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...

Is real estate appraisal an art or a science? It may not be as philosophical as the old question "does a tree make a sound when it falls in the forest?" but many appraisers are familiar with the art or science question. I have routinely contended it is both, but not separately. Some may dismiss our opinions as just that and write off what we do as arbitrary and subject to mood. For others, nothing but pure statistics will suffice. The reality is that art and science must be blended and homogenized by experience. The more we know and understand about a particular market, the more we can utilize data and tangible factors to reconcile a supportable conclusion.

Thanks go out to Appraisal Scoop for posting our latest article. Would love our realtor friends to read and give us feedback.   http://bit.ly/16memzI

I recently appraised a manufactured home for a possible short sale. While performing my inspection, the home owner told me his story that has become all too common since the financial crisis and economic downturn. Lost jobs and mounting debt linked with a declining real estate market had brought forth another sadening statistic of an underwater mortgage. The home owner was visibly frustrated with the manufactured housing lending process or lack thereof. He stated "it would have been nice if someone told us it was so difficult to get a mortgage on one". As I wrapped up and started my journey back to office, I began thinking about a larger question. If this home owner was a "typical" buyer in the market, did he meet the definition of a reasonably informed buyer? This would likely garner several perspectives from appraisers but it seems the simple answer would be that it depends. It is possible that the majority of some buyers may not actual...

So just about every AMC has a web portal for appraisers to accept, track and upload assignments. Okay, I get it! For their convenience we accomodate their requests to use their proprietary systems. I'm sure it offers them many efficiencies but the trouble is that it offers us only more work and more headaches. I love technolgy as much as any other geek but sometimes it gets to a point where it serves little benefit. Uploading a report had developed to a 3 click process but thanks to progress, we now have to create a separate UAD compliant XML file, a separate PDF of the invoice, save each locally, launch the browser, click the portal link, login, find file, upload separated files, wait..........and finally exit. I recently had a file to upload which also required a user fee be paid prior to upload. After an error message, I contacted the client only to be told I needed to call their third party vendor of the portal software. After losing 45 minutes of my life, I called the cl...