Tom on whole I agree R.E. sales experience is helpful; perhaps even necessary I sold in the wild and wooly days of 1971-1974; and again in 1984-1986. The challenge for an agent that becomes and appraiser though is to keep the agent side in perspective and follow appraisal standards rather than subjective or ambiguous agent gut-feelings.

Tom when I was first an agent in the ’70’s my market sfr predominant values were $25k to $27.5k and sellers and buyers would negotiate through their agents (face to face with sellers) for days over $250 in the SP. Most agents could ACCURATELY peg a likely sale price of a listing to within $500 about 90+% of the time just by walking past it while reading the mls. Some agents are still that ‘good’…but many more jus don’t have a clue.

That’s why WE (appraisers) have very specific standards & practices.

I understand there are times Realtors have NO comparables to support listing prices they has set and sure enough there is an idiot that walks on the “lot” to buy at full or above asking. When I ask for support for the listing price, they say the don’t have any, but knew they could get the price and I should just do my job and make it work. With folks like this, they don’t have a clue what the purpose of an appraisal is – it’s not to biased towards their opinion of worth. I’m there to promote public trust and determine the market value. Value and worth at not interchangeable in most cases.

PS-The Internal Revenue Service still uses these old style computers. Why they even figured out a way to use them for preliminary screening processes called the “smell test” which is applied BEFORE deciding which returns to audit. BEFORE scientific analyses or Legal aspects of tax code are applied.

An ordinary “Does it smell right?” question is asked.

Our own minds. We calculate, adjust and analyze without ever being aware of it. We screen and filter data for relevance faster than any man made computer in our subconscious. My instructors told us NOT to ignore our own computers results just because it didn’t have a fancy name (mine’s just plain old Mike; v66).

While never an ‘accepted primary appraisal method’ it WAS taught and thought to be the near equal checks and balance for other more accepted methods and a method we should not ignore. Now there WAS a caution not to let our personal computer blind us to what the market was telling us either. To be aware of and to avoid circular thinking where we sought to support our own preliminary results. Our computers also had bugs that could lead us astray if not carefully monitored.

But all this was back when an appraiser could write “derived by” (whatever it was derived by) coupled with ‘appraiser’s experience.’ Back when state regulators and federal GSEs understood and respected that appraisal was as much an art as a science; and appraisers were considered to be trained professionals engaged in that artful application of science…or was it a scientifically guided art?

But you see, now it HAS to be only a science. Otherwise AVMs and hybrids wont work. Systems like UAD and CU would have never been conceived if appraisal were still an art.

You see, while OUR computers have no problem with art. FNMAs and the powers that be have archaic computers that only think in zeroes and ones. VERY ‘scientific’.

Hello my buddy Baggins,

Just wanted to point out that as far as an article on this blog he maybe better off taking it to the TV. I have the poor-boy standard TV cable service with a whole bunch of channels. If I were not a pitiful appraiser I could subscribe to the Digital Val-U-Pak with another hundred channels. However I can also choose NETFLIX, ROKU, BBQ and all of the other foolishness. These TV stations need some talking heads/crap 24/7 all year long. No wonder there is nothing to watch!

Personally, I do not think much of self appointed gurus. But, that is just my silly opinion. You guys/gals spend/send your money and measure the financial return. Best of luck to all of you!

His seminar should be named “Skippy 101”. If I would have seen that he was the author of this article I never would have opened it.

I suggest you go to his website and read my NUMERIOUS comments concerning his past blogs and podcasts. I’m critical, and have a point.

Seek the truth.

Well, at least he’s got an article on this blog.  Where is your article?  If being critical, please have a point.

Seek better grammar.  You as a verb, that’s news to me. 

In normal routine approach, I take the time to read full MLS pages of no less than about 50 to 100 market examples of various filtered and unfiltered comparison points.  Then I turn to logical comparisons and seek the necessary extrapolation, or perhaps turn to distributed allotted adjustment amounts based on sensible direct examples. It’s the reliance on automation in pursuit of more work volume which is more likely to cause appraiser judgement error.  There has to be fair balance but the numbers speak for themselves; appraiser populace is half of what it used to be.  Automation indeed has a price, the examples are endless.  As always in my valuation approach, assigning a value is the absolute last action of report development.  The methods used to develop the report conclusions, if sound, lead to credible valuation and that’s why assigning value should never come before detailed credibility analysis.  My gut instinct tells me this industry is moving entirely too fast for it’s own good as a common rule of thumb.

Seek the truth.