OMG...You Can Judge a Book by Its Cover!
You know that old saying ...you can't judge a book by its cover- the directive often given when making assumptions about what may appear to be the truth about someone or something we don't have a whole lot of intimate knowledge about? I think the truest understanding of the intended message can once again be found in the scriptures where it tells us in Matt 12:33 about looking at the fruit of the tree if you want to determine just what kind of tree you have. To my dismay, the textbook that appraisers generally follow in the real estate industry has been replaced with a "revised" edition that I am not familiar with. A lender I was trying to use for a loan on my investment required me to get a new appraisal done. Having prior experience in real estate, I was aware of the property's estimated value. There were a plethora of comps in the area and there was actually a property that was a few houses down from mine, blocks away, that sold for 775,000 for one side of a townhouse duplex. The house had less sq footage than the home I'm rehabbing, was further away from the train station going into NYC and further away from the A+ rated school in the area- but, for some reason, the value given to my property was less than that of similar homes. I used to be an appraiser so understanding the criteria that should be used for valuation isn't foreign to me. Similar structures, with similar sq footage, with recent sales within a mile radius is ideal. Sometimes, depending on the area, you may have to go out further because there aren't any 'comparable' properties to the subject property but generally speaking, in a highly sought after community with lots of sales- where the average time of sale is days and not months, where the sale price is either at asking price or higher- appraisals are pretty straight forward. Hmmm....I know...conspiracy theories are big right now and I've often been accused of seeing a demon behind every bush but I don't have to go deep bush diving to understand the value determined by the appraiser's findings. Its like trying to add 1 and 1 but you keep coming up with 3! Either you don't know how to count or you're trying to convince me that I don't know how to add. What I do know is that 1 and 1 is 2 even though "alternative fact" pushers and the Jedi mind trick peddlers try to convince us that we should keep our eyes on the tree- that way you don't pay attention to the rotten, worm filled apples laying on the ground all around it. Case in point...Eric Trump's wife stating that her father in law's comments about a recent incident where a democratic governor was targeted for kidnapping and murder was just "having fun". This taking place at a super spreader rally where his fellow birds of a feather followers where in attendance. Now, I like to laugh as much as the next person but tangible real life death threats against someone that were thwarted -thank God, by the FBI is remarkably NOT funny; certainly not to the governor, her family or any decent human being. Frankly, its the kind of thing you would expect to hear from a sadist; a sicko, an evil-maniacal villain; or the kind of mass murderer that would put people in ovens and make jokes about a cook out! No! This is not normal. This is not just insensitive. This is not ignorant, innocent entertainment. This is deliberate. This is intentional. This is mean spirited, wicked and more importantly
DANGEROUS. I don't have to read through the appraisal handbook to understand why the appraiser came up with their conclusions about the value of my property and I certainly don't have to drink the Trump arsenic masked as kool-aid to know its poison and it'll kill you... and is killing us. C'mon y'all. Nov. 4, come on!. Until next week...