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No. 1 Selling Comp
Database Software
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DataComp
DataComp Version 6 offers the new MapPoint feature. This feature interacts to and from the MapPoint software for lookup and reversed lookup functionality. For instructions, click here.
EDGE
EDGE now features the ability to merge multiple tabs in the same Excel worksheet.
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YouConnect© is a web-based Appraisal and Vendor Management solution enabling institutions to automate and steamline this part of their business, while satisfying federal and state examination and auditing requirements.
For more information, please visit our website, call 813.349.2700, or email Sunda.
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APPRAISAL BEST PRACTICES
by Jeff Hicks, President
The Dohring Group/realwired!
Rules of ThumbFor a typical office building, I often estimate insurance expense at $.65 per square foot. It's a rule of thumb (ROT) in my market. Rules of thumb are very handy, easy to access, familiar, often used and rarely contested. As commercial appraisers, we have truckloads of ROT including cap rates, terminal rates, IRRs, expenses on a per square foot, per unit, per bed, and percentage of effective gross income for many different property types. We rely on these all the time. But are they accurate? When is the last time you have updated your ROT? Are they good forever? How often do you challenge them?
The commercial appraisal industry is rewriting itself as we speak. Don't think so? Quick -- what was your average fee and turnaround for a typical self-contained five years ago, 10 years ago? My guess is you're now bidding against five times the number of appraisers in your market for 60%-70% of the historical fee. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining. Many lateral industries to us, like architects and engineers, are hungry with very little work. Instead of reacting defensively to events in our industry, it's much more productive to have a positive competitive spirit.
Do you currently feel valued by your customers? Have you had an actual conversation with them recently? Or are you reduced to "Outlook boy or Outlook girl", frenetically responding to e-mail bids only to find yourself being awarded a very small percentage. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of reading emails with the subject line Regarding your submitted bid... That's basically a nice way to say you were under bid.
If you're a staff appraiser, is your ROT based on the assumption that the owner of the firm will provide appraisal work for you forever? Maybe not. I recently saw a client's login credentials for DataComp who named one of their appraisers "ordinary guy". Besides being very funny, I would be worried if I was "ordinary guy" in our current climate. Instead of resisting change, I would be looking for things to enhance the top line (revenue) such as getting additional education for specialty appraisal work, networking for new customers and reaching out to existing customers.
I think the most important ROT that commercial appraisers typically overlook (because let's face it we're too busy working) is our ROT for our overall appraisal business. Your ROT needs to be current and relevant the way you bid on assignments, track jobs in progress, research, compile and confirm comps, automating your report writing, billing and delivery of reports.
Competition is increasing in the commercial world. Some appraisers are being more competitive by changing their ROT for their report formats. Some appraisers' self-contained format is indistinguishable from a summary report, except for the addition of regional data. Others cut corners is less apparent ways. I am very disappointed by this trend as it significantly lowers the bar for our industry which I love. However, what I am preaching is really about providing the highest quality appraisal product you can but using technology to compensate for the appraisal commoditization trend.
Bottom line: spend time and money to improve your office systems. Cutting costs is easy. Changing the way you do things and implementing a new ROT can be challenging at the start. However, once you get going it's really not that difficult and actually fun. Designate a "go-to" person in your office to head-up the implementation and give yourself a few weeks/months to ease into things like automated report writing.
So stick out your thumb (yes actually do it) and scan your desk. How many appraisals are you working on currently, are you happy with the fee and turnaround, do you like your current appraisal type of work? Next scan your office, your PC. Does it reflect the very best software solutions or are you still waving your fists at Bill Gates and using Office 2000 on old PCs? Nothing specifically wrong with old software but incremental improvements should be your mantra not "we are good with what we've got". That mentality will permanently enshrine that insurance will be $.65 per square foot forever...at some point you're just wrong. If you would like to join a discussion about this topic or Appraisal Best Practices contact Jeff Hicks. |
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RealWired! Consulting
Adam Thomas, Consultant
realwired!, Inc.
With the Holidays approaching what better present to yourself and your company than to update your efficiencies. Whether it be updating your server, PC's or versions of Word and Excel, it is always a good idea to stay current on your software and your processes because they are always changing.
A REMINDER THAT SOFTWARE PURCHASES CAN BE WRITTEN OFF AT THE END OF THE YEAR so if you are interested in looking at our database or our new report writing solution, EDGE, or have been holding out for the perfect time please call Adam Thomas at (813) 349-2700 or email him at adam@realwired.com.
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Is Your DataComp Version Current?
DataComp Version 6 is now available.
Top Features... - Compatible with Windows 7 and Server 2008 & 2011
- Ability to Print PDF's
- Search your Comps on MapPoint
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Your DataComp Data is Important!
Traditional back up programs may not be saving your data. Ensure that your data is safe by using the DataComp backup function. Instructions can be found here.
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Additional Services Available
Need more custom fields in DataComp but don't have the time to set them up? We now offer service to set up your Custom Tabs for you. The price varies depending on how many fields you want configured.
Don't forget...you can also contact us about setting up your DataComp Custom Outputs for both Word and Excel.
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Getting Organized with EDGE...
Taking the time to setup an organized folder structure for your EDGE documentation can go a long way towards maximizing your efficiency. For suggestions, click here.
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Additional Services Available
Too busy to create your own Custom Templates? We're here to help.
We now offer services to create your Custom Templates for use with EDGE.
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Past Newsletters
If you've missed our prior Newsletters, you can view them here.
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