Appraisers

Appraiser: I’m No Home Inspector

Appraiser Tony Bamert, Bamert & Associates, Champaign, IL, feels he’s been asked to assume some new and unwanted responsibilities on recent appraisal orders and wonders if his are isolated concerns or issues other appraisers are grappling with as well. “Traditionally, with any conventional appraisal, I’m not asked to touch the mechanical systems in a home in… Read More

Growing Appraisal Business – Your Way

Editor’s Note: Appraiser Lore DeAstra shows you how to change, grow and succeed. Growing Appraisal Business – Your Way By Lore DeAstra, MBA, SRA, CDEI, CTM Over the past several years, the volume of requests in many appraisal offices has dramatically decreased. While the current economic and regulatory climates have contributed to this phenomenon, another...… Read More

Inspectors-Appraisers: Line Blurring?

Editor’s Note: This story is reprinted for Working RE Online, Home Inspector’s Edition. To opt-in please email subscription@workingre.com with “Home Inspector’s Online Edition” in the subject. Inspectors-Appraisers: Line Blurring? by David Brauner, Editor In a recent Working RE story, Appraiser: I’m No Home Inspector (WorkingRE.com, Library, Issue 24), appraiser Tony Bamert says he is asked… Read More

Chinese Drywall: Understanding and Uncovering the Issue

Historically, the relocation industry has been challenged by such environmental issues as UFFI (urea formaldehyde foam insulation), asbestos, radon gas, synthetic stucco, and black mold. Currently, the industry is challenged economically by an oversupply of homes, decreasing home prices, a credit crisis, an unstable stock market, record foreclosures, and a global recession. What is next?… Read More

Reconsidering Foreclosures

When sales activity has diminished, as is the case in today’s market, appraisers have a much smaller pool of comparable transactions available to them. Such times require that appraisers give greater scrutiny to transactions that have traditionally been discarded. Here’s why and how appraisers are reconsidering foreclosures, short sales and listings in an upside down market. Foreclosures A… Read More

What’s in Your Workfile?

Your workfile is just as important as your appraisal report. Just ask any lender, appraisal management company, client, or worse, your state’s investigator. The workfile is the backbone of your report. It supports everything in your appraisal report. Your workfile for an appraisal of a single family residence or a condominium unit should contain a minimum… Read More