Report from the semi-retirement front lines. I'm purposefully doing only 1-2 appraisals per week now. My son is soon flying the nest, and we've spent a great deal of time together camping in the high mountains of Idaho. This has been possible because I've set up my business to allow for this freedom. The question for you is: what are you doing currently to plan for your future? Are you building a business that serves your life, or are you trapped in a job that controls your schedule?

My wife is dealing with some health challenges, and while I don't need your sympathy, her situation perfectly illustrates a critical business principle. The most frustrating part isn't the symptoms—it's the not knowing. Different doctors say different things, different treatments provide minimal help, but the biggest challenge is that she doesn't know what she's dealing with. If she knew what was wrong, she could make a plan to address it.

This morning I coached a mastermind member facing major business decisions. She's in the same situation I was a month ago—paralyzed by uncertainty about where to take her appraisal business. The problem isn't figuring out how to get somewhere; it's deciding where you want to go. Once you decide what mountain you want to climb, how you get there becomes secondary.

Here's the analogy: You might encounter a bear and have to change paths. You might hit a river and get swept downstream before working your way back up. You might face a boulder pile that forces you to go around. Your path changes multiple times, but what doesn't change is the mountain you're climbing.

With UAD 3.6 coming, AI advancing, and massive industry changes ahead, you need to make a decision about your destination. On my way home from Vegas, I made mine. I decided that in the next 18 months, I'm going to be completely location independent again. That might mean saying goodbye to some clients, even my favorite ones like the VA. It might mean working with different clients who pay less but allow more flexibility. I've decided to hire a trainee and pivot my client base. Once I made the decision about what mountain I want to climb, getting there became a solvable problem.

The key is this: decide what you want your business to look like, then figure out how to get there. Don't get stuck in analysis paralysis about the how when you haven't even decided on the what.

Point #1: Check Yourself With Another LLM When making big decisions—medical, financial, or business—don't just ask ChatGPT. Ask the same question of Grok, Claude, Perplexity, or Gemini. If they give different answers, ask them why the other LLM disagreed. You'll be surprised at the insights this reveals.

Point #2: OpenDime If you like giving unique gifts, OpenDime allows you to send real Bitcoin to others without knowing their seed phrases. It costs a little money but makes a super cool and memorable thank-you gift for referrals or special occasions.

I'm not reviewing a specific product today. Instead, I'm reporting on what's NOT available regarding AI in our industry. I went to Vegas for the ValExpo with high hopes and specific promises from people who assured me it would be full of AI vendors with real solutions. I visited every single booth that had even a hint of AI promise.

Submitted By: Tom Boice

Folks, I could not have been more disappointed. Most companies promising AI are doing very surface-level work—AI is doing very little of the heavy lifting. I spend 1-2 hours daily in the AI world, building things, learning, and staying current. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I have enough credibility to teach workshops and integrate AI into my practice.

The appraisal industry could be doing so much more with AI. Even companies that promised they were AI-driven were unimpressive when you got into their actual demos. Some companies claim they do everything start to finish with AI—they don't. One CEO actually stated three times that he didn't want to integrate AI into his software because he was afraid appraisers would use it like a black box and get in trouble. That's not a valid excuse when appraisers could make the same mistakes with current software.

The positive side? If we're going to use AI effectively in our reports, we can't rely on software companies—we have to do it ourselves. I currently use AI in 98% of my appraisal reports, whether desktop, full appraisal, or drive-by. It's a tool that I trust, understand, and control. Ultimately, it's my decision, my signature, and my liability.

I hope you've enjoyed this condensed playbook format. We've changed the structure because we live in a "need it right now," short attention span world. That's the reality, even for appraisers. We've looked at the statistics and found that most newsletter subscribers don't listen to or read the entire thing. That's okay. I hope this shorter, straight-to-the-main-points version opens up possibilities for more people to actually consume and benefit from the content.

Now go create some value!