Marketing To Homeowners/lawyers

[Terrel L. Shields]

the heirs could make a stink,

Yep, I had a half-sibling I didn't even know existed sue an estate. I had to give deposition but it apparently killed the suit at that point, and they settled their differences.

 

[ramrcdk]

Duly noted. I have mostly only done date of death private party deals.
Dead men tell no tales they say. But the heirs could make a stink, so be careful out there.

A Niche worth pursuing via direct contact with the "specific branch or trust account" @bank. I have enjoyed the Fee and the work...and I guess my clients do also.
Typically, for me a relative ends up settling and moving in.
On most occasions, I also get to meet and greet with a bank administrator and/or realtors, SO it is very good in getting your Name Out There!

 

[bnmappraisal]

Many great answers on this thread

The best marketing I've had has been through handing out business cards and speaking with agents/homeowners. You really never do know where your next referral may come from!

PERSONAL referral is "king".

helps you build trust with the agent/brokers and creates a source for referrals.

local agents'

A large majority of my private/non lender work comes from referrals from agents that I have worked with in the past.
This does take time to cultivate and isn't a "quick buck" by any stretch. BUT it always pays YOUR FEE!

Personally, I leave/hand out a business card at every property I go to, including vacant properties (usually leave it on the kitchen counter).
Again, you never know who will be that next referral!
(Edit to add: Good luck to you Center - you've made it this far, keep it up! I'm not much older than you (38) and have "only" been at this for 12 yrs. Hang in there and keep at it. It pays off in the end, but ... it is a PITA to "get there!")

 

[Michigan CG]

If you want agent work there are two good ways to do that. 1. Do presentations for real estate offices. It takes time and I have neglected that.

2. Verify your sales with agents. Call every listing Realtor on every sale you use in a report. Not only is that part of the job IMNSHO but they will remember you if you do it often enough. When someone calls an agent looking for an appraiser they are going to refer the guy/gal who they speak to often. I know of about ten Realtors who will only refer work to me and I bet there is more. One Realtor referral per month is about $750 each (for me) or $9,000/year.

======================

I also get referral work from:

-Other appraisers. Get to know the local appraisers. You can share data with them, talk to them about complex issues, get a second opinion and get referral work from them. I have a few appraisers that refer farm and commercial work to me and when I am busy I refer residential work to them.
-Assessors. I regularly talk to assessors. I offer help whenever they ask. I share date with them through e-mail. Next week I am going to send every assessor in the county a summary of lake-front sales. Only six of those assessor will benefit in the county out of 17 assessing districts but my name will be in front of those who don't have lakefront properties.
-Doing inspections for a typical lending assignment. I don't need to take 45 minutes for an inspection for a certain house but I talk to homeowners during the inspection. I pet the dog, answer as many questions as I can. Some appraisers are in and out in ten minutes. Do I get a lot of referrals from this, no. But I have in the past.

Attorney work is hard to get. I think that every single divorce I did last year, except one, involved an attorney who was from out of my county. No, make that two. I did a $3,000 assignment for multiple vacant land parcels for an estate for an attorney locally who does a lot of estate work. That attorney got my name from the assessor.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Many great answers on this thread

The best marketing I've had has been through handing out business cards and speaking with agents/homeowners. You really never do know where your next referral may come from!



A large majority of my private/non lender work comes from referrals from agents that I have worked with in the past.
This does take time to cultivate and isn't a "quick buck" by any stretch. BUT it always pays YOUR FEE!

Personally, I leave/hand out a business card at every property I go to, including vacant properties (usually leave it on the kitchen counter).
Again, you never know who will be that next referral!
(Edit to add: Good luck to you Center - you've made it this far, keep it up! I'm not much older than you (38) and have "only" been at this for 12 yrs. Hang in there and keep at it. It pays off in the end, but ... it is a PITA to "get there!")

Excellent Post ya Young Whippersnapper lol

 

[Dale Floyd]

I don’t believe people realize how important a very good business card is. We leave one with every person we meet in business.

When I say “a very good business card” I’m not talking about the cheap stuff. Use a card that looks good and handles like it is worthy of a professional business. We even have the fridge magnets. Name recognition is very important.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

sign up - site by appraisers for the public and soon to meet Dodd Frank,...perhaps some banks go to it. This is early in Phil's plan and may not pay off well at first, but I see this growing substantially over the next year or two. I've not signed up because I am a niche appraiser and don't do residential but for CRs it ought to be useful.

https://getmytruevalue.com/

 

[J in Florida]

zackly. An appraiser I know lost her license over it.

Never appeared in court for an appraisal in a divorce case. In my personal divorce case, the attacker knew better than to come after me about the asset values involved. That being said, I would be willing to bet that divorce cases could trigger complaints be they valid or not. You still have to defend yourself, which makes the risk/reward ratio unacceptable in my book.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

Never appeared in court for an appraisal in a divorce case. In my personal divorce case, the attacker knew better than to come after me about the asset values involved. That being said, I would be willing to bet that divorce cases could trigger complaints be they valid or not. You still have to defend yourself, which makes the risk/reward ratio unacceptable in my book.

Perhaps. But dealing with lawyers is no different than dealing with any other client group, but the business relationship is generally less one-sided than it is with an AMC or secondary market lender. If you don't know them, personally, find out their reputation. Sculpt your (not their) engagement agreement so that and service beyond delivery of the report will require additional fee: most divorce lawyers (and many lawyers doing estate work) don't want to pay any more in fees than they have to: fee for consultation, for testimony, or whatever. And for divorce work in particular, your appraisal becomes just another "chip" in the bargaining pile between the parties. Take a course that covers litigation appraisal work.

And get the money up front.

 

[DTB]

Never appeared in court for an appraisal in a divorce case. In my personal divorce case, the attacker knew better than to come after me about the asset values involved. That being said, I would be willing to bet that divorce cases could trigger complaints be they valid or not. You still have to defend yourself, which makes the risk/reward ratio unacceptable in my book.

Why not become the attorney's adviser as to what questions would have difficulty answering well?
Behind the scenes would be much more preferable for me in a court setting.