Advice to review appraisers: get out in the field more often

This is a guest post by Woody Fincham, SRA, and Rachel Massey, SRA and AI-RRS specializing in ERC, Lake, and review work. Find more of Woody's writing on his blog here.

“Just do as I say.”

Sound familiar? It's a common parental response to children constantly asking "Why?" Both of us have raised at least one child to adulthood, and that answer works when you don't have a better answer or are short on time. In many ways, it's the same thing we hear back from review appraisers. Certainly, many don't mean for it to have the same tone as a frazzled, authoritative parent, but that's often how it comes across.

It's not uncommon for reviewers and chief appraisers to focus only on the work they do for their organizations, thus losing sight of the day-to-day details that field appraisers deal with, and vice versa. We've worked on both sides of the profession, and know it's easy to lose touch with the other side when you do the same job every day.

Field experience can fade to just memories, which can be recalled as rosier (i.e. easier) than they actually were. This is apparent when a reviewer says something like, “All you have to do is find this very rare set of circumstances within your market data. It’s that easy.” Well, that's easy to say when you're just reading another appraiser’s work.

So, what's the solution? We think it's simple: Review appraisers (or anyone in a position of judgment) should also have recent experience in the field, doing the same type of work. Organizations (private and public) should encourage and allow reviewers to do appraisal work either solo or for the company. This will help reviewers understand the nuances of what appraisers deal with and how to make more reasonable (and realistic) requests.

The staff obviously doesn't need to go out in the field every day. Just a couple of appraisals every few months would be educational. Employers would benefit too; common sense knowledge about how buyers act in the market can only be gained by actually being in the market every now and then. An employer who cares about producing the best product would see the benefit of asking their staff to be grounded in that reality.

This is also good advice for instructors who are no longer actively appraising. Theory is valuable, but so is experience and being able to relate with the appraisers you're trying to assist. Field application keeps the mind sharp and keeps your instruction relevant.

This is not a new concept, and is applicable to just about anything. A runner's performance actually degrades if all they do is run; cross training is needed to be the best runner that you can be. Why should appraisal or appraisal review be any different?