In the word's of Ron Burgundy, @J Scott is "kind of a big deal" so let's all pay attention when we see him in the forum!
I can personally attest to his post and linked forum.
- Provide Information
- Build Trust
- Build Rapport
Last year I was getting a home appraised and I met the appraiser at the house. We spent the first 20 minutes talking about his kids and grandkids, how he was getting out of a messy divorce, but met the love of his life at the age of 62 and, as a matter of fact, he started crying just talking to me about how joyful he was with his fiance. We talked about a handful of other things, but this was some strong rapport we we're building... it's not every day a stranger cries in my house!
I let him do his thing around the house, walked it with him, answered questions honestly, asked about how he got into the appraisal business, etc. Throughout this just "being a good dude" and welcoming to him, it seemed like we had built up a level of trust. I felt like he could tell I cared about this house and what it meant to me.
Lastly, as we we're wrapping up, we convened in the driveway and I just asked him, "So what do you think this house should appraise for?" He said, "Well, just first glimpse, I think it's around 260k based on the comps and what you've done with the place." My response was, "Man... that's disappointing, I was really hoping for about 275k. You know, I really appreciate you coming here and doing this. I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but if you have a chance to look it over I put together this packet of the comps in the neighborhood, before pictures of my house and a list of all the repairs we've done to it since we got it. I thought it might make things a little easier for you." (Provide information"
He said, "I appreciate that and I'm not too proud to take a look at what you've got."
Appraisal came in a few days later for 277k!! Was it totally based on the conversation we had and the information I provided? I like to think so, but I can't be certain. What I do know is if I hadn't met him and talked with him, provided information, etc. and the appraisal still came in at 277k, I'd be sitting here thinking, "geez... maybe if I had done the extra credit work, I could have got 285k!"
Hope this helps and Good luck!
