March 30, 2011 - Appraisal Pictures

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. This is true for appraisals also. I had a conversation with a client the other day. She was telling me about an appraisal she received and how bad the pictures were in the report.

My first thought to myself was, “the appraiser inspected the property, he saw everything, does it matter how good the pictures are?” After a second, I said “yes”. An appraisal is a report, and someone, in some other location who has never been to that house and does not know the neighborhood, is going to rely on your report. They are going to look at the pictures in your report, so why not take the best pictures you can? I am not talking about learning to be a professional Architectural Photographer, just know how to take a good picture that accurately represents the home, room or condition.

Here are a few tips:

1. Know the direction of light. Try not to shoot into the light.
2. Use a wide angle or fisheye lens. How hard is it to get those interior photos, a wide angle lens can capture an entire room.
3. Depth, try and get as much of the yard, house and pool as possible. Step back, but be careful of those “yard bombs”.
4. Try and center what you are taking a picture of.

Let me know what you think?

If you have any appraisal needs or referrals, please call me at 562-673-1138

March 10, 2011 - External Factors that influence perception and values.

I was up in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles today doing an appraisal. The subject house was located close off a major east west street. I pulled a few comps from different neighborhoods. I knew the range was different but I wanted to see the other areas that had higher values. Once I got to the other neighborhood, it was quiclky obvoius that the homes here are of higher value. The homes had curb appeal, all nicely landscaped and maintained. But what really let me know when I was in a higher priced area was the street. All the streets were recently repaved and or slurry sealed. This had me stop and think about how something out of the homeowners control can possibly influence the perception of buyers and how this might contribute to higher values in the long run.

What do you think?

If you need have and real estate appraisal needs in the greater Los Angeles and Long Beach Area, contact me at 562-673-1138, www.wallaceres.com

January 22, 2011 - The Total # of Appraisers in Long Beach

I was curious as to the total number of appraiser there are in the city of Long Beach

I went to the OREA website looked them up. Then, I decided to see how many are independent fee appraisers and how many are not. Any appraiser listed as working for a bank or a government agency I assume are not independent fee appraisers.

So, we have a Total of 149 Appraisers in Long Beach, of which, 140 are Independent Fee Appraisers. Look at the number of Trainees, only 14. Do you think we are going to have a problem in the future as some Appraisers retire or leave the industry? That is a different topic all together.

Next I was curious to see how many closed sales of Condos and SFR’s there were in Long Beach for the past 4 months. I also wanted to see how this would average out to work for those Appraisers. I did not include Certified General Appraisers since they focus mainly on Commercial work. I also did not include Trainees since they can not really do work on there own. That left only Certified Residential and Licensed Residential Appraisers, a total of 84.

I then took the total number of closed sales and divided that by the number of Fee Appraisers, as you can see that was between 2.7-3.0 Appraisals per Appraiser in Long beach, not including January. I guessed at a conservative post HVCC/AMC fee for an appraisal of $300. Basically each Appraiser would be making $775 -$866 per month.

Wow!

This does not include the fact that appraisers from other areas come to Long Beach.

Basically, there is not enough work for the Appraiser that remain to make a decent living on, couple that with the low fees being paid and the fact that we lost most of our clients when the HVCC went into effect, it is no wonder the ranks are thinning.

To me this looks like a good argument to band together and demand a higher fee.

What do you think?

December 8, 2010 - Appraising Real Estate in Long Beach

Appraising Real Estate in Long Beach

By Craig Wallace, Long Beach Appraiser

Long Beach can be a difficult city to appraise in for a non-local appraiser there are many factors that contribute to the complexity that an appraiser must consider to perform and accurate appraisal. Long Beach is the 38th largest city in the United States, and the sixth largest in California, with a land area of approximately 50 square miles. That’s Big!
Zoning – Long Beach has a large mix of zoning that changes rapidly in residential areas. Some home have “granny flats” or additional units that were legal when built, but now the zoning has changed.

Location – Values can change by crossing a street. This can change the school district. Then there is the proximity to the beach for some locations. This can change in an area like Belmont Shore. Is the property located on the beach side of 2nd street or the other side?
In other parts of the city you must consider the flight path and airport noise, or location to freeways. Is the property located across from a park, is this a high use park and are there parking issues. Is the property located in or near the Port or a commercial center?

There are area that are less complex, those are usually areas made up of “post war 1940’s to 1950’s tract Homes.

Neighborhood – Long Beach has 52 Neighborhoods, each are unique and require the appraiser to have an understanding of each of them and how they can effect comparable selection. Here is the list of the 52:
• 4th Street Corridor
• Alamitos Beach
• Alamitos Heights
• Arlington
• Artcraft Manor
• Belmont Heights
• Belmont Park
• Belmont Shore
• Bixby Knolls
• Bixby Village
• Bluff Heights
• Bluff Park
• Broadway Corridor
• California Heights
• Carroll Park
• Central Area
• Craftsman Village
• Downtown Long Beach
• Drake Park
• East Village
• Eastside
• El Dorado Park
• El Dorado Park Estates
• El Dorado South
• Hellman
• Imperial Estates
• Lakewood Village
• Cambodia Town (Little Phnom Penh)
• Long Beach Marina
• Los Altos
• Los Cerritos – Virginia Country Club
• Memorial Height
• Naples
• North Long Beach
• Park Estates,[13]
• Peninsula
• Ranchos
• Rose Park
• Shoreline Village
• South of Conant
• Stearns Park
• Saint Mary’s
• Sunrise
• Terminal Island
• Traffic Circle
• University Park Estates
• Poly High
• West Long Beach
• Willmore City
• Wrigley North and South
• Wrigley Heights
• Zaferia

Historic Preservation Zones – Long Beach has 17 designated zones.
Perhaps a future post will include photos, video and history of each of the neighborhoods and Historic Zones.

When you need a local appraiser that knows Long Beach, call Craig at Wallace Real Estate Services.

December 2, 2010 - Pre-FHA Appraisal Inspections

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