Opinion

There’s a common misperception out there — especially among appraisal clients — that the “oversupply” of appraisers has created a market where there is no fee too low. 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..

In speeches, articles, and memos over the years, I've frequently pointed out one of my pet peeves: Appraisers tend to think only about filling out forms, and not about running a real business. It's like the business is a passive activity. A couple of years ago, to help our customers take those blinders off, we developed what we call "the wheel". Click to view..

Some companies keep sailing while others run aground on the same rocks that others have before them. Why? It's all in the basic lessons learned, or all too often, ignored. I'd like to share some of my past lessons, and how they shaped the culture of our company, and therefore affect you. Click to view..

In this newspaper’s inaugural edition, we covered several problems in the AI XML standard and the way it’s managed (April 2008, "Paying To Use Your Own Bathroom: AI XML"). At the time of the original publication, there was already an inquiry underway by the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board into the Appraisal Institute/AI Ready/FNC/AppraisalPort scheme, triggered by a petition demanding that the board ban the use of appraisal portals which have not provided sufficient evidence that "ensures the integrity and unadulterated transmission of appraisal reports". Click to view..

As the market naturally erodes due to fewer real estate transactions, and as the HVCC pushes the remaining transactions in ever-increasing numbers to appraisal management companies (AMCs), many appraisers are kicking around the notion of creating a member-owned AMC, or "co-op". Click to view..

Look at the chart here, and you’ll see that our recent poll showed a whopping 54% of appraisers responded that their business is down 25% or more. Another 14% also said it’s down, but by less than 25%. So, a total of 68% of you have a slowdown on your hands. Click to view..

Since we have a long history of supporting appraisal causes, and the wherewithal to act on threats we see to our customers it’s easy for people to get confused as to what we’re trying to be. They feel we’re challenging the association’s role. Click to view..

"If I were you, I'd be marketing like crazy to homeowners." You hear stuff like that all the time, but this article spells out the first three things you could do and exactly how to do them. Click to view..

These days, you can't pick up a newspaper or scan a set of online headlines without seeing the word "appraisal" used right alongside "fraud" or "criminal" or "scam artist". Many times, those words were direct quotes from appraisers themselves. Click to view..

Sometimes, companies put proprietary standards - non-open standards that they control - on top of open standards and potentially confuse the market. In our industry, that's happened with the Appraisal Institute (AI) Ready certification. Click to view..