Marketing for Home Inspectors Complied by Cary Barker, Assit. Editor Whether you are new to the industry or consider yourself a pro, everyone can use help getting his/her name in front of clients. Networking “Try open houses. You might connect with a Realtor who may use you. You may also meet the homeowner and get…
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Beware: Inspecting for Hantavirus By Rich Parker As inspectors (and appraisers) we face potentially dangerous situations daily, from a simple broken step on a front porch that might cause us to trip and fall, to a backyard hole, obscured by overgrown grass or weeds, that can cause an ankle sprain, to breathing mold, to a...…
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Diversifying with Environmental Reports By Benjamin V. Cesare Home buyers today have more questions to ask than ever before—and they frequently turn to their home inspector for answers that will help them make a good decision for themselves and their family. Today’s savvy home buyer wants complete information about the properties they are considering —…
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Moving out of Residential Lending Work By David Brauner, Editor Cheryl Kunzler, SRA, began transitioning out of residential loan work two years ago for the usual reasons: she was fed up with lender pressure to hit values and to meet turn times that do not permit thorough reporting. What she feels after making the leap,…
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Editor’s Note: In our cover story last issue, “AVM Tango! Man or Machine?” we reported that as a result of our AVM questions, Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) Chair Greg Accetta indicated further clarification would be forthcoming. Here is a statement issued by the Appraisal Foundation in June 2007 (www.appraisalfoundation.org). Are AVMs Appraisals? Appraisal Standards Board...…
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Editor’s Note: Here is a question (and answer), concerning the proper intended user statement when the form and intended use conflict with one another. Scope of Work: Q&A by David Braun, MAI, SRA Risks of Changing Intended User Statements (Question from Howard Goheen, Phoenix Appraisal Service) “Dear David (Braun)…We’ve worked hard to get up to...…
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How Lenders Think By Calvin Moye, SRA, GRI This is first in a series of questions and answers from Calvin Moye, SRA, GRI. The questions in this series come from bankers and examiners seeking Mr. Moye’s expert advice. Moye, an expert in banking practices, explains the importance of the information this way: “Many residential appraisers...…
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Profile: Making $300,000 a Year Appraising by David Brauner, Editor When it comes to success, your parents were right; there’s no substitute for hard work and a positive attitude. Those looking for a secret formula will be frustrated by what appraiser John Ugrotzi says about his own success; when asked how he consistently earns $300,000…
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Appraisers Fighting Back! by David Brauner, Editor The good news this issue is that there is plenty of good news to report on issues important to appraisers: curtailing mortgage fraud, limiting broker price opinions, putting the breaks on data mining of appraisal reports, understanding and combating blacklisting, supporting appraiser independence. The common theme is that…
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Editor’s Note: The following Q&A with MARI results from its name coming up again and again as the source of complaints against appraisers. The responses are from Merle Sharick, Vice President – National Manager of Business Development, Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a ChoicePoint company. Mr. Sharick has been at MARI for four years, after...…
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