Strategies for raising fees

[George Hatch]

IMO the biggest issue independent appraisers are facing is that our industry has turned corporate and isn't going back. And most independent appraisers are independent because they do not want to be corporate. At the end of the day AMC's like all corporations will never stop squeezing every penny they can.

All true.
Main Street retail squeezed the local artisans and farmers
Big box squeezed Main Street
Amazon squeezed the Big Box
Drop ship is currently in vogue until something more disconnected comes along

 

[chad hampton]

All of that is true. But we’re heading down a bad road. There’s only one ending to this. It’s not like this is the first time it’s ever happened in world history.

 

[glenn walker]

All of that is true. But we’re heading down a bad road. There’s only one ending to this. It’s not like this is the first time it’s ever happened in world history.

Actually the appraisers managed to dodge the bullet that hit most others starting 40 years ago when big box destroyed small business in many community's.

What had allowed appraisers to continue was it's so small nobody had tried to capture it's market and like the local baker, black smith or shoe repair essentially an-artisan guild type of operation.

 

[djd09]

the good news...the unethical stakeholders have filled the borg with cheap and fast

 

[DTB]

Observing from the sidelines nowadays I have a more 10,000 foot view of the industry, When I see appraisers going back and forth about being $10 over the "market" price on a multiple $100 service and others debating $25 fee increases it makes me want to scream WTH kind of business are you in?

I just don't understand being in a business that pays so poorly and treats most even more poorly.

This is the land of opportunity folks, fear is what kills dreams. Ponder your future for more than a moment

 

[chad hampton]

Great advice!! They turned it into a gig, that's how I treat it.

They don't mind uber drivers performing appraisal services, so that tells me all I need to know.

 

[George Hatch]

Observing from the sidelines nowadays I have a more 10,000 foot view of the industry, When I see appraisers going back and forth about being $10 over the "market" price on a multiple $100 service and others debating $25 fee increases it makes me want to scream WTH kind of business are you in?

I just don't understand being in a business that pays so poorly and treats most even more poorly.

This is the land of opportunity folks, fear is what kills dreams. Ponder your future for more than a moment

This is exactly why I have volunteered to contribute the unpopular minority report to the discussion. Winter is already here and I doubt the situation is going to improve for most appraisers, myself included. Everyone should be giving significant consideration toward what comes next for them because where we're at right now is only going to get worse for most of us. Quite possibly all of us. Except for those of us who pass on before we get passed on. My own appraisal practice may or may not be viable by the time I get to 2035. If I get to 2035.

 

[djd09]

i dont think some understand how dastardly the unethical stakeholders can be...and you know USPAP isn't going to us

 

[George Hatch]

No more dastardly in 2025 than they were in 1985. They just have more tools at their disposal.

 

[J Grant]

All true.
Main Street retail squeezed the local artisans and farmers
Big box squeezed Main Street
Amazon squeezed the Big Box
Drop ship is currently in vogue until something more disconnected comes along

That is true- to a point.
There is still a thriving local artsan and farmers markets as well as certain retail stores, not everyone wants to shop big box/big ag/ or buy the same mass produced merch - there is still demand for local profesionals etc - though the above also has been a disruptive force, many manufacturers simply sell online now or through Amazon combined with some brick and mortor stores. s