Essentials of Effective Communication

If you have recently reviewed education catalogs, you may find that an overwhelming number of appraisal courses available have to do with developing assignment results, often intently focused on methods and techniques. However, communication of assignment results is the only way clients know if we performed correctly.

Communication begins before an appraisal assignment is even accepted by an appraiser. When the appraisers are first contacted by a client, the thought of the appraisal problem to be solved begins to percolate, sometimes directly with a prospective client and sometimes through email correspondence and information based on research or knowledge at hand. The communication aspect concludes when a completed appraisal is transmitted to the client. Reputation, public trust, and competency are all weighed heavily through what an appraiser says or does not say. The appraisers’ opinions and conclusions are at the very least book ended by communication—and without the correct communication on either end, or as appropriate during an assignment, the assignment results may not be the appropriate solution to the appraisal problem. Clients may be dissatisfied if they must read 10 pages explaining the origin of a town when they just want to know about the effect of a new mixed-use development on the real estate values of the surrounding properties. Conversely, appraisers may have learned that functional issues are persistent in all properties in a particular neighborhood and a non-factor, but the client may not sufficiently understand that issue unless it is properly communicated.

There is foundational knowledge built within professional standards and within the body of knowledge on appraisal theory about how to develop a credible opinion of value, but the reporting objectives read like a checklist as opposed to a process.

The 3-hour course, Essentials of Effective Communications, is designed to reintroduce you to the concept of scope of work and communication but from a different perspective—the perspective of how solving the appraisal problem is intrinsic to essential communication. We will do this by dissecting the appraisal problem characteristics, including intended use, intended user, and type and definition of value, to better understand how these characteristics shape the content and structure of appraisal reports and ultimately provide effective communication with our clients.