Dustin Harris

Drones Doing Appraisal Inspections?

"Yes Ma’am, that is correct. Next Tuesday at 9:30 AM. Our drone will be at your door at that time to do the visual inspection. Typically, it will fly around the exterior of the home first to measure and take photos. After it is done, the drone will need access to fly through each of the rooms in your home taking video and still shots of what it sees. Someone will need to be available for a few questions before the drone leaves. Will that work for you?"

Today, I am grateful for a career which allows me so much freedom. I get to choose my own hours, and I have a lot of control over how busy I want to be. When my children have a piano recital, a gym practice, or a science fair in the middle of the day, I do not have to grovel to a boss to get permission or take a pay cut to attend. If I want to take one (or more) of my kids with me to work, I do not have to wait for "Take Your Kid to Work Day" to do it.

So, here's the situation; you are appraising a unique property in a limited area with few sales. You inspect the subject on Wednesday and finally get to the write up on Friday morning. As you are searching the neighborhood for sales, you notice a fairly comparable home that sold on the same street. It happens to be the very best comparable you have. The problem? It sold on Thursday…the day after the inspection date. Bummer! But, can you still use it?

Relationships are important. The bonds we form with a spouse, children, friends, or business associates can be powerful and a strength. When trust is broken, however, deep challenges emerge. Divorce, separation, or permanent dissolution can be the end result when someone’s integrity is on the line. The trust factor between an appraiser and the client is essential if professionalism and continued business is to be amicable.

I posted the following true (and scary) experience on Facebook a few days ago:

Over the past several years, I have had the experience of meeting and conversing with literally thousands of appraisers from every state in the Union as well as from countries across the world. Though I have not kept track of the exact number, I would estimate that my conversations with appraisers is now approaching several thousand. Some meetings are superficial, but others are deep and meaningful. My experience has given me the unintentional consequence of having a somewhat unique perspective on the condition of today's real estate appraiser.

For a country boy who lives nowhere near a major airport, I do a fair amount of traveling. Sometimes, it can be quite the process to get me from my little cowtown in Idaho to a major city for a workshop or conference, but I keep doing it. My state requires 15 hours of Continuing Education (CE) per year. All of that can be taken online. So, why do I travel to so many big cities for education when it is not required? It is not for the CE credits—I can tell you that! Let me give you several reasons why I make the journey:

I was cruising the showroom of the Valuation Expo a few years ago and had an interesting run-in with a few appraisers who happened to be brothers. They had just attended one of the many presentations and had some strong opinions of what they heard. "Can you believe that guy stood up there and told me what I should or should not wear on an appraisal inspection? I mean, if I live in North Dakota, I am going to wear cowboy boots and if I live in Hawaii, I am going to be sporting flip-flops.

I have an unique point of view within the appraisal industry. I am constantly interacting with appraisers all across this country via email, telephone, Skype, webinar, snail mail, conferences, [breath] and workshops. I guess you could say I have my finger on the pulse of appraisers. In a very real way, I 'feel the pain' they are currently feeling because I hear it from multiple sources. Right now, most are feeling a bit of a pinch. Okay, that was an understatement. Appraisers I interact with have reported a decrease in business from 10% to as much as 40% in the past three months!

Remember the good old days? Like me, you probably worked for multiple banks and local lenders. You had a steady volume of appraisal work coming in and got paid well for what you did. A typical appraisal consisted of three or four comparables, there was no MC Addendum, and revision requests were few and actually pertinent to the assignment. Ahhh, that was the life!