The Personal Property Appraisers Post

By Todd W. Sigety, ISA CAPP

The National Association of Realtors recently released results from its 2009 technology survey. Many aspects of the survey don’t specifically transfer to professional personal property appraisers, but the one aspect that caught my eye was social networking. Brian Hiatt of Collector Pro software has posted on the Appraisers Post in the past on technology issues in general and on specific areas such as social networking. I would like to pass along some results from the Realtors survey on social networking. I do believe social networking can be useful and the Realtor survey results can also apply to professional personal property appraisers. (Click on the graphs for an expanded view, and on the back button to return to the post.)

The Realtor survey shows that many realtors network through social network sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. The survey states that 47% of the respondents are either extremely comfortable or comfortable with social networking, while 27% are somewhat comfortable, 10% uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable. The report revealed only 16% did not use or experiment with social networking programs. That means nearly 84% of the survey respondents have tried social networking. Also very telling, in the 2008 Realtor Technology survey 67% responded they did not use social media. In one years time, usage of social networking sites went from 33% surveyed to 84% having used or tried social networking. That is an amazing increase in usage growth over a single year. It is no cliche, today technology does move quickly. (To Read the Rest of the article click the Read More Link below)

This is the first in a series of articles on how to use technology to enhance your professional appraising practice.

In the first 10 years, the Internet was mainly used for email, instant messaging, and web sites. Some companies built powerful web-based applications such as banking and information exchanges. A couple of years ago a seemingly new use for the Internet exploded in the media. Of course I am talking about MySpace and some other social networking sites. While MySpace has received considerable negative press (much of it deserved), there are other services that allow a professional to promote their practice in a business-like manner.

This article will discuss a free web service called LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional networking site. Appraisers can create a professional profile and connect with other professionals in the appraising, insurance, and legal professions. The idea behind LinkedIn is to promote your practice in a professional and consistent manner. LinkedIn also allows you to stay connected with your peers, clients, and business partners quickly and easily.

Back in the 1980’s a saying was; “It is who you know”. An appropriate saying for this century is; “It is who you know, and how much you know”. How do you let people know how much you know? One way is to provide information that shows you know your business, and that you are an expert in your field. This can be done through email, newsletters, and snail mail. (Click Read More for the rest of the article)