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Are Reports "Intellectual Propertyā€¯ inspections-reports-values-photography-appraising Aug 13, 2019

Recently one of my Mastermind students asked about Intellectual Property. He told me that he'd had an associate leave his firm to go solo. Later, he was reading one of his former-associate's reports and found the now-independent associate's reports looked a lot like his in format, and even...

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Empowering Your Employees lifestyle-goals-future-slow-appraiser Jul 30, 2019

I have noticed a common theme that occurs when I am out of the main office; for the most part, they are able to figure things out on their own and they do a marvelous job at keeping the business running smoothly. However, I have found that when I come into the office, I am suddenly bombarded with...

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So You Want to be a Real Estate Appraiser trainees-employees-mentors-appraising Jul 23, 2019

How do I become a real estate appraiser? With the current educational and practical experience requirements, it is challenging today to become a real estate appraiser.  It is challenging to an employer to take you on as a trainee. The main problem is that there is a major commitment of time...

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Is This Appraisal Thing Actually a Profession? successful-volume-appraisal-business Jul 09, 2019

Is real estate appraisal an industry or a profession?  Which term describes us?  Which term should describe us, as well as what we do?  

It is clear we provide our clients with a service, which is one of the hallmarks of a profession.  However, one of the components of...

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Improve Appraisal Reports in 10 Steps inspections-reports-values-photography-appraising Jun 25, 2019

Dave Towne, an appraiser out of Washington State, contacted me about ways for appraisers to improve their reports.  Since Dave does a lot of review work and sees a lot of peer reports So, while the podcast with Dave lasted almost one hour, what follows is a précis of that podcast just...

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Who Can Complain About Appraisals inspections-reports-values-photography-appraising Jun 11, 2019

Time to get on my soapbox and complain about a complaint filed against me (not a charge, but merely a complaint). I did an appraisal of a multi-family property near my office. The property owner/borrower called me to complain about the appraisal since it came in far less than she thought it...

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