What's Your Beef About Your Work?

[Michigan CG]

The increasing commoditization of the business. Banks that think appraisal independence rules require them to put three blind bids in front of the borrower with no consideration toward specific expertise.

I have seen a lot of that in the last three years in commercial work.

 

[JTip]

Logging some hours I realize what a pita being a CG is and, while that invoice may look real nice with all those zeros, you could have a month (or more) tied up into one report. Paid by the pound.

I could flip hamburgers (aka residential work) and gross the same in a month's time.

Around here commercial cookies are going for a gold coin when, not just a few years ago, two or three could have been pocketed.

They have figured out how to squeeze residential appraisers over the years, now realizing how juicy those plump tender CG assignments can be. The waive of bodies experienced by the residential size will soon be realized on the commercial end once all those college grads get that paper.

So, my beef about work? I wish I got more than 3 weeks paid vacation. Other than that, life is grand.

 

[Meandering]

I need 28 hour days, and 8 day weeks.

 

[DTB]

One - there are folks who are using "runners" (for lack of a better term) that are doing the grunt work for el cheapo and so they do undercut the typical fee structure some of us built up over the years.


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The "runner" issue is that I've always wondered about. It is such a hot button issue for appraisers and I never could understand why it never became SOP for the industry.

As background, my wife went to visit the orthopedist yesterday. Major, major firm-team doctors for White Sox, Bulls, DePaul Mens Basketbale and Major League soccer team- 45 minute appointment. 40 minutes were with the physician's assistant. Assistant then confers with head Dr and he sees Mrs. for 5 minutes.

We were impressed with their thoroughness, explanations etc.

Why does this work at their level but not appraisal? I just don't get it.

Had I been smarter, I'd have milked the runner system during the boom. Have to be honest.

 

[Michael S]

I need 28 hour days, and 8 day weeks.

Same. I can't remember the last time I got a report finished more than a day early. I'm always up against a deadline as I tend to take more time and try to do a more thorough job. The plus side is I rarely get many revisions requests or review comments from clients. Still, I make just as much as the person who slaps it together in 2/3 the time and uses more boilerplate and less analysis.

 

[Elliott]

Eh 1963, please take this as a sincere question, "Why do you care"?

But to answer your question, since we are currently in a refi boom and time is precious, and the newbie appraisers who use to bid low, and are now falling by the way side, ..... I find if frustrating that I have to spend an hour a day responding to AMC/UAD requirements to change the name of their company in the AMC from Mercury to Settlement One to Appraiser Zone, and to correct the address of the lender address to "New Walker, "instead of NW Walker" which is wrong and I'm right. The truth is, AMC are wrong about half the time in their stips and waste a lot of time. See, Appraisers have to manage AMCs. Every time I have to deal with a piddly stip wastes 15 minutes of my time. I want borrowers and lenders to pay for what they get, and not all the time I have to spend wet nursing AMCs.

 

[kiritf]

As an outsider trying to understand the valuation industry, I would like to know what issues are really bothering appraisers.
Yesterday I got an email from an appraiser in Phoenix who handles commercial properties throughout the state, and his major complaint was the lack of a good software work flow within his 9 person office.

Another appraiser I spoke with is bothered by the length of time it takes to complete all the verification details required for his reports.

I am learning so much that I may have to write an article to share with the community. It would seem that the appraisal industry is rife with problems, both large and small.

Would anybody here care to chime in with any of the issues that are making your day more cloudy than sunny?

Ugh, I hate to spread the word, but we've been using Office365 since 2012. It resolves basically all those issues. Software companies have come a long way; even N1 and easily customizable to make your own report style and keep possession of your data. .

In my opinion, I think I have two beefs.
1) Bad appraisers. I used to just pass them by and mock them, but okay, I'm older and I get the bigger picture. They're TERRIBLE for the respect of our industry. There's a guy in our area that uses Google's pay per click advertising. We don't and we're right at the top or top two every time on searches. The PPC's are at the top. Estate work. Anyway, I had a guy want a second opinion on a donation. I told him, look, i don't think there's much more I could do, just save your money. He sent me the guy's report. It's 20 pages long. Not sure what kind of report it is because it says summary appraisal and then later in the report it says restricted. So out of the 20 pages, there's about 11 pages of content. We've found 22 USPAP violations. That's got to be a record. This guy touts his experience in his add!!!
2) I always wish I had some more time to do more and more analysis and research on a report, but there's a stopping point to make things profitable. I don't short cut by any means, but I know I could do even better. We have an in-house platform and Office 365 handles about everything. With the new E5 accounts coming out, for $24/month per user, you will have everything. I don't think a lot of small or mid-sized shops know how to incorporate it. If they did, they'd never ever go back. Even a one person show, I'd highly recommend doing it.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Same. I can't remember the last time I got a report finished more than a day early. I'm always up against a deadline as I tend to take more time and try to do a more thorough job. The plus side is I rarely get many revisions requests or review comments from clients. Still, I make just as much as the person who slaps it together in 2/3 the time and uses more boilerplate and less analysis.

Deadlines are definitely the most stressful aspect of being a residential appraiser. Almost every day is a deadline or due date. Very stressful.

 

[Gobears81]

As much as I complain about being overworked, I am grateful to have a job that incorporates my skillset, gives me a good living, and allows my moderately antisocial personality to remain what it is

To complain, here are a few items.

Like Michael S said, the demand for fast turnaround is a challenge. Lately clients have been calling left and right to get their report faster, and when I have so much to do, not everyone is happy. The tough thing is that many do not specify initially that they need it fast, but then call the following week about their report. I also agree with PL, putting jobs for bid on an order platform where the lowest bidder gets the award 90% of the time does not typically account for expertise. I have intentionally bid low a couple times for a couple clients mainly to show them what I can do, but even after, they still just look straight at the bid and turn time, and knowing that I lost a job to a company where the trainee is doing 90% of the work is a bit of an annoyance. With that said, I feel fortunate that some clients are pretty loyal, and since I have a full trey of work, I shouldn't complain that I can't win them all.

A third complaint, which I don't think anyone has posted, is that clients are trying to get more and more restricted appraisals. It certainly saves time in putting the report together, but they expect the fee to be significantly lower, and I fear that the pressure to lower fees will decrease the quality of the average appraisal.

A fourth complaint is a bit of a paradox. The increased layers between myself and the person originating a loan in bank appraisals is a little like the internet. Before, clients would discuss with us directly and remain courteous, but with an intermediary, they feel a bit removed and the tone is quite different when they say what they want to the intermediary, so I occasionally get calls from an intermediary who is apparently getting screamed at. With that said, the increased distance also decreases the pressure on values (in most cases), so I can't entirely complain.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Why does this work at their level but not appraisal? I just don't get it.

When you certify that you personally inspected it, then you ought to personally inspect it. When dealing with the kinds of properties I do, then I want to personally inspect most of them because I don't trust the runners.... I trust them for factual information - deed work, etc. not for making judgments about the property. Same with that doctor. The nurses get the facts - PB, EKG, Xrays...whatever. I pay the doctor for his judgment.