I have given up on the Significant Assistance thread but have been thinking about a statement in that thread to the effect that appraisers are not "trained" nor had courses in "how to inspect" a house, which implies therefore that the village idiot can be expected to do as good a job as you or I. Or we can give them the benefit of the doubt and say they are Realtors or home inspectors (whom I suspect ain't going to bite on this new job) So? Is that really true we are ignorant inspectors?
So I got to thinking. I took a basic 30 hour residential course and we did go out to a house owned by the instructor and walk thru noting what and where on the forms we would fill out. I then took a 15 hour course to teach me how to identify hazardous materials, fluorescent light issues, asbestos insulation, etc.
I took several courses offered by FHA in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. Each dealt with specific issues they were trying to teach us about inspection to their standards. One in Tulsa even specifically dealt with rural issues. Another with those attic and crawl space inspections. Who is going to teach the Realtors how to inspect a crawlspace and what they are looking for.
And then I took another 15 hour residential writing course where we actually measured & walked thru a vacant house the instructor had listed (being a Realtor too), drove past comps and wrote a report in narrative. In ag courses, we visited with the local USDA office, were shown how to look up the characteristics of soils on the soils maps, read legals, etc. So WTF? Are we really untrained ignoramuses? I don't think so. I think many of us got substantial training on the job and in the class room as to measurements. Just saying...
Yep. You hit the nail on the head.
When I go to buy a house, I've got to figure out everything:
1. Is the kitchen going to work? Where are we going to put X, Y, Z, ..... The toaster, the hot air oven, the broiler, two refrigerators we need, table, .... Do we have enough cabinet space, and if we need to add more is there room for it?
2. MY office, is it big enough, got a good view to keep me happy, maybe a balcony? Room for my network, my monitors and computers, my 65", a bar counter and small fridge?
3. Room for the children when they are visiting with their family? Or the one that decides to stay with us half the time?
4. A bedroom that will keep my wife and me (to a lesser extent) happy.
5. Backyard for the dogs?
6. Room for boarders if we want to rent.
7. A well located dining room.
8. Laundry?
9. Garage?
10. How thick are the walls? We got 4" or 6"?
11. What kind of insulation, heat and sound?
12. Room height?
13.
Of course, most appraisers CANNOT do floorplans or don't for some reason, take your choice.
Most people can look at a GOOD floor plan and immediately see -- Yea, that is what I need!! Each room should have its dimensions and area in square feet.
...... SO BASIC. But appraisers can't do it, now can they? They are really worthless.
