Wont work saturdays? wont take off shoes? SHAME ON YOU!!

[carol milder]

Is there a new way of measuring a home? I was surprised when Barbara said she does the interior inspection first ...

Don't you love it when the homeowner wants you at the property at 9:00am and the sprinkler system comes on at the same time ... or just turned off and the flower beds and grass are covered in water ... makes me want to walk on their carpet with wet shoes.

Shoes are a case by case basis ... we don't have basements in this part of Texas, but I have to put my shoes back on to go into the garage ... sometimes I just leave them on if the floors look bad beyond the foyer. I like the idea of those slip-on shoe covers, I am going to get some.

FYI: Appraisers that work side by side with mosquitos ... a piece of Bounce Fabric Softener sticking out of your pocket will keep the blood suckers at bay, it really works!

As for week-ends, NO! I play golf on Saturday morning and enjoy family, friends and Church the rest of the week-end. Field work is hard on Saturdays, people are working in their yards, having garage sales, etc ... making a 2nd trip to take comp photos does not save time. Every homeowner has eventually found a way to meet me or have someone else meet me once the week-end option was out of the question.

I love appraising, I never forget I am in the service business. Having a good attitude on the phone and face to face, being on time, completing assignments in a timely manner, doing our best to accommodate true time crunches and telling the truth when a customer calls for an update are some of the reasons successful appraisers stay in business and can cherry pick customers and assignments. I really love appraising!! Carol

 

[Joe Birrell (NY)]

Jim:

Wow, arn't you glad you opened up this thread. I have to ditto all the postings so far. If I paid attention to all the demands made on me for off-hours, weekends, etc. I would never have any time off and would have died years ago from exhaustion. In nearly all cases the demands being made on us are simply unreasonable and show a complete lack of respect. In fact, I find that people who make these requests are arrogant and self-centered. It's like the group that says : "I work during the day" (as if this places them in some special category) - there is a price to be paid for selling your house and/or getting the loan you need, it's not a "painless" process. I give them a 40 hour week to pick from, they only have to pick one hour (or less) from their busy schedule.

 

[Dan/Fla]

This is off the subject for a minute But Carol thank you.

FYI: Appraisers that work side by side with mosquitos ... a piece of Bounce Fabric Softener sticking out of your pocket will keep the blood suckers at bay, it really works!

Here is Florida I will try anything hate the sprays,

Now a question Do you know anything for the Fleas?

I throw Moth Balls in over grown forclosures, to keep the snakes away.

 

[Charlotte Dixon]

If you don't mind smelling like a sissy, Avon Skin So Soft keeps mosquitoes away :lol:

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Received an email from a friend listing all the uses for Bounce dryer sheets. "Tie a heet of Bounce through belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season." It is also suppose to chase ants away! Anyone know if that works?

A used dryer sheet is also excellant for dusting computer and televsion screens.

 

[Anonymous]

One more point of view . . .

I consider myself a professional, but I am a mother first and the whole reason for my getting into this profession was so that I could work the "off hours" with minimal daycare for my youngest child. Just because I agree (and sometimes prefer) to work on a saturday or an evening (did one tonight as a matter of fact), it does not mean that I am a sucker. It means that my husband was home and I could get out of the house without leaving my kids with a stranger, and without paying for daycare. I've found that the other working people (mostly the women) appreciate the consideration. Whaddayaknow, it's 1:30 a.m., time for bed.

Oh yea, as for the shoes -- if they're really muddy, or if their is a cultural issue, i'll take them off. Are we too good to respect others' homes?

 

[Paulette in Texas]

As to shoes: it is a given that I've got the Tx attitude and then some. That said, we are in the service business, BUT where does it say we have to become some sort of PHONEY-suck it up and what-ever-you-want...I be. We are professionals there to do a professional job. Do appraisers really believe that the Sears A/C guys really take off their shoes when the a/c is broken? NOT in Tx. They want that a/c working. It is only for those cheapo builders too cheap to lay down plastic (as in the olden days) and those "foreign" to our culture types that expect US to comply with their needs. There is something wrong here. Please the client? Okay, but how bout respect the professional first. Do you really think the potential buyers take off their shoes? how bout the the ...all the other trades not being paid directly by builder? No way. If they are really that hung up with their "culture" then here's the highway...see ya. We have given up way too much to please minorities or other cultures already. The deal is they need to be part of the whole enchilada, not their own special salsa. If they invite me for din-din...okay, shoes at the door because I accept the invitation to be a "guest" in their home. But if I am being hired to perform a service in their "home" then they need to get with the program or make sure they hire one of their own. As to plenty of others willing to fill our shoes...go for it. Funny, the same guys... they worry about somebody else filling their shoes instead of filling their own shoes first, yeah, you got it. They are too busy focusing on "other" things rather than doing the job they were hired to do: VALUE for the subject. As I have said before: "Get out of the way, and let those willing to do it really well do it." Funny thing, I'll bet most of those guys will be wearing some form of shoe-wear while they are doing it. Of course, they'll be concerned with deferred maintenance, functional obsolescence, bracketing, etc. But then that's the whole point of being a professional. Paulette in Tx
go w...
Rotts rule and Shih tzus fine too.

 

[J in Florida]

I've been hearing for about 15 years now "I've got appraisers lined up around the block wanting my business". Yet, even through low appraisals, identifying and reporting deficiencies on the subject, refusals to do inspections on the weekends, etc. we have more work than we can handle and have for 15 years.

I may be slow, but I'm starting to not believe the "lined up around the block" argument anymore.

 

[Pat Butler]

Comparing us to emergency room people is ignorant. I suppose you get paid the same amount of money that that emergency room was able to charge you? And do you actually think our fees have increased similar to medical services? Give me $5K and I'll work on Sat and Sun. too. We are in a profession where fees have stagnated and/or decreased. There's no comparison at all to the medical services industry where fees are through the roof, and where weekend hours actually help them pull in more money at their outrageous rates.

 

[Pat Butler]

Comparing us to emergency room people is ignorant. I suppose you get paid the same amount of money that that emergency room was able to charge you? And do you actually think our fees have increased similar to medical services? Give me $5K and I'll work on Sat and Sun. too. We are in a profession where fees have stagnated and/or decreased. There's no comparison at all to the medical services industry where fees are through the roof, and where weekend hours actually help them pull in more money at their outrageous rates.