I was recently discussing with a friend things I could blog about. She told me to discuss things that are passionate to me. There are many things that I feel passionate about these days. Health care, small business economy and the unemployment rates, just to name a few. As for the appraisal industry, the current state of our industry is driving me crazy. I've spent the last 15 years of my life trying to be ethical and doing the right thing in order to put my head on my pillow every night and be able to sleep knowing I did the right thing. I've tried sooooo hard to do my job to the best of my ability, yet I still find that there are so many obstacles out there, even when you do the right thing, it doesn't necessary show. This week was a very difficult week. Sales are so limited in EVERY market area that it makes me wonder how the apprentice appraisers are doing their job. Without the experience I have obtained over the years, I can't imagine doing my job properly. Every job is difficult and I agonize over every one. Where we could find 3 or 4 houses in the neighborhood comparable to the subject we were appraising a few years ago, we're lucky if we can find 3 or 4 houses in the same town. I recently had the experience of having been "reviewed" by another appraiser on a job I did locally. In my previous blog I discussed the issue of appraisers staying local. It was obvious that the review appraiser was unfamiliar with the area. The first concern was that the property under review was a condominium. Had the review appraiser been from the area, it would never had been a question. I had to spend hours proving myself, when I was told the review appraiser was considered "local." It was one of the most frustrating experiences I have had to go through in the last year. Let me clarify something though. I've always thought it a good idea to be reviewed by other appraisers. It can give you insight as to things you take for granted. As an appraiser, you must be able to describe the property you are appraising so that your client can get a mental picture. It's very hard to do. You think you've explained everything because it makes perfect sense to you. Then the questions come and you realize it wasn't so clear. I welcome constructive criticism. No one's perfect and we can always use suggestions to help us do our jobs better. It all depends on from where and whom it comes. The other issue I had was one where the property was located in a subdivision with a private water system. No matter how many people I had validate this fact, the homeowner insisted it was a public system because they paid a water bill. The lender accused me of improper information, when in fact, the homeowner was paying their water bill to a private water company. It's become a very frustrating occupation. It use to be that you proved yourself over years showing your clients or bosses that you knew what you were talking about. That's gone with the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The incidents that I spoke about were with an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) that I've worked with for close to 15 years. There's no loyalty or consideration today for long term employees or business associates. As a child, my parents worked for IBM. My dad started as a chauffer for Thomas Watson, Sr. For anyone familiar with IBM, he was one of the first CEO's in IBM. He went on to work for Thomas Watson, Jr. and then to manufacturing in Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill. That was a time when employers cared about their employees. We've come a long way, but is it actually better? Maybe the 50's and 60's were a different time, but employer's respected their employees and employees respected their employers. There was loyalty and devotion, and it was rewarded . Where are we today? Does anyone care anymore? It's a sad state of affairs. Maybe everyone needs to sacrifice in order to go back a little to a time that was more simple, but more honest and trusting. I miss the days where you could trust everyone. It was the norm. That's what I think anyway....