Real Estate Appraiser Tips » Real Estate Appraiser Marketing

Fannie Mae UAD MLS Import Software is here for WCA and SFREP Home Appraisal Software Customers!

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:59:47 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Fannie Mae UAD MLS Import Software is here for WCA and SFREP Home Appraisal Software Customers!

UAD MLS Importer Software is here….for WCA and SFREP Customers! This is what I’ve been beta testing and am loving it. I no longer groan when I receive a UAD Appraisal Order.

Watch this short video: http://bit.ly/uNBmZV

The link to find out more is http://wca-inc.com/Grab-It.php

Video Sales Letter for WordPress Is Dead Easy To Setup

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:56:01 +0000

http://www.wordpressvideosalesletter.info/ – Video Sales Letter for WordPress Using Mike Stewart’s WordPress Video Sales Letter To Build Trust By Employing Video

Bill Cobb, a home appraiser in Baton Rouge, is using this valuable software package to produce Video Sales Letters and Video Landing Pages (and/or Video Introduction Pages) to the valuation products he offers the local public. An example of one of Bill’s sites is below. To Find Out More, Click on the image below.

Tags: Local Businesses Using WordPress Video Sales Letter, S3 Media Player, Setup Video Squeeze Pages, Video Sales Letter for WordPress, WordPress Video Sales Letter, WordPress Video Sales Letter 2, WordPress Video Sales Letter Advanced, WordPress Video Sales Letter Training Tutorials

Dave Towne: Survey Results How Appraisers Report Site Size, FNMA Requirement Effective 9/1/2011

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:46:36 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Dave Towne: Survey Results On How Appraisers Report Site Size, New FNMA Requirements on 9/1/2011

Appraisers……

Over the weekend, I asked for your input as to how you report Site Size in the Fannie Form grid. This graph represents the results of your responses through Monday night 2/7/11, from appraisers in many parts of the US:

I asked this question because effective 9/01/2011, Fannie/Freddie will require Site Size for any site less than ONE ACRE to be reported as Square Feet, NOT Acres (or portion) ….. and any site of 1 Acre or more to be reported as Acres! This is for any conventional loan sold to them, reported on the 1004 and 2055 Forms.

UNLESS appraisers around the nation climb on Fannie’s back and explain how crazy this will be, and ask (politely) that this new poor requirement be modified so that site sizes are reported in a consistent manner in the report.

EXAMPLE: Subject is in a small urban area, on a .82 Acre site. Three Comps are a mix of site sizes, less than an acre and more than an acre…say up to 1.5 acres….because that’s all the sales found that are even remotely comparable in terms of GLA/Age of the properties. (This is a REAL situation in my area.)

So your grid will look like this:

Subj. Comp 1 Comp 2 Comp 3

35719 sf 20038 sf 1.1 ac 1.5 ac

(.82 Acre) (.46 Acre)

[No commas can be used, and only ‘sf’ can indicate Sq. Ft.]

[Acre must be reported as ‘ac’ – with nothing following that]

Can you imagine the U/W’s head scratching! You’re going to have to include an entire paragraph to explain this requirement, and then explain how you arrived at the site size adjustments (which you should do anyway, but now you will have to explain how you converted to Ac or SF before making the site adjustment).

Most county assessor records in our area, and other parts of the US report Site Size in terms of Acres – or a decimal portion thereof. Therefore, you will have to convert that Acre number to a Square Foot number for the report, further slowing down report writing. (I developed a Conversion Table which I will give to any appraiser for FREE who wants it … just e-mail me.)

FURTHER EXPLANATION: “Both” is represented in nearly 15% of responses. Some Appraisers told me they use an entry like .82 Ac/35,719 sf in the grid. Other appraisers said they currently use Square Foot for any property less than an acre, and Acres for 1+ acres (I don’t understand why!). And some appraisers said they use SF for FHA reports, believing that SF is ‘required’ by HUD/FHA – in fact they accept either per the 4150.2 manual but expect consistency in the report …. and use Acres for conventional reports.

Those appraisers who explained “Both” also stated they NEVER mix Acres with Square Foot in reports as my example shows ……… as Fannie will require as of 9/1/2011!

MY PERSONAL BELIEF: All reports should use Acre (or decimal portion), regardless of site size. MLS listings are reported that way, assessor records are that way, property owners think and talk in terms of ACRES …. not “my property is 32,670 s/f.” It’s much easier to say “3/4 of an acre.” It’s also what a majority of appraisers are doing now – overwhelmingly.

Thanks for your responses!

Dave Towne, Towne Appraisals

Mount Vernon, WA

360-708-1196

and

Appraiser Education Service

How To Create Awesomer Web Videos…Without a Video Camera: How To Screencast Like A Pro

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:33:03 +0000

How To Create Killer Web Videos…Without a Video Camera

Screen capture video can be great. You just record what’s on your computer screen. You don’t have to worry about video cameras, lighting or even what you look like.

And they can be just as powerful…sometimes even more powerful…than regular on-camera video. But screen capture video can also be confusing, intimidating and frustrating. For most people, their screencast videos come out looking fuzzy, distorted, hard to see, hard to hear…or…all of the above.

But the good news is you don’t need to worry about those things anymore. That’s because now you can learn how to make absolutely killer screencast videos in just a few hours.
And there’s no experience required.

How is this possible? It’s through an amazing new training course from one of the Internet’s top web video experts. This course is 100% web video based.

All you have to do is open your browser, play the videos and watch as you’re shown step by step how to create dazzling web videos from scratch.

But you know what? The best way to see how powerful this new training actually is…is to simply watch an amazing 77 second video that tells you all about it.

You’ve really got to see this video. And you’ve really got to check out this new course, if you want a dead-simple way to create killer web videos.

Here’s the link to the video. Seriously, you’ve got to check this out now:

Real Estate Appraiser Tips: How To Straighten A Photo Free With Windows Live Photo Gallery!

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 14:18:11 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Real Estate Appraiser Tips: How To Straighten A Photo Free With Windows Live Photo Gallery!

In this video, Home Appraiser Bill Cobb shows how he straightened a photo for a blog post. The video and before and after photos are below.

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QNtI2ol2mI

Windows Live Photo Gallery allows one to share photos and videos online, find the photos you’re looking for and make photos look great! And, it’s FREE!

Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011 Description: “Import photos from your camera, organize them into albums, and edit them so they look their best. Use powerful photo tools to create stunning panoramas, movies, slide shows, and more. When you’re ready to share, publish your photos and videos to your favorite websites like Facebook and Flickr directly from Photo Gallery.” Source: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-photo-gallery?os=other

Easily “Geo-Tag” your photos as well or connect the photo to a location on a map.

Actually, I downloaded 6 more plugins that will allow me to upload directly to Twitpic, Facebook, Multiply, Auto Collage, Smugmug and Digital Frame.

Real Estate Appraiser Tips: Using iPhone 4 Wide Angle Lens Case For Appraisal Photos

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:15:45 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Real Estate Appraiser Tips: Using iPhone 4 Wide Angle Lens Case For Appraisal Photos! Can an appraiser switch to using ONLY their iPhone for taking home appraisal photos? Before upgrading to the 4, I used my 3 to take and email me final inspection photos for closings. And, The iPhone adds so much valuable data to a photo by default! See the conversation below.

When I saw this wide angle lens “case”, I just had to have it for many reasons. The uses I see are:

1.) Taking wide angle lens “photos” equivalent to approximately 16mm, per Mark Passerby at HdHat.com. See larger photo below.

2.) Shooting wide angle video for appraisal projects, appraiser marketing and or agent home listing tours. See some sample videos here!

3.) For the added data the iPhone adds by default to a photo. Below are screen shots from the “Photo Info” iPhone app. I’ve asked Bryan McDonald at REBliss.com Blog to explore this for real estate professionals. REBliss.com is a blog dedicated to reporting on technology for real estate applications and is updated regularly.

4.) Shooting wide angle video for Appraiser Video Blogging and Appraiser Marketing. This is a video I shot with my iPhone 4 on-site with wide angle lens and Audio Technica ATR 3350 lavalier mic plugged in for better audio quality. I also uploaded this video on-site to YouTube.

This is my iPhone 4 with the HdHat Wide Angle Lens Slip-on “Case”. The case is easily removed and is great for wide angle photos and home listing video tours.

You might have seen my setup at RainCamp Houston with the HdHat Wide Angle Lens “Case” where I was able to shoot photos and upload them to Flickr and Facebook on the spot along with video to YouTube. There were dozens of curious Active Rain members stop by to check out the setup.

This is one example of my before and after results using the HdHat Wide Angle Lens “Case”

Can an appraiser switch to using ONLY their iPhone for taking home appraisal photos? Yes on Exterior and Maybe on Interior! Exterior photos would be acceptable for sure. Interior Photos? When the wide angle lens case is installed, you can’t use the iPhone 4 flash and actually you must turn it off or it will distort the photos. So, when there is adequate lighting inside the home to take interior photos with the iphone 3 or 4, then it would work. However, if there isn’t adequate lighting, then an appraiser would need to use their regular appraisal camera.

I’m currently also considering the purchase of this HDHat.com add-on adapter to achieve 16mm wide angle photos with flash.

Leave A Comment or Question(s) below about this topic!

Tags: Home Appraisers, Real Estate Appraiser Blogging, Real Estate Appraisers, Real Estate Blogging, Real Estate Photography, Real Estate Appraiser Photography

How To Create Video That Sells: Affordable Custom Video Commercials For Your Business or Product

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:47:24 +0000

Hi, With Christmas coming up — Quickly — it’s hard to focus a lot on
business isn’t it? Well, maybe not too much but it certainly does seem that things do get a little more hectic this time of year, that’s for sure.
As it get’s closer to the holidays, more and more things are going to be
tugging at you for your attention so I wanted to make sure you got this
guide before you became too busy.

The video on the sign up page is EXACTLY the type of videos that iMotion
Video produced for their clients so it’s a really good example of what
you could have on your site…and CHEAP too!

So go get your guide, “How To Create Video Commercials That Sells”

It won’t cost you a single dime.

https://imotionvideo.infusionsoft.com/go/xmas1/wdcobb/

I do happen to be an affiliate and a client of iMotion Video and can personally attest to the quality stuff that they produce.

Here’s a recent video iMotion Video produced for my home appraisal business:

They are giving this report away because next week, they are having a
Pre-Christmas Sale on their discount video production club. You don’t
have to participate in the “sale” to get the report.

So go ahead, go to the page:

https://imotionvideo.infusionsoft.com/go/xmas1/wdcobb/

Watch the short video and imagine THAT video on YOUR site selling your
service. That’s what did it for me…

Sure….

I can make my own videos but when you see what they do for the price they do it at…sheesh….it’s just not worth doing on my own. Not that kind of video anyway. This is really good studio quality stuff.

Christmas is coming and they are going to have a really sweet deal next
week. Get your complimentary report at least. By the time you read the
report, you’ll be itching to get some videos out to promote your
business.

Take care,
Bill Cobb

P.S. I almost forgot. There are some work sheets that come with the
report on “How To Create Video Commercials That Sell”. Make sure you
print them out when you register here:

https://imotionvideo.infusionsoft.com/go/xmas1/wdcobb/

Home Appraiser Tips: Scatter Graphs With Subdivision Entrance Created From Ryan Lundquist Video Tutorial

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:24:33 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Home Appraiser Tips: Scatter Graphs With Subdivision Entrance I Created From Ryan Lundquist Video Tutorial

On Tuesday, Tips recommended readers tune into Sacramento Appraisal Blog and Ryan Lundquist’s over 10 minute video tutorial on creating scatter graphs: Real Estate Appraiser Tips: Ryan Lundquist Video On Creating Scatter Graph Charts In Gnumeric . In case you missed it, Ryan’s video is below. Tips then posted “Scatter Graphs I Created From Ryan Lundquist Gnumeric Video Tutorial” with 2 charts created from the tutorial. Here are 2 more scatter graphs I created based on his tutorial below AND learning how to add the subdivision entrance sign without the graph background.

To create charts with an image within the graph area, there are 2 extra steps. First, you need an image to use that will also allow the sales price dots to show up. In this image, I used SnagIt’s Editor, Color Effects, Histo-Contrast -100%, see before and after photos before.

Second, within Gnumeric, in the “Grid1″ section under “Fill”, choose “Image”. Select your image to use!

Hope This Helps!

Bill

One Third of Americans Highly Unlikely to Qualify for a Mortgage Today: How Does This Impact Your Appraisal Business?

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:34:39 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – One Third of Americans Highly Unlikely to Qualify for a Mortgage Today: How Does This Impact Your Appraisal Business?

Dennis Norman At Real Estate Investors Daily is reporting a new study that says “1/3 of Americans Highly Unlikely to Qualify for a Mortgage Today” . Here’s a couple of snippets:

“According to an analysis of more than 25,000 loan quotes and purchase request by Zillow, nearly one-third of Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage because their credit scores are too low.

Borrowers with credit scores under 620 who requested purchase loan quotes for 30-year fixed, conventional loans were unlikely to receive even one loan quote on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, even if they offered a relatively high down payment of 15 to 25 percent. Nearly one-third of Americans, or 29.3 percent, has a credit score this low, according to data provided by myFICO.com.The report also showed that, not surprisingly, the lowest interest rates went to mortgage borrowers who were among the 47 percent of Americans with excellent credit scores of 720 or above. In the first half of September, borrowers with credit scores of 720 or above got an average low annual percentage rate (APR) of 4.3 percent for conventional 30-year fixed mortgages. Borrowers with mid-range credit scores between 620 and 719 received APRs between 4.73 and 4.44 percent, with the APR rising as credit score drops. Those with credit scores below 620 received too few loan quotes to calculate average low APR.”

HERE’S THE QUESTION FOR HOME APPPRAISERS! IF 1/3 OF POSSIBLE HOME BUYERS ARE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET, THEN HOW DOES THIS IMPACT YOUR APPRAISAL BUSINESS? Please leave a comment below to let us know how you’re surviving 2010!

Birmingham Appraiser Tom Horn: My First WordPress WordCamp Birmingham Experience

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:56:50 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Birmingham Appraiser Tom Horn: My First WordPress WordCamp Birmingham Experience!

Tom Horn, SRA, Birmingham AL Appraiser, talks about his experience at the recent “WordCamp” held in Birmingham. Check out Tom’s post below! Tom has several interesting posts about the housing market he serves and I’m taking notes on the style he uses to communicate with locals.