV

 

[VALU8]

that does not make sense. why would a company make their employees waste company time and money having you change anything only to be forced to review it again at a later date? would you complete a report and then some time later decide to change it and resubmit? of course not, it's a waste of time and a profit killer. if this is truly how you think then i hope you work for someone else for the rest of your life because yo have no business acumen.

It really doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Eli]

So I've been around the industry for a long time. And, I've actually done the process myself.
This is what I've learned: Depending on the data, selecting sales as potential comparables is a good practice for my markets. Of course, I interview the borrower prior to the inspection to confirm what I have researched for the subject property on whatever data sources I use is consistent with what exists. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Most of the time this is ferreted out when the owner is interviewed. Certainly in some cases, what I am told is not what exists, so in that case, I may have to come back and shoot additional sales for comparables. Usually, what I think is out there is what is out there after I go through my process, so the sales I've selected as comparables prior to the inspection work for the majority of the time.

Some appraiser prefer to inspect first and come back and select comps afterward. No one can argue against that.
I prefer to select sales which appear to be good comparables, and when I go out to the property I then can confirm they are good comparables, and then I can drive-by them when I'm out there in one trip.

Certainly I get assignments where I say to myself, "Self: For this one, we should inspect first and then come back and do the research." And that's what I do. But for most of the typical SFRs, I don't have to go back that often if I've done my research correctly before the subject inspection.

YMMV

Yeah, and just explain that to the client why it is taking you longer. Tell them you are not “GOD”. Maybe don’t say that......