Voice Of Appraisal

[gregb]

Jonathan Miller guest hosts-

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Miller's game plan to avoid banks and focus on estates mirrors my own decision o not play the AMC game.

 

[Joe Flacco]

How many appraisers does Miller Samuel have? That guy should have a firm of 200+ NYC appraisers.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Somebody get Jonathan Miller to join AF.

 

[gregb]

Somebody get Jonathan Miller to join AF.

Do you subscribe to his newsletters?

 

[Netig]

Jonathan Miller guest hosts-

So glad i found this podcast, super information. must listen for any residential appraiser

 

[Jonathan Miller]

Somebody get Jonathan Miller to join AF.

Ok, ok, I came back to AppraisersForum. Haven't been back in years and that was clearly a mistake! Great insights shared.

 

[Jonathan Miller]

How many appraisers does Miller Samuel have? That guy should have a firm of 200+ NYC appraisers.

Nah, we have 20 employees and 2/3 are salaried appraisers. No fee appraisers on staff. A growing part of our practice has been market research Don't have any desire to create a huge appraisal shop - tried that in the 1980s and pulled back. Too hard to keep quality under control - and with my staff working with me an average of 18 years, I can keep my sanity and quality of life high.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Nah, we have 20 employees and 2/3 are salaried appraisers. No fee appraisers on staff. A growing part of our practice has been market research Don't have any desire to create a huge appraisal shop - tried that in the 1980s and pulled back. Too hard to keep quality under control - and with my staff working with me an average of 18 years, I can keep my sanity and quality of life high.

I think your model is great. Are the appraisers all working in the office? Or do they work at home but get paid salary?

 

[Jonathan Miller]

I think your model is great. Are the appraisers all working in the office? Or do they work at home but get paid salary?

Thanks Joe. We have enough desks for them at the office but frankly, our office always has empty seats at some point as some work at home more than others. We do want staff to be in the office periodically during the week for mentoring. It has worked well for us over the past 31 years but it may not work for others. There is greater risk placed on ownership given the salaries/benefits so we have to be very aware of where our clients are heading. I remember in 2005 I knew we would go under in 3 years if we didn't steer away from retail bank work and mortgage brokers. We inverted our client base emphasis to non-bank which paid much better but was harder to get and have set a record nearly every year since 2008 without much of an increase in appraisal volume. The AMC model is broken and will eventually die or become a much smaller part of the lending business as lenders slowly figure it out, but I can't wait that long.