la mode home page
leftTile
rightTitle
 
phone1-800-252-6633  |   My Account  |   Shopping Cart View Cart  |  
 

Industry Resources | by a la mode


 

What's important to YOU?

No two appraisers view technology needs the same way. But we know from 23 years of experience that you fall into two general groups: You either think technology should focus on pumping out the core report as quickly as possible, or it should help manage your entire business. Or both.

The Appraisal Wheel is a graphic that will help you decide which parts of your business you want help with. Think of the Appraisal Wheel as a visual of "your world".

Yes, your world looks "clean" in a graphic, but in reality it's chaotic and unpredictable. That's why you need a partner who can roll with you, who listens to you, and acts on what you want. That's exactly who we are and why you choose us more than anyone else.

Appraisal business

Links The Appraisal Wheel
"Your world" and your business

   

Marketing
   

We've published hundreds of pages about marketing and your appraisal business and have tons of free resources at your fingertips, whether you use our products or not.

AppraisalPress is our hard-hitting newspaper, published and mailed to every appraiser in the country. There are dozens of appraisal marketing articles from the newspaper archives here.

We also host a website dedicated to free information about appraisal marketing, with tips, videos, webinars and more. Click here. For a good introduction to appraisal business marketing and why you must do it, click here.

You can also download our free appraisal marketing eBooks here.

Arrow No holds barred appraisal news and marketing advice
AppraisalPress

arrow Free appraisal marketing advice whether you use our products or not
The Appraisal Marketing Website

   
Compliance

Compliance affects everyone in an appraisal office. It doesn’t matter if it’s a large or small shop, or if it’s the appraiser or the receptionist. There are industry regulations and state and federal laws creating high-anxiety hoops to jump through every day at every level – from Fannie and Freddie guidelines, to USPAP regs and workfiles, to digital signature laws, to state seal requirements.

The appraisal profession has slow to come to the realization that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) privacy and security regulations apply to it. In our Best Practices Series, we help you get up to speed.


Best Practices Series
Gramm-Leach-Bliley and appraisers
   
FTC GLB resources
GLB Index  |   GLB Summary
   
GLB Guidance from:
Appraisal Foundation  |   California's OREA
   
USPAP 2006
New Scope of Work rules
Copyright Protection

As a residential appraiser, you already own the copyright to your work, under federal law. Lenders, management companies and data resellers who have stripped your analysis, descriptions and opinions from your reports since then have been engaging in data theft. There is a way to stem this tide — not necessarily stop it, but be adequately compensated for it if you choose to do so.

The ultimate goal of the effort to get a small but significant percentage of appraisal reports registered with the U.S. Copyright Office is not to shut off the spigot of valuation information. The goal is to correct a glaring inefficiency in the market for appraisal data — namely, that you as an appraiser are not being compensated for your intellectual property.

The protection of your rights starts with you. Learn and understand your rights, and most importantly, exercise them. You value property belonging to others everyday; place a value on your own intellectual property assets.


Copyrighting Appraisal Reports
Panel Discussion at the 2005 a la mode
Las Vegas Convention.

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5

   
2005 Winter Convention
Dave Biggers' keynote address
   
U.S. Copyright Office
Home page  |  How to register your work
   
a la mode response to Appraisal Institute guidance on copyrighting
Read full story
AVMs and 'Appraisal Alternatives'

Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) and other cheap, fast "appraisal alternatives" will never replace a professional appraisal when it comes to responsible lending decisions, but they're aggressively marketed as competition for appraisers. Our stand has been clear for years: Appraisers are better than AVMs, period.


AVM - Friend or Foe?
Panel Discussion at the 2005 a la mode
Las Vegas Convention.

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4
     

 




Home | News | Search | Terms of Use | Site Map | Subscribe | Find a Real Estate Professional | Contact Us

a la mode and its products are trademarks or registered trademarks of a la mode, inc.
Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2009 a la mode, inc. 1-800-ALAMODE (252-6633)