Smartest people in the room
Those in the bank appraisal departments are the smartest people in the room when it comes to real estate. Problem is they don’t have a seat at the C suite table. Chief appraisers, chief credit officers, job managers, reviewers and staff have a lot of untapped capability. Your day is overwhelming just keeping up with ordering and reviewing appraisals. You’re swamped. “My team is just […]
Learn to let go
When the topic of commercial valuation comes up, it’s mostly negative. Words like “declining number of appraisers,” “silver tsunami of retirement” and “relevancy”. How about we change that. Let’s start hearing about entrepreneurism, enthusiasm and optimism. Commercial fee appraisers and those in appraisal departments in banks struggle to hire new appraisers. Why is that? Some […]
Why appraisers struggle with engagement letters
Bank: “Why don’t my appraisers read the entire engagement letter?” Appraisers: “It’s hard to find bank specific requirements in lengthy engagement letters.” Both side are correct. Appraisers should read the entire engagement letter. However, they struggle trying to find requirements that aren’t the “typical” stuff every appraisal needs. Improving the engagement letter format would significantly […]
Bad monkey
Chief appraisers and commercial fee appraisers often don’t get training on time management, people management and how to be efficient. Sometimes they get bogged down having highly independent appraisers and reviewers around them. Maybe they don’t understand how to manage that personality type. One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey is a book less about monkeys and more about your business freedom. The idea […]
Is your workflow platform a dinghy?
Appraisal managers always playing “catch-up” If you work in the appraisal department at a bank, what keeps you up at night? In talking with job managers and chief appraisers, one concern is under-staffing. A few people handling a ton of things. Ordering appraisals, dealing with loan officers, talking with reviewers and making sure bank policy is […]
It’s not you, it’s me, an unhealthy relationship
AMCs, an unhealthy relationship? Most fee appraisers loathe AMCs (appraisal management companies). Many feel they’re unprofessional, unknowledgeable with wildly inconsistent reviews and antiquated platforms phrenetical pinging for status updates. To be fair, there are a select few that are professional and have good quality reviewers but that list is uber short like LRES. Fee appraisers view them as middlemen taking a piece of the appraisal pie. Some chief appraisers think they’re an option for handling their overflow […]
