Question for Indiana Appraisers

[Kajala]

I would like to pose a question to all the Indiana Appraisers. Formerly, I worked for an Indiana bank ordering and reviewing appraisals. I left when my son was born to stay home with him. I have been thinking about starting an appraisal review business and work out of the home. What I am proposing is to have another set of eyes review your appraisals, note any errors and give you a chance to correct them before sending them to the bank/AMC.

When I worked for the bank, I noticed a lot of the appraisers that worked independently would send in appraisals with spelling errors, pictures missing, sections not completed, etc. Those that had an office to work out of or worked with a group rarely had this problem because there was always someone else that would review and correct these things.

Would you be interested in this type of service? How much would you pay for a review of your work? What would help you?

I'm trying to find out if there is enough of a market for something like this. I know I had to send back appraisals numerous times for small corrections on a regular basis.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[KHS445]

I am not from Indiana and I do nearly 100% commercial work but I do have a couple of thoughts on the matter:

1. First if they will not take the time to proof read or spell check their own work I seriously doubt they will pay extra for someone else to do it.
2. How do you get around the confidentiality rules? You are not the appraiser nor the client, but an independent third party.
3. Turn times are tight enough and how would your review time factor into it?
4. How and when would you get paid? As you perform the reviews or would you wait until the appraiser was paid for the assignment? What if the appraiser never gets paid would you be willing to forgo your fee?

It is a nice idea, but you might have more luck offering your services as a reviewer to local/regional banks and credit unions. I think a lot of the questions outlined above would go away if you were to work the lenders side of the street.

 

[hastalavista]

I'm not in Indiana either, but I do have an assistant (non-appraiser) who provides me with the types of services you describe.

I find it invaluable; not only does she catch my errors, but she'll also point out parts in my narrative where I'm not clear. We've been working together for a couple of years (before that, she worked for me as an admin support when our business was larger; then left for a few years and is now back), so she knows my style, and she probably knows appraisal communication and many concepts as well as a lot of licensed appraisers. She can identify a section that doesn't read as clear as I thought it would (one of the biggest challenges we appraisers face is this: in general, we know what we are talking about and sometimes write our reports as-if the reader will know what we are talking about; a short explanation makes perfect sense to us but isn't clear to another. Along with catching the normal grammar errors or typos, this is where my assistant's help is really valuable; she'll tell me, "Denis, I think I know what you mean but it isn't clear; I'm guessing at what you mean rather than you walking-me-through what you mean.").
I'd pay separate for this service; it definitely improves the quality and presentation of my reports.

As to the confidentiality issue, I don't see a conflict. In my case, my assistant is a W-2 employee, so she works for my company as an employee. But I don't see why that service couldn't be an independent-contractor arrangement.
I know when appraisers have problems with their appraisal reports that are software-related, they have no problem sending the file to the appraisal software company to see if they can "fix it". Likewise, there are services (usually offshore) that offer a write-up of the appraisal with a 24-hour turn-time (some have advertised on this web site). Neither of these scenarios seem to raise the confidentiality issue.

The bigger problem right now is the squeeze on fees; low-paid appraisers probably don't have enough margin to opt-into your type of service. However, that isn't the entire universe of appraisers, and I'm sure there are some who would be willing to try such a service depending on the pricing. The unknown question is this: can you find enough of those appraisers to make it a viable enterprise for you?

Here's a suggestion (if it is feasible): In addition to asking the question here on this forum, find the names/locations of professional appraiser organizations in your area in which appraisers participate. Go to a meeting or to just to "check it out". Most of these organizations have either a paid or volunteer contact-person with whom you can discuss your business idea with. They may be willing to advertise your services or allow you to make a presentation in person at one of the meetings. At a minimum, you can network with potential clients and "take the temperature" of how well your idea is received.

Good luck to you in your endeavor!

Denis

 

[Sid Holderly]

I think it would be a USPAP problem and time line problem. When the AMC's push for deadlines reviewing gets cropped some.

 

[Kajala]

Thank you for your feedback. You all have valid points. I agree with Denis, I don't see the confidentiality as being an issue as I would be working as a sub-contractor for the appraiser and could even, if need be, sign a confidentiality agreement with them. As far as if it was worth my time, I am not looking for a full-time work load as it is. I would only take on a one or two appraisers to start with and see how it goes.

I do have a few appraisers that I worked with when I was with the bank that I could ask and see if it's something they would be interested in. I thought this might be a good place to get feedback from before going to them.

Some of the appraisers I worked with had office managers who would review and even type up the appraisal's. Some of which were their wives so I don't see why I can't do it for those who have no office manager (or wife) to do it for them.

 

[hastalavista]

Some of the appraisers I worked with had office managers who would review and even type up the appraisal's. Some of which were their wives so I don't see why I can't do it for those who have no office manager (or wife) to do it for them.

Or husband.

Good luck!

 

[Doug Meyer]

Since business is slow and fees have and are being driven downward again, I cannot see appraisers buying into your product. Now is business was booming, then you could have a markatable business venture. Good luck anyway!