Business

Getting your website ranked highly in a search engine is a little like pasta sauce. There are many ingredients, but no exact quantities or formula for success, and even a less than perfect result will be better than nothing in the short term. It’s not as if the web is going away or that fewer people will be looking for appraisal services online in the future. So, let’s talk about what goes into making your website a success when it comes to search engines. Click to view..

This edition’s Appraiser XSite spotlight leads us to Alex Olmo of SunbeltAppraisal.org, a customer making all the right moves when it comes to web marketing and running a business. Alex’s site design is simple and inviting, yet rich in content that attracts search engines. Click to view..

The Working RE HVCC Appraiser Talkback Survey has been posted and so far you’ve provided some pretty interesting results. Working RE plans to collect survey data all year and hopes you have much to share, post HVCC, about the state of the profession from your perspective. Theywill collect and share the data openly with you and with regulators and other interested parties. It’s a chance for appraisers to come together as a group, speak with one voice and be heard. Click to view..

As we've written several times before, the HVCC provided ample incentive for mortgage brokers and appraisers to become allies united behind a common cause. Since we single-handedly bore the cost of raising awareness among appraisers and mortgage brokers about the HVCC last year, we were happy to find afterward that the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) recognized the difficulty in what we did, and wanted to cooperate and consult on HVCC issues. Eventually, NAMB decided to take the battle to the courts, but withdrew the lawsuit after the government claimed its actions as conservators of Fannie and Freddie are not subject to judicial review (even though, obviously, the HVCC was started prior to the government bailout). As a last-ditch effort, NAMB asked us if we would distribute their "Follow Up Call to Action" to our appraiser list nationwide, which we're happy to do for them. We encourage you to… Click to view..

In October, I wrote an editorial entitled “Lessons From Prior Downturns”, in which I tried to outline what sorts of things guide our company and what we have available as experience to bring to bear on the current downturn. Click to view..

Whenever there’s an economic downturn, crime goes up. The explanation is pretty simple: When money is flowing freely and jobs are plentiful, the risks of getting caught engaging in a crime outweigh the rewards. But when money dries up and jobs disappear, local police departments consistently report that crimes of almost all types rise, and especially those involving any sort of potential financial gain. Click to view..

With each issue of The AppraisalPress, we find ourselves discussing how dramatically things have changed in the short span since the last issue. While we originally thought we'd be dealing with a rapid comment-and-revision cycle on the proposed HVCC a year ago, we never envisioned it dragging out this long (the "final" HVCC takes effect May 1st), nor did we think there would be so much chaos and tumult along the way. It's an understatement to say that things have been out of control. It's certainly made our jobs harder, but even more importantly, it's made yours almost completely unpredictable. Click to view..

Sites that had sent out an XSellerate campaign in the past 30 days received 3 times the hits than those that hadn’t and received 40% more leads. Click to view..

“I swear if I get through this market downturn, I promise I’ll keep on marketing so I’m never this scared again of not being able to pay my mortgage/car payment/alimony/etc.” Yet not surprisingly, here we are in this “refi mini-boom” and many appraisers who have been marketing as fast and as furiously as possible for the last year have slowed down or stopped entirely. Click to view..

Here we are in 2009 at last. The economy is shaky, the industry is looking at some big changes, and we’ve just come through a harrowing year that made us all get serious about getting control of what we spend and looking for new ways to cut back. So for these reasons, I thought it germane to visit anew some of the many ways that you as an appraiser can make significant cost savings from technology either already at your fingertips, or readily available. Click to view..

In January we launched our first ever dedicated “class track system” and they're by far the most popular classes we've ever done online. Click to view..

Unless you follow tech news, it may come as a surprise to you that the next version of Windows is almost ready for prime time.  Click to view..

Too many appraisers mistake a website as a mere yellow pages ad or online billboard when the reality is a website should also play a key role in how you service your clients and run your business. Since we’re smack dab in the middle of our 23rd successful year in business, let’s point out 23 ways an XSite will help you be successful, too. Click to view..

We get tons of e-mails from appraisers every day with questions. If you’ve got a question about our products, our company, or anything else, send it to Editor@AppraisalPress.com. We answer every e-mail.. Click to view..

We hear it all the time. XSite owners and appraisers in general are always asking us, “How can I get more leads out of my website?” Lately, my answer has been, “Well, how is your website fishing for leads? Are you using a single pole with a fishhook, or are you casting a wide net?” Click to view..

Moving files over is one of the biggest headaches involved with a new computer. But for those of you who have Vault and WinTOTAL, it doesn’t have to be. Click to view..

As has been mentioned repeatedly throughout this edition of AppraisalPress, 2009 will bring many changes to the appraisal industry. One of those changes will be the release of the sixth generation of WinTOTAL, code named Armstrong Standard. Click to view..

Fannie Mae has released the 1004MC form as part of Announcement 08-30, which also includes clarifications and amendments to the existing Fannie Mae Selling Guide. Click to view..

In a market where many companies are scaling back just to get by, we’ve actually been pretty busy in our Agent division here at a la mode. In the last few months, we’ve released an IDX product, announced several new products for the iPhone and became a preferred technology provider for the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®. Click to view..

With the current economic times bringing an increase in security breaches, you can’t wait any longer to get everything locked down. Here’s the first defense layers to get you started: Click to view..