Perfectionism leaves no room for iteration
Many say commercial appraising is an art but what does that really mean? Art can be defined as using imagination and creative skills, but with appraising, it has more to do with skill or craft. The valuation art can be suppressed due to the lack of time to do your job properly. Often, we’re bogged […]
Appraiser’s superpower
Commercial appraiser’s superpower is asking questions. The questions provide master-level due diligence for buyers and investors of real estate and help banks understand collateral risk. Let’s take one typical sentence from a commercial appraisal. Then let’s ask questions. To save space, the questions are presented in one long paragraph with incorrect punctuation Jack Kerouac-style. I […]
Up to the next level
When’s the last time you’ve done something for the first time? In your valuation career, what year are you operating? Repeating ideas and processes from years ago? Time for next level? So much stuff This week, we moved our offices after 25+ years. After hiring a moving company with four guys for two days; I […]
Appraiser trust
Appraisers don’t provide appraisals, they provide trust. Fee appraiser or bank appraiser, it’s all you got. Trust is created through leadership resulting in employees loving their career. Make appraising fun. Provide confidence USPAP is voluminous. Don Quixote long. Why’s that? Commercial appraisals are often 100+ pages just to report one number. I was talking […]
Put a ring on it
Have you ever noticed we call our contracts “engagement” letters? Regardless, it’s the start of a contractual relationship between fee and bank appraisers. What’s something that may strain the relationship? Reviews. Has this ever happened to you? To be clear, most reviews are performed well. However, the appraiser-bank relationship can be lost over one review […]
Another 50+ hour week
Appraisal departments are “fighting huge fires internally.” The workload is “killing us right now.” Did you think at this point in your career you’d be working this hard? In a word, exhausted. I get it, working in the appraisal department in your bank, you can work around platforms that don’t align with your internal processes. […]
