Other than doctors and lawyers, I think acquaintances have more questions for appraisers than most other professionals. What can I do to increase the value of my house? What's the price per acre in my neighborhood? Why didn't the appraiser who appraised my home give me full credit for the $25,000 landscaping job I recently completed?
And, one of my favorite questions; are you a good appraiser? I know it's not polite to answer a question with a question but I always need to ask; please define a good appraiser? Like so may other things in life, the definition of good often comes down to perspective. More often than not, you and I both know that, good is usually defined as obtaining desired results.
Sometimes a person's definition of good is fickle. It changes depending on the situation. Many years ago, back before we obtained our data on the internet, I was standing in line at the auditors office just after property values were reassessed. Everyone in front of me was there to argue the value of their home. The common theme; I know my house is worth more! Isn't it funny, unless I'm working on a divorce case, I rarely hear this appeal. For tax purposes, the good appraiser is the one who appraises properties low. For most other purposes, the good appraiser is one who appraises properties high.
For the loan officer, real estate agent, owner and buyer; a good appraiser is one that gets the deal done. For the underwriter, a good appraiser is one who provides six model match sales and six model match listings. For the appraiser, a good appraisal is one that is sent and never heard of again.
So what is the true definition of a good appraiser? In my opinion, a good appraiser is one who leads the user, step-by-step to their final conclusion. The reader may not agree with the final conclusion, but at least they know and understand how the appraiser arrived at their final value.
As my old high school football coach would say, "this is where we separate the men from the boys". There are a lot of qualified appraisers who can reach the "correct value" but the pool narrows when it comes to educating the reader and explaining how the final conclusion was selected. It's not easy and it takes a person who is capable of putting together a good argument. In some ways, a good appraiser is a lot like a good trial attorney. Someone who can put the pieces of a puzzle together and convince the listeners, despite how they may feel, they are right. The good appraiser builds a case that closes the door to opposition because the opposition is already addressed in the report.
These days, being a good appraiser goes way beyond filling out the proper form. It even goes beyond the keen ability to distill, interpret and analyze volumes of data. The good appraiser is the one who can do all of these and then, through reasoning and commentary, lead the reader to their final conclusion.
So, Are you a good appraiser.
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