David Hintz's (azappraiser) Blog

For decades, Arizona has been one of several destination goals of illegal immigrants filtering their way into the United States by way of Mexico. The lure of jobs, as a means to earn money to bring other family members across the boarder, coupled with the benefit and assistance programs funded by...

When it comes to appraising Historical Properties, more specifically residential historic properties, an appraiser can find themselves in a very interesting and educational situation, or a complete nightmare. Either way, AACAZ does not appraise historic properties. Most major cities have historic...

I did an appraisal recently on a new build in a new subdivision. The buyers (one R/E Agent and one L.O.) that I have received business from (sporaticly) over the past 2 years, had the LO's company order an appraisal on the house they were buying.  Rush order, needed to close before Xmas.My resear...

In my service area, where there are older homes, it has been common for a property owners to construct an addition to the basic home.  Such as a room addition on the back, or converting a garage/carport into an additional bedroom/den/family room/etc.   It's also common for some previous or curren...

We all know appraisals are being scrutinized more these days than in the past by underwriters and reviewers.  We also know the main reason(s) for this, if we keep up with the news and happenings within the Real Estate Industry.  With the declining market so wide spread, there is a reinforcing of ...

 There have been numerous Blogs, Posts, Comments for Realtors, Agents, and others about the use and formula(s) associated with Absorption Rate, but nothing addressing this topic specifically for its use by Appraisers.  I am not an active blogger, but decided to contribute my views on the topic.De...

Recently I was contacted by an Underwriter about a comment made on a report I did.  It's unusual for an Underwriter to contact an appraiser directly, but, Hey I don't mind.  What I am referring to is a comment about an Environmental Concern within a subject property's market area.  More specifica...