Congress approved “Hug an Appraiser Day” as a federal holiday. It’s September 21st.
No they didn’t, but they should.
Commercial fee and bank appraisers work hard. Very hard. Few people know it.
The US commercial real estate market is about $16 trillion. The valuation industry provides due diligence as credit risk professionals. That’s a big deal.
All work and no play
Users of commercial appraisals often don’t understand the amount of work that goes into creating solid valuation analysis. The C-Suite at banks often don’t realize the work it takes for chief appraisers and appraisal managers to manage the process.
More work comes when there’s pushback from RM/LOs. More work if a borrower says the B-word (bias). They get a second look and a potential for value increase. It’s not right, but it’s what’s going on today. Appraisers are in the middle of this narrative, an unwitting sparring partner of political momentum with a different agenda than obtaining credible value opinions.
Fee appraisers have to comply with USPAP, a phone book (remember those) sized rule book. You need to be 100% perfect, no exceptions. Every two years you sit in a class and go over this rule book. It’s such a feared document that most reviewers won’t say a report is “USPAP compliant.” They typically conclude that the report is or is not credible.
Putting out fires
Appraiser managers are putting out a lot of fires. They’re answering a lot of questions from the C-Suite, borrowers and RM/LOs. Throw in some compliance and regulatory tasks, it makes for a very busy day. Going that alone without an appraisal workflow platform like YouConnect can create chronic stress.
Fee appraisers being inefficient and plowing through manual processes each day doesn’t help. Typing over old reports in Word, copy/pasting, every day. It’s exhausting. If anything, the lack of software like DataComp Suite can discourage fee appraisers and accelerate retirement for some.
Recommended daily hugs
How many daily hugs do you need?
Family therapist Virginia Satir says, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” That’s a lot of hugs. Even half that for adults is a lot. How about just commends?
Tell your appraisal manager and team, “You did an awesome job of handling those 300 appraisals that went through the YouConnect platform this month, great job!”
Tell your fee appraiser, “Kudos on creating such a consistent and well written report using Edge report writing software to get it done so quickly.”
4 Ideas to Celebrate
- Appraisers bring stability to an enormous market.
- Appraisal departments protect banks with professional due diligence.
- Consulting valuation services facilitate many transactions.
- Valuation professionals smooth real estate market volatility.
Hugging can help you be more in the moment. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh claims increased awareness, presence and togetherness for those who perform hugging meditation.
Reduce stress and increase happiness by being in the present moment.
Hug an appraiser.
