Birmingham Appraisal Blog’s most popular posts of 2016

Top appraisal blog posts of 2016

2016 was a great year for Birmingham Appraisal Blog, and I appreciate all the people that read and contribute comments to the articles I write. I sometimes wonder what I should write about regarding real estate appraisals but invariably I’ll see something in the news or someone will text or email me a question that needs answering, and it’s situations like this that provides ideas for my blog.

I always say that if I get a question from one person, I know that there are others that have asked the very same thing so I think it is helpful to answer their question so that it can help others as well.

In this post, I am including the top 5 posts in 2016 from Birmingham Appraisal Blog that either got a lot of traffic or had a lot of comments. Can you think of another post that you read that is not included here but that you found extremely interesting or helpful? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Is your appraiser packing heat?

While I knew gun control and conceal and carry were hot topics I didn’t think that this post would end up getting the most attention of everything I posted this year. Boy, was I wrong!

Like real estate agents, appraisers come in contact with more of the general public than many other jobs, and there are some appraisers that feel safer carrying a concealed weapon. What are your thoughts?

Read it here.

New appraisal tools for the new year

I have discovered that there are two camps of appraisers, those who swear by going mobile in the field and those who you couldn’t pry their cold dead hands from their clipboard.

The former group swears by using the latest in technology such as phones, tablets, and a laser measure. The latter group either can’t get the hang of new technology or have the attitude that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

After years of telling myself I needed to take advantage of technology I finally took the plunge in 2016. Did you go mobile in 2016? What advice could you give to those struggling to make the switch?

Read it here.

Will a finished basement add value to a home?

One of the top questions I get, when I speak at real estate agent’s offices, has to do with how much value a finished basement adds to a home. If you are an agent and have ever had the same question then you’ll want to check out how appraisers tackle this situation.

If agents can look at it the same way the appraiser does then this will help them in pricing the home correctly and there will be less chance of the contract price being different than the appraisal value.

Read it here.

Top 6 items an appraiser takes pictures of

When I started in the appraisal business the only pictures of the subject property that were required were the front and back of the house and two street scenes.

Fast forward 26 years (wow, how time flies) and now we have to take pictures of a heck of a lot more. I wrote this to help real estate agents and homeowners understand what the appraiser will be taking pictures of and why.

Read it here.

How long does it take to complete an appraisal?

Most people only see the front end of what real estate appraisers do. The observation of the house is only a small portion of what is required during an appraisal assignment.

By breaking down the different steps involved my goal was to show non-appraisers exactly what goes into the appraisal because most of the time all they see is a relatively short visit to their home and then the final appraisal report.

Read it here.

Question

Is there an article that resonated with you that you’d also like to add? Is there anything in 2017 that you would like me to write about? If you have anything you would like to add, or have a question, leave a comment below and we’ll keep the conversation going. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2017.

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