Seller Appraisals, Price Per Square Foot, & Hiring a Competent Appraiser

06/18/18 • 25 min

In this interview, Scott Dugan—a Certified General Appraiser with 20+ years of luxury appraisal experience in the Las Vegas Valley—shares his professional insight on luxury home appraisals.
Price per square foot isn’t the only component to consider when appraising a luxury home. Find out what other variables appraisers use to determine a home’s value.
In the end, we share stories about deals that fell apart because the seller didn’t get an appraisal up front and discuss the rise of incompetent appraisers due to appraisal management companies.
***IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER***

When would a seller want to get an appraisal?
What is package price per square foot and how do appraisers use it?
What does an appraiser use when it comes to picking comps?
How long does the appraisal process take?
What can a seller do to help an appraiser maximize their valuation?

***MEMORABLE QUOTES***

“The good thing about getting an appraisal prior to selling is that it gives the seller some additional information that they can use for marketing.”
“A lot of appraisers in the market these days are rookies. They might come in low and ruin the deal.”
“Here’s my advice on using price per square foot: I recommend trying to be as ‘apples to apples’ as you can.”
“Give us figures on what you’ve spent, because that’s really helpful to an appraiser.”
“It’s really important for the buyer’s agent to make sure they’re using the best lender available—not just for the lending process, but for the appraisal process.”
“You have to know how to play the game to the best of your ability to get the sale consummated.”
“In order to get the interest rates we have today, you’d have to go back to the 1970s.”

***ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST***
Scott Dugan is a Nevada State Certified General Appraiser and since 1989 has held the Appraisal Institutes SRA designation of Senior Residential Appraiser. Over the past four plus decades, he has performed a wide variety of residential and small commercial assignments in the Southern Nevada area.
Scott specializes in the valuation of high-quality luxury homes, including estates and high-rise condominiums. He is a recognized expert for these properties by local Realtors, lenders, attorneys and the courts. Over the past decade or so, Scott has appraised nearly 60% of the $1,000,000 plus luxury homes sold through the Greater Las Vegas MLS.
***GET IN TOUCH WITH SCOTT***
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 702-876-2000
***ABOUT THE SHOW***
Welcome to Luxury Real Estate Talk, where you get expert advice on buying and selling Luxury Real Estate.
Learn from the best and brightest real estate agents, brokers, and other professionals, as they share real-life stories about the art and business of listing, marketing, selling, and buying high-end homes.
Through casual but insightful conversations, the Talk’s host Rob Jensen will help you master your understanding of the luxury real estate market.
Rob is the President and Owner/Broker of the Rob Jensen Company, which specializes in working with buyers and sellers in guard gated communities in Summerlin, Las Vegas, and Henderson, Nevada.
Rob's 15+ years of local industry expertise have made him a sought after real estate expert source with the media. He’s served as a guest commentator for numerous national broadcast television networks including MSNBC and BRAVO. He has also provided content and commentary to The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, BusinessWeek.com, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Real Estate Executive magazine, Growing Wealth magazine, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Additionally, Rob has penned a recurring monthly real estate column for the Las Vegas Business Press.

When would a seller want to get an appraisal?
What is package price per square foot and how do appraisers use it?
What does an appraiser use when it comes to picking comps?
How long does the appraisal process take?
What can a seller do to help an appraiser maximize their valuation?

***MEMORABLE QUOTES***

“The good thing about getting an appraisal prior to selling is that it gives the seller some additional information that they can use for marketing.”
“A lot of appraisers in the market these days are rookies. They might come in low and ruin the deal.”
“Here’s my advice on using price per square foot: I recommend trying to be as ‘apples to apples’ as you can.”
“Give us figures on what you’ve spent, because that’s really helpful to an appraiser.”
“It’s really important for the buyer’s agent to make sure they’re using the best lender available—not just for the lending process, but for the appraisal process.”
“You have to know how to play the game to the best of your ability to get the sale consummated.”
“In order to get the interest rates we have today, you’d have to go back to the 1970s.”

Previous Episode

Hawaii Vacation Rentals, Property Management, & Teamwork

Are you considering buying a property in a tourist destination?
Do you want to generate extra cash renting it out through Airbnb or other channels?
Where do you even start?
In this one-on-one with Munro Murdock—broker/owner of Love Hawaii Realty—we talk about acquiring, managing, and optimizing the revenue of vacation rentals in popular destinations like Hawaii.
***IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER***

Reasons why you might want to own a vacation rental.
What kind of returns buyers can expect on rental properties.
Why it’s not all about the return.
Some pros and cons of owning a rental property.
How to find peace of mind with whoever you have managing your property.
Where to buy vacation rentals.
Tips for landlords, even if they have a property manager, to get a good return.
How to make sure your property is maintained appropriately.
What it means to think from a guest’s perspective.
How to not miss opportunities to convert an inquiry into a booking.
Tips for operating a vacation rental.
How to decide whether you can manage a property by yourself.
Tips for hiring a property manager.
Advice for vacation rental owners to get the most out of their experience.
How to keep a pulse on the vacation market.
How to enhance the guest experience.
How to maximize the revenue of your vacation rental property.
The role of reviews in vacation rentals.
The importance of teamwork during this whole process.

***MEMORABLE QUOTES***

“When you look across the landscape of vacation rentals, there’s really something for everyone, and it’s just a matter of trying to match it up well.”
“Operating a full-time vacation rental is a part-time job at the very least.”
“A team always outperforms an individual.”
“Regardless of how many properties we manage, we always want to offer the same level of care and professionalism.”
“It’s not a set it and forget it business. It’s really not.”
“There needs to be accountability on all sides.”
“Owners that have vacation rentals need to be prepared and willing to re-invest some of the money into property care.”

***ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST***
Munro Murdock is a high-energy, tech-savvy real-estate professional committed to continuous learning and growth. He brings a vibrant positive energy to everything he does and is continuously innovating in the fields of real estate and property management in Hawaii.
He founded Love Hawaii Realty and Love Hawaii Villas in Kapolei, Hawaii on West Oahu in September 2017, after working for several of the top five real estate brokerages in Hawaii. Munro's entrepreneurial drive and ever-growing Team empowers him to consistently deliver a high-level of service to his valued Clientele.
Love Hawaii Villas, the vacation rental management division of Love Hawaii Realty, manages an exclusive portfolio of luxury oceanfront vacation rental condos in the Ko Olina Resort on West Oahu, sharing oceanfront beaches with the likes of Four Seasons, Disney Aulani Resort, Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club and soon-to-be, a newly constructed Atlantis Resort expected to be constructed in the coming years.
Munro leads a team of about 15 hospitality and real estate professionals who serve more than 4,000 vacation rental Guests each year, specializing in resort real estate and vacation rentals on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
***GET IN TOUCH WITH MUNRO***
Website: LoveHawaiiRealty.com
Phone Number: 808-492-6242
***ABOUT THE SHOW***
Welcome to Luxury Real Estate Talk, where you get expert advice on buying and selling Luxury Real Estate.
Learn from the best and brightest real estate agents, brokers, and other professionals, as they share

Next Episode

Armchair Experts, Lifestyle Marketing, & Print Advertising

This week, Terry Cohen—constantly ranked in the Top 1% of Agents Nationwide by the Wall Street Journal—shares her insight on a variety of luxury real estate topics, from navigating Broker/client relationships to lifestyle marketing and print media.
There’s a wealth of information available to so-called “armchair experts” these days, so what are buyers and sellers supposed to make of it all? In this one-on-one talk, Terry and I discuss all of this and more.
***IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER***

How to sort through all the knowledge available to buyers.
Why the right Broker can help you make the best decisions.
Ways to work with your Broker as a team.
Why “armchair experts” are so common these days.
Unrealistic expectations buyers have about getting a good deal.
The truth behind deep discounts.
Tips for pricing right.
Terry’s definition of value.
Whether price reductions make a seller look desperate.
What kind of social media marketing is working for Terry.
The importance of informative marketing.
Innovative lifestyle marketing ideas.
Whether print advertising is useful.
How to find qualified buyers through print.
Insights on Facebook’s organic reach.

***MEMORABLE QUOTES***

“If you have the right broker with you, you’ll end up getting the right house at the right price at the right time for yourself.”
“It’s our job as Brokers to make sure that the buyer understands and has trust in what we say.”
“Value isn’t necessarily a percentage off, it’s what you’re getting for the number.”
“There are always buyers out there who watch too much real estate TV and will offer some silly price out of the gate.”
“Being priced right and having the value there—that’s the most important thing.”
“You never know where a buyer will come from, so use all sorts of media.”
“Exposure is the name of the game.”

***ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST***
Terry Cohen joined Saunders & Associates as one of the first agents of this fast growing luxury real estate firm in the Hamptons. Since then she has participated in real estate sales exceeding $1 Billion.
The Hamptons real estate market is dynamic, always evolving, and it is essential for a good agent to understand changing market conditions and trends in every category. Terry knows that buyers are smarter than ever, and to best serve their needs it's essential for agents to respect the buyer's knowledge, to understand each client's unique needs, and to thoroughly understand the properties they represent.
Terry is dynamic and hardworking, and her knowledge base is constantly evolving. She deals with properties between one million and fifty million. Her integrity and loyalty have earned her repeat customers and personal relationships that endure well beyond the closing of the sale. These relationships that Terry has formed with the buyers, sellers and renters who continue to refer her and rely on her attentive service are the foundations of her success selling Hamptons real estate.
***GET IN TOUCH WITH TERRY***
Website: terrycohenrealestate.com
Phone Number: 631-804-6100
Email: [email protected]
***ABOUT THE SHOW***
Welcome to Luxury Real Estate Talk, where you get expert advice on buying and selling Luxury Real Estate.
Learn from the best and brightest real estate agents, brokers, and other professionals, as they share real-life stories about the art and business of listing, marketing, selling, and buying high-end homes.
Through casual but insightful conversations, the Talk’s host Rob Jensen will help you master your understanding of the luxury real estate market.
Rob is the President and Owner/Broker of the Rob Jensen Company, which specializes in working with buyers