I'm not a huge fan of zombie movies but I recently watched a hysterical illegal (due to US Embargo) Cuban movie called "Juan de los Muertos" or Juan of the Dead ; a tip of the hat to the popular US movie Shaun of the Dead.  Juan is an everyday Cuban man, very likable, smart and definitely a survivor.  I liken Juan to commercial real estate appraisers which exhibit the same attributes and in many ways are battling zombies.

An attendee of our appraisal productivity seminars thanked me for "smacking him out of his trance," waking him up to his decomposing hourly $$$ production.  It got me thinking about zombies and how declining fees and diminished personal interaction with our clients have made put many of us on auto-pilot, just going through the motions.  Don't be part of the mass herd of the undead, slowly walking aimlessly.

The CDC has identified a contagious disease that has infected many of the users of our appraisal product.  Once infected, these conscious deprived zombies start to believe that quality appraisals should have the Wal-Mart pricing model.  I kid of course.  I LOVE my appraisal clients. And I especially appreciate the chief appraisers inside of financial institutions who are on the front line fighting for us every day against the zombies they face.  They continue to be the biggest weapon in our arsenal against becoming zombies and working for them.  In the end the issues we face today are ours to fix.  We need to be like Juan, not look to Juan to "kill" the zombies for us. 

We as appraisers need to better communicate our relevance to the real estate process when that's the issue.  We must also recognize that our "one size fits all" reporting depth and style may indeed not be relevant for the problem our clients want and need. We need to adjust to client and market needs and when things seem to be particularly challenging, channel the spirit of Juan and arm ourselves.  Our weapons are productivity tools, internal office systems, time management and most importantly, changing our perception of how to create the best appraisal report in the shortest time.  We can help you slay the undead.  Give us a call, a live person will be with you shortly.

If you would like to join a discussion about this topic or Appraisal Best Practices contact Jeff Hicks.