The weather in San Diego for the Appraisal Institute national conference was amazing.  The lack of humidity and 70 degree weather was a respite from my Florida's August sweat-time.  I met appraisers from all over the US.  It was interesting to see what type of person would invest their time and money to participate.  The median age of commercial appraisers are definitely 50+.  But more than that, these folks genuinely care about being leaders in their field.  They want to be the best at what they do.

Of the folks I met one appraiser stands out.  A "young" (he's in his early thirties) designated commercial appraiser from Texas, let's call him Mr. Texas.  What struck me was Mr. Texas' laser-focus on the business of appraising and not a worker-bee mentality.  He hires young super-smart college grads and trains them in his office systems.  He has a small firm but has the tools of the largest appraisal firms.  He aggressively invests in productivity solutions (hardware and software) to facilitate consistent high quality appraisals but in the shortest amount of time.  Mr. Texas has paid for productivity consultants.  He plans on opening up additional offices.  I think Mr. Texas represents the next generation of the best-of-breed commercial appraiser. 

At the conference I met many appraisers that believe the only way to be more efficient is to cut corners, lower the quality.  I tried in vain to inform them that the exhibit room at the conference offered numerous appraisal-specific software products that will allow them to operate like the big guys.  They did not believe me. 

Slay Goliath with your weapons - appraisal comp management, report writing, CRM, and appraisal workflow applications.  Even if portions of Dodd-Frank are excised to stop the commoditization trend of commercial appraisals, productivity is here to stay.  Don't think small.  Open up your wallet and invest time in your business whether you own the firm or are a fee appraiser working for someone else.  It's your career.  Your age doesn't matter.  There is competition in your market right now that is out-innovating you.  Be like David.  Have courage.

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