Real Estate Appraisers Business Toolbox

As the Olympics wind down, I can't help but question how subjective the judging is in so many sports - from synchronized swimming to gymnastics. Sure there are sports like pole vaulting or the marathon where the winner is pretty cut & dry. But the minute differences in the diving performances of the gold, silver and bronze winners are pretty hard to distinguish. Real Estate Appraisers are a bit like Olympic Judges. They follow a set criteria and base their numbers on many factors which... Read Full Story

AUTHOR:  Patrick Egger is a Certified General Appraiser located in Las Vegas, NV. He teaches continuing education classes on the housing market, appraisal issues for real estate agents and appraisers. Click on Outside The Boxes for a collection of Patrick's articles on Appraisal Scoop!For those that read the first two parts of ???The Right Start???, we are about to enter ???uncharted waters???. With the advent of the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct), once again we are hearing calls for... Read Full Story

AUTHOR:  Patrick Egger is a Certified General Appraiser located in Las Vegas, NV. He teaches continuing education classes on the housing market, appraisal issues for real estate agents and appraisers. Click on Outside The Boxes for a collection of Patrick's articles on Appraisal Scoop!What would make things better for housing, lenders and appraisers?  I am not talking about "quick fixes" for long-standing issues, FIRREA (Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act) and USPAP... Read Full Story

The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) has just issued their July 2008 USPAP Q&A - Download July_2008_QA.pdf with the following questions/topics: Electronic Report Delivery Can Appraisers Perform "Comp Check" Assignments? Can Appraisers Perform "Comp Check" Assignments for Free? Is Disclosure of a Free "Comp Check" Assignment Required?T.J. McCarthy, of T.J. McCarthy & Associates, Tinley Park, IL has the following assessment of the ASB's most recent Q&A.  The following is being reprinted from... Read Full Story

Author: Jeff Patterson, owner of Residential Appraisals - For the past 25 years, Jeff has been providing residential appraisals for most of southern and central Maine.  Jeff's clients range from private appraisals to working with brokers, banks, litigation support and expert court testimony. To all, in the spirit of this blog which allows me to express my opinion, here I go.  I don’t think anyone would argue that the so called mortgage mess is entirely the responsibility of real estate... Read Full Story