How To Get Appraisals In Real Estate: A Guide For Real Estate Agents

Appraisal versus Valuation: What’s the difference?

What is an Appraisal?

An Appraisal is carried out by a Real Estate Agent and only provides an estimate of what the property could fetch in the current market. 

The agent will be generating an estimate based on opinion and supported to a degree by the facts. 

This estimate is a reasonable opinion and not a legal valuation. The agent will revise the estimate up or down if the market changes when advertising. The agent will want to find out the highest and best use for the property and what could be the highest and best price achieved. 

Remember: The appraisal is intended as a general guide to pricing only and a market opinion on what could be achieved by exposing it far and wide to the potential marketplace.

An Appraisal is not a legal document and should be treated as a guide only – you cannot misrepresent this to the Vendors. 

What is a Valuation?

A Valuation can only be carried out by a qualified registered valuer and will provide a more definitive value of the property (usually done by banks, lenders, insurance, courts etc.). A valuation is a legally binding document. 

Valuers can disagree on price. There is also a component of risk that reduces when a valuation is completed. Banks prefer to reduce mortgage stress, the bank’s exposure to bad debt and the ability to recover a debt.

My Five Steps to Success to Get More Appraisals!

These are my five simple steps to success that you can follow to get more appraisals in real estate.

1. Sell Yourself: The Importance Of Looking Good

Most people say they don’t judge on outward appearances because it doesn’t sound all that great. 

But in fact, we all do. 

We hear that people won’t notice you or that they don’t judge by what they see. I say most people WILL notice your attire and attitude, and that goes for any client. 

Also, judging others is important. We judge many positive and negative things every day to protect, promote and provide opportunities to discuss business. We must assess the risks and uncover opportunities. It’s part of critical thinking and helps make important decisions in business.

“Judge, but don’t sentence” is what I always say. What do I mean by that? As an agent, you can judge someone, but no matter what their appearance is, you don’t dismiss them completely.

How you look is essential to creating a positive image. Hair should be neat and tidy, teeth should be clean, and you should have breath that’s non-offensive. Clothes are ironed or pressed with a tie, jacket, and polished shoes.

I expect business attire that is focused on the client and not providing a circus to distract attention from the purpose of your visit. If you want to wear fancy earrings or show off those tattoos, be prepared to be judged and if you don’t get the appraisal, don’t blame anyone. You can do something about that.

I spoke to a father and son recently. The son couldn’t understand why he should take his earrings out and cover his tattoos as his father had advised him. His father was desperate to get a message across to his son but couldn’t seem to get through to him.

I simply said to the son that: “When all the people that live in your area wear tattoos and the men wear earrings, then there will never be an issue. Until then, it’s your decision if you want to remove the barriers for others to do business with yourself, if you want to do business.”

Rock stars or ex-footballers may have tattoos, but they are known for some achievement or having a particular talent.

We are unknowns, and we want to be known.

We aren’t playing football or music; we are building relationships in property practice to make a name for ourselves. 

So what are we are trying to say about ourselves with our exterior appearance when we do this? We are reliable. We work hard, we are honest, and we do great business. We don’t want to say much else.

Let’s face it. You need the client. The client has a choice, and there are always other competitors who are aware, respectful, sincere and have an attitude that lends itself to building a solid relationship.

Focus on areas to earn business and remove the obvious and sometimes trivial barriers that prevent people from trusting you and providing you with an opportunity to appraise a property!

The Silent Salesperson In Action

The Silent Salesperson is working when you are not.

I’ve seen agents:

• litter papers down on the ground
• throw cigarettes out the window or in the garden
• spit on the ground
• engage in road rage as they park their car – yelling out at someone

You’re being watched, assessed and judged for everything others see or think you did. Even when you don’t see them, others can see you, including clients! 

So don’t park in the driveway. Always take off your shoes before walking through the house or take a cover for your shoes and carry them to go into the backyard.

I bet that some of you have seen a politician picking their nose or asleep in parliament when they are meant to be representing their constituents or the famous European football coach scratching his behind on national TV.

Is this a habit? Did they know or care? Are they aware of the potential damage to their reputation? Can they remove the evidence once it’s out there? No. On social media and TV, it’s there for all time, and you have no control over its distribution.

Present a Professional Proposal

The material you take with you and leave with the client is key to who you are and what you want to say. Everything needs to be purposeful and play a role in you saying something positive or supportive to your overall pitch to getting an appraisal and the listing.

Your proposal needs to be presented professionally bound and your business card attached. Use colour, pictures, movement, graphs, analytical data and words to describe your position and that of the client and how you will represent the client and benefit their position to great advantage. 

You understand the highest and best use and the highest and best price and how to market the property.

Your one-page proposal on your letterhead should say:

You should include in your proposal:

You can use technology to demonstrate your services and tools to maximise exposure of the property to the market. 

The more organised you are and prepared, the better you will perform because you’re focused on the client, and you have support for what you say. The client can see and rely on this in concert with what you say. 

The silent salesperson will come into play when you leave. 

Your proposal and information will be sitting there alongside your competitors. 

Whose materials will say I’m more professional and be more likely to be picked up by the client?

I can tell you. If a competitor sees your professionally bound materials and business card there, they will probably think, oh gee, look at my paperwork stapled and bent up at the edges. 

It’s a mental edge over your competitor and impacts the client’s decision criteria. The client will pick up your proposal first and last. 

Different areas require different pitch types, but you will need the minimum required to comply by law.

2. Remain Ethical

• mislead and deceive
• commit fraud
• commit criminal theft
• systematically harass clients and customers
• constantly use high-pressure tactics to close sales

OR if someone asked you:

“Would you do me a favour and openly lie about the estimated selling price to get the listing?”

“Can you under-quote it in advertising to get more buyers?”

“Could you misquote the likely starting bids or reserve at an upcoming auction to get more people to attend auction day?”

What would your response be?

A definite NO would be the answer to all of these!

If you said yes to any of the above, then think twice about having a long and successful career in real estate.

3. Pursue Continuous Improvement Of Industry Knowledge

Knowledge is a commitment to understanding real estate law and how best to perform.

As agents, we need to understand the relevant forms and required tools in Real Estate. 

We need to understand how to write compelling and focused letters. 

We need to know how to make the most out of personalising information based on opinion, actionable knowledge and trustworthy third-party sources such as Pricefinder to put together what we want to convey to our clients – what will make us stand out from the competition.

Your knowledge of the facts (the law) will be essential to overcome what the competitor does and says. 

Sometimes a competitor will use illegal tactics and strategies, which unfortunately can become a common practice for an office or agent, simply because they are unchallenged.

You must commit to increasing your knowledge to challenge everything, so the full truth is found based on substantiated law and experience. 

Basic knowledge of consumer rights and access to factsheets and cooling-off periods are essential.

Subscribe to email updates from your government regulator and keep up to date.

You can even predict an outcome based on your past experience and knowledge. You can be confident in testing or trying situations. So perform well and get experience to build up your know-how!

4. Set Goals And Engage In Self-Belief

Belief is crucial to any goal you decide to set. Any outcome achieved from a set goal will be hinged on your faith or belief in it. 

So, start by writing down the number of appraisals you want every month starting the next full month. Write it somewhere where you will see it every day. 

Write it down as if you’ve already achieved it: I achieve ‘ ‘ appraisals per month. 

Make that your target. Believe it!

I hope you wrote down a healthy number to achieve!

To achieve these appraisals, we need to rediscover some things, so read on.

Every year, many who enter the real estate industry endeavour to make a positive contribution and statement in real estate. They want to become a well-known, respected agent who people can trust, so when they think of selling or buying, they think of them first.

I went to a university graduation ceremony recently, and the university dean said to all the graduates: “This (certificate & graduation) guarantees your success into the future and congratulations to all of you. You have made it.”

I sat in the audience and thought of all these poor students being misled. 

They were being told how good they were before they had even done a single thing with these qualifications. The university is only saying goodbye, thanks for coming and good luck in our false hope. 

In reality, the students will need more than their certificates. They need self-belief and industry experience to truly make it!

My friends and family claim that I do well in real estate because I can communicate. That I am friendly and energetic. I think it’s important to afford myself that claim, don’t you? If you said not really, then your belief is confirming a negative. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to real estate or have been in this for many years. 

We need to break a few plates to make it. 

We need to break any ingrained negative beliefs to create new ones to generate a different response and then a different outcome.

If we can’t do that, then we may as well give up. Did you say yes again?

Don’t! Don’t give up because you’re the best supporter you have. Yes, you! 

With only your mindset, you can achieve the unbelievable and create 30 appraisals a month to generate the listings required to run your business and make a professional living from agency practice.

Yes, set your standards high. 

You will be surprised when you start behaving to those standards. Those around you will buy into your paradigm, and they will follow the standards you set.

Action without thinking. To learn something, we may need to do it many times until it becomes a subconscious action.

Bad beliefs and actions can take hold and reoccur again and again. We should be aiming to create kind, positive and ethical beliefs and actions. 

1. First, you must consciously commit to changing poor actions or habits for a month. 
2. We then acknowledge the poor actions, thoughts or efforts- what they are and how they are impacting negatively on my business or practices as an agent. 
3. Then finally you make sure you experience and recognise the results of your improved operations that are natural and produce the best results.

Success and results are not is not a usual occurrence for everybody. Even a genius or talented person with personality, skills and intelligence will need to make a real effort to get the best results. The key is how quickly they adapt and change to get the results.

Basically, it’s about removing the mental barriers/the poor beliefs and actions that stop you from getting more appraisals. You want to be to be reaching your appraisals goal for the month.

5. Give Your Best Effort

You will need to manage your time and effort and invest a lot of energy to produce the income yield, client satisfaction and referral base of a professional agent. 

You commit to goals and overcome the typical barriers by showing effortless and bountiful energy to complete your mission. 

Is it too much effort to brush your teeth before going to bed? Or is it a discipline of yours? An effort you commit to as a standard? Something you will not deviate or compromise on because it’s so important to you. 

Do your facial expressions or body language give it away? 

Or does the purpose of all your effort amount to the reason you get the clients business because of the 1% they see in you they can’t see in others?

Effort + knowledge (over time) = consistency, change and eventual success

In sport, it’s all about leg speed, and in real estate, it’s all about mind and effort to find a way or a solution and never give up. 

You can’t sell a secret!

It’s a saying that’s been around for a while, but it never gets old. If you remain a secret, how will you get more appraisals? 

You must market yourself! Facebook, LinkedIn and Messenger Apps…

You must always serve the consumer first. It’s all about them!

Set your goals high and work hard at it!

My TOP 30 Tips For Getting Appraisals In Real Estate and Building Contacts!

Here are 30 tips, and they are all going to work, but you must sustain the effort over time to get the results.

The idea of this list is to get you to engage and start thinking about ways you can approach the problem of not having enough appraisals or contacts in general!

Most importantly, have a great time and enjoy prospecting. 

Final Thoughts

Well, there you have it; I hope you’ve enjoyed this free training session on how to get appraisals for real estate agents!

Let me know how you go! 

I want to hear your results! 

Leave a comment below or message me on the LiveChat.

Feel free to get in touch with us to answer any other questions you might have, and be sure to think of Connect Skills Institute for when you need to upgrade your real estate license!

Until next time! 🙂