Stop Hesitating. Take Your Shot.
No appraiser has said, “It’s okay if I get this wrong.” Hiring that next person, implementing tech, stepping into leadership. Appraisers are elite overthinkers. We literally get paid to think twice. Excel spreadsheet thinking: decisions reduced to columns of pros and cons. Clean. Rational. Safe. And sometimes blind to productivity, efficiency and the fun of […]
The Degree Debate Misses the Point Entirely
AQB’s minimum education criteria focusing on college degree requirements is a moot point. We should be talking about the outdated 1995 pay model colliding with 2026 workforce expectations. If we want to uphold public trust and attract competent professionals, we need a sustainable economic roadmap. Otherwise, we’re just guarding a model that worked for us and […]
The Efficiency Ratio, Built on Appraisal Data
Every bank executive knows the efficiency ratio is unforgiving. You can’t grow your way out of it. You can’t cost-cut your way to relevance. At some point, efficiency becomes a question of decision quality, not headcount. Most conversations about efficiency focus on systems: core platforms, loan origination, servicing, reporting infrastructure. Very few focus on information density. How […]
Ideas Are Like Avocados
They go brown quickly. Everyone in valuation agrees on what should improve. Everyone nods in the meetings. Everyone means to get to it. And then the idea sits. Long enough to go brown. Valuation, on both sides of the table, has no shortage of smart people or good intentions. Fee appraisers have lists. Chief Appraisers […]
When Broken Windows Become the System
The Broken Window Theory says a single broken window can lead to urban decay. It’s no big deal in and by itself. However, if it remains broken, it sends a signal that no one’s paying attention. Trash piles up. Graffiti shows up. Crime escalates. People stop taking pride in the place. Before long, the neighborhood […]
Show Me Your Process (Not Your Secrets)
Most Sunday mornings I make café con leche (Café Bustelo and whole milk) and write blogs to valuation people. It’s become a ritual. And for some reason, I keep coming back to the stalemate between chief appraisers and fee appraisers. On the residential side, you see open promotion of non-lender work. On the commercial side, […]