http://www.appraisalpress.com/articles/index/ en adam.calvery@alamode.com Copyright 2008 2009-11-04T20:13:35+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/what_is_this_quick_tips/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/what_is_this_quick_tips/#When:20:13:35Z We just launched this new section filled with the quick tips that come out of our appraisal marketing training courses. These are action-oriented quick ideas to get your marketing off to a fast start. Appraisal Marketing, Quick Tips 2009-11-04T20:13:35+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/the_two_most_important_things_on_an_appraisers_homepage/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/the_two_most_important_things_on_an_appraisers_homepage/#When:20:42:56Z When a customer is browsing the internet looking for an appraisal, they generally want to know two things right up front, before anything else: Appraisal Marketing, Quick Tips 2009-07-31T20:42:56+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/being_specific_part_1/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/being_specific_part_1/#When:20:24:56Z One of the most important concepts surrounding SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) is that you should strive to be as specific as possible when creating your webpages or marketing content. Appraisal Marketing, Quick Tips 2009-07-30T20:24:56+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/nine_dos_and_donts_of_xsellerate_marketing/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/nine_dos_and_donts_of_xsellerate_marketing/#When:02:47:54Z When using XSellerate to market your business, there are some basic marketing "do's and don'ts" to know about. In this article we discuss these nine topics as they relate to leaving positive impressions with both existing and potential clients. Business, Appraisal Marketing, Online marketing 2009-05-20T02:47:54+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/exciting_changes_in_store_for_appraisalpress/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/exciting_changes_in_store_for_appraisalpress/#When:20:18:18Z Breaking News, HVCC 2009-05-15T20:18:18+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/june_a_big_month_for_smartphone_savvy_appraisers/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/june_a_big_month_for_smartphone_savvy_appraisers/#When:18:59:25Z If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, June is going to be a big month for you depending on your carrier. AT&T and Sprint are offering the new iPhone and Palm Pre, respectively, but Verizon and T-Mobile may very well have some interesting offerings of their own. So what can you expect? Business, Innovations 2009-05-15T18:59:25+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/ingredients-for-making-a-search-engine-friendly-site/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/ingredients-for-making-a-search-engine-friendly-site/#When:17:48:46Z Getting your website ranked highly in a search engine is a little like pasta sauce. There are many ingredients, but no exact quantities or formula for success, and even a less than perfect result will be better than nothing in the short term. It’s not as if the web is going away or that fewer people will be looking for appraisal services online in the future. So, let’s talk about what goes into making your website a success when it comes to search engines. Business, Appraisal Marketing, Online marketing, Search engines, Community 2009-05-14T17:48:46+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/Spotlight_SunbeltAppraisal/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/Spotlight_SunbeltAppraisal/#When:17:48:03Z This edition’s Appraiser XSite spotlight leads us to Alex Olmo of SunbeltAppraisal.org, a customer making all the right moves when it comes to web marketing and running a business. Alex’s site design is simple and inviting, yet rich in content that attracts search engines. Business, Appraisal Marketing, Online marketing, Search engines, Community 2009-05-14T17:48:03+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/wre_talkbacksurvey/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/wre_talkbacksurvey/#When:15:38:29Z The Working RE HVCC Appraiser Talkback Survey has been posted and so far you’ve provided some pretty interesting results. Working RE plans to collect survey data all year and hopes you have much to share, post HVCC, about the state of the profession from your perspective. Theywill collect and share the data openly with you and with regulators and other interested parties. It’s a chance for appraisers to come together as a group, speak with one voice and be heard. HVCC, Business 2009-04-24T15:38:29+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/namb_cta/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/namb_cta/#When:15:38:20Z As we've written several times before, the HVCC provided ample incentive for mortgage brokers and appraisers to become allies united behind a common cause. Since we single-handedly bore the cost of raising awareness among appraisers and mortgage brokers about the HVCC last year, we were happy to find afterward that the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) recognized the difficulty in what we did, and wanted to cooperate and consult on HVCC issues. Eventually, NAMB decided to take the battle to the courts, but withdrew the lawsuit after the government claimed its actions as conservators of Fannie and Freddie are not subject to judicial review (even though, obviously, the HVCC was started prior to the government bailout). As a last-ditch effort, NAMB asked us if we would distribute their "Follow Up Call to Action" to our appraiser list nationwide, which we're happy to do for them. We encourage you to read NAMB’s HVCC memo and support their actions by clicking here. Breaking News, Mercury Network, HVCC, Business 2009-04-23T15:38:20+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/dont_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/dont_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater/#When:20:06:52Z In October, I wrote an editorial entitled “Lessons From Prior Downturns”, in which I tried to outline what sorts of things guide our company and what we have available as experience to bring to bear on the current downturn. Business, Opinion 2009-02-18T20:06:52+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/unfortunate_sign_of_the_times_crime/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/unfortunate_sign_of_the_times_crime/#When:20:00:19Z Whenever there’s an economic downturn, crime goes up. The explanation is pretty simple: When money is flowing freely and jobs are plentiful, the risks of getting caught engaging in a crime outweigh the rewards. But when money dries up and jobs disappear, local police departments consistently report that crimes of almost all types rise, and especially those involving any sort of potential financial gain. HVCC, Business, Opinion 2009-02-18T20:00:19+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/complex_problem_simple_solution/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/complex_problem_simple_solution/#When:19:50:06Z With each issue of The AppraisalPress, we find ourselves discussing how dramatically things have changed in the short span since the last issue. While we originally thought we'd be dealing with a rapid comment-and-revision cycle on the proposed HVCC a year ago, we never envisioned it dragging out this long (the "final" HVCC takes effect May 1st), nor did we think there would be so much chaos and tumult along the way. It's an understatement to say that things have been out of control. It's certainly made our jobs harder, but even more importantly, it's made yours almost completely unpredictable. Mercury Network, HVCC, Business 2009-02-18T19:50:06+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/our_official_response_to_the_new_federal_reserve_regulations/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/our_official_response_to_the_new_federal_reserve_regulations/#When:22:25:26Z The new federal regulations aren’t necessarily worse than the HVCC, but they aren’t better either. The huge built-in loopholes prevent them from actually having any beneficial effect in reducing lender pressure, but they also make them somewhat irrelevant since they can be so arbitrarily applied. Here is our response to these regulations. HVCC 2009-02-17T22:25:26+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/gypsy_richs_horrorscopes_ii/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/gypsy_richs_horrorscopes_ii/#When:18:37:43Z Aquarius (January 20-February 18): This is the dawning of the age of… ah, you know the rest. If you don’t go back and read your history, the laserdisc of “Hair” will do. Until then my water sign, you’ll be pleasantly surprised Humor 2009-02-10T18:37:43+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/how_to_get_what_you_really_need_out_of_your_website/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/how_to_get_what_you_really_need_out_of_your_website/#When:17:56:24Z Sites that had sent out an XSellerate campaign in the past 30 days received 3 times the hits than those that hadn’t and received 40% more leads. Business, Appraisal Marketing, Online marketing 2009-02-10T17:56:24+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/appraisers_dont_develop_a_short_memory/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/appraisers_dont_develop_a_short_memory/#When:17:48:43Z “I swear if I get through this market downturn, I promise I’ll keep on marketing so I’m never this scared again of not being able to pay my mortgage/car payment/alimony/etc.” Yet not surprisingly, here we are in this “refi mini-boom” and many appraisers who have been marketing as fast and as furiously as possible for the last year have slowed down or stopped entirely. Business, Appraisal Marketing 2009-02-10T17:48:43+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/15_tried_and_true_ways_to_cut_costs_in_2009/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/15_tried_and_true_ways_to_cut_costs_in_2009/#When:17:22:59Z Here we are in 2009 at last. The economy is shaky, the industry is looking at some big changes, and we’ve just come through a harrowing year that made us all get serious about getting control of what we spend and looking for new ways to cut back. So for these reasons, I thought it germane to visit anew some of the many ways that you as an appraiser can make significant cost savings from technology either already at your fingertips, or readily available. Business 2009-02-10T17:22:59+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/new_training_for_even_the_most_experienced_users/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/new_training_for_even_the_most_experienced_users/#When:17:19:43Z In January we launched our first ever dedicated “class track system” and they're by far the most popular classes we've ever done online. Business 2009-02-10T17:19:43+00:00 http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/windows_7_is_looking_good/ http://www.appraisalpress.com/news/articles/windows_7_is_looking_good/#When:17:11:43Z Unless you follow tech news, it may come as a surprise to you that the next version of Windows is almost ready for prime time.  Business, Innovations 2009-02-10T17:11:43+00:00