THE "Social Network" for Real Estate Appraisers

Richard Ferris's Blog (6)

Who is watching you?

The Federal Reserve has recently reiterated that "financial institutions must have an effective, independent real estate appraisal and evaluation program," and that appraisers performing reviews should "have the knowledge and expertise to assess compliance with the Federal Reserves appraisal regulations and guidelines." Appraisal reviews "should determine whether the appraisal or evaluation is appropriate for the transaction, the risk of the tra… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on November 26, 2008 at 7:35am — 1 Comment

Do Sellers and Buyers Have The Same Perspective?

I have found recently that many neighborhoods in the Central Florida housing market, show significant differences between what a seller's expectations are and what is reality from the buyer. One example of this, is in a community south of Clermont, FL known as Westchester. There are presently 15 active listings in the Westchester community ranging in size from 1,176 sf to 2,200+ sf. Listing prices are from $109,900 to $249,000. In the last 12 months, the MLS reports 7 closed sales from $150,000… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on November 3, 2008 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Know your neighbor!

What you don't know about your neighbor's home COULD hurt you I recently completed an inspection for an appraisal of a home in my county. The home was a typical block ranch with needed updates to the flooring, painting, etc. But the home itself was pretty typical of the area. The neighbor's home had a fence around it and all seemed just fine to me at the inspection. All the homes had similar appeal to the area, etc. Then I pulled the satellite maps from the county assessor's off… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on October 31, 2008 at 11:26am — No Comments

AMCs are not the Enemy...the enemy is within

I contend that the real "hot button" is not the lowering of fees - but the inequity of appraisal standards. The trainees or newly licensed appraisers who cannot afford to open their own shop may indeed get a raise in fee by accepting an order for $200. That is logical and a true fact of the matter. I think where long time appraisers get very irate about this issue, is when they are asked to complete an appraisal for $200 when they typically charge $350-$450 for the same home. In… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on October 28, 2008 at 9:38am — No Comments

MLS Data - Creating Market Trend Analysis

I wanted to share with anyone who may find this helpful, some quick ways to create valuable reports for your clients. Using simple Excel tools and your local MLS data - you can accomplish some significant graphs and charts to share with your customers:

Video #1 - Exporting Data:

Video #2 - Sorting and Organizing:

… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on October 28, 2008 at 5:41am — No Comments

New Yahoo Group - AI Associates 2008

I just started a new Yahoo Group today. This is a group to help new Appraisal Institute associates like myself, who are looking to find answers to the journey towards a designation and higher learning. In the past, I had joined another Yahoo group - but the level of smap and unmoderated posts - put any productive messages to a stand still. If you are looking for a moderated group - with some helpful information, guidance, and discussion on topics related to the Appraisal Institute -… Continue

Added by Richard Ferris on September 22, 2008 at 5:09pm — 5 Comments