Completing a sketch for an appraisal assignment is something that can easily get glossed over as a mechanistic procedure.  Occasionally it is good to take a minute and consider why it is that we perform certain functions. Providing a sketch within an appraisal can serve a few purposes. Obviously the biggest reason is to calculate gross living area (GLA) and the square footage of auxiliary use spaces such as basements, garages, outdoor living areas and outbuildings.  There is no shortage of posts regarding GLA calculation so I wanted to cover other factors that a quality sketch can provide. Through time, I have noticed that the vast majority of appraisals I come across do not contain sketch details of interior spaces.  That's not to say that there always should be.  In fact, I have not even required my staff appraisers to indicate interior data unless it can communicate a special condition. For myself however, I have always provided fairly detailed interior i...

by Mike Armentrout In a recent  article  that made the rounds on social media, a story was reported that should not be surprising to any appraiser.  A homeowner was seeking legal damages against the realtor who listed her home for the 2007 purchase.  Pam Whelan contended  "Had I been presented with the more accurate square footage, I could have made a more educated guess on whether or not I wanted to proceed in purchasing the home."   The concluding assumption was that she could not sell the home for as much currently. We can discuss obvious questions about the listing sources and if an appraisal was done but this reveals something I have had concerns about for a long time.  Can buyers actually perceive how big a home is in real numbers simply from an inspection?  For that matter, can realtors or appraisers even perceive this?  Notice I used the term perceive and not calculate. I would like to conduct a hypothetical semi-scientific s...

by Mike Armentrout I hold no particular pedigree or credential to speak for everyone in the real estate appraisal profession. All I can do is draw from nearly 26 years of being a part of it. In that time, I have heard almost every opinion on every issue that promises to be the next big challenge for our industry. It’s true that like everything, change is inevitable. We adapt to new technologies and practices as well as learn new skill sets. From FIRREA to Dodd-Frank, appraisers have continued to evolve when swift moving currents require them to alter their course. In the wake of the financial collapse, we had major impacts on what we do. A precipitous and prolonged drop in work volume resulted in a significant migration out of the industry and sped up retirements for others. For those of us that remained, we were left with a regulatory framework that now defined who our clients were supposed to be. The net result was the proliferation of appraisal management companies. Whi...