Why Bother Hiring an Appraiser?
Why bother hiring a business appraiser? For the same reasons you would hire any professional:
- We “profess” something. We commit to using our knowledge and skills with our best ability and judgement to help others.
- Doctors commit to healing and doing no harm.
- Attorneys commit to upholding the law and pursuing justice.
- Appraisers commit to upholding the public good. (Think of the ‘05 housing crisis. Some appraisers over-valued properties to meet clients’ demands, now the SEC and states regulate residential appraisers.)
- We follow professional standards and experience consequences if we diverge from them.
- Doctors can lose their licenses for malpractice.
- Attorneys can be de-barred from their state bar associations.
- Appraisers can be suspended from their accrediting organizations.
- Professionals spend substantial time exchanging information with peers and engaging in education.
- Professionals have continuing education requirements.
- Professional firms encourage and reward participation in the industry – presenting at conferences, publishing papers and mentoring others.
- Professionals concentrate on their specialty day-in and day-out, gaining experience creating solutions for many cases.
- Professionals have industry resources
- Firms subscribe to databases, publications and resources with current market data and up-to-date research. While these subscriptions are expensive, firms can spread out the cost among practitioners and many engagements.
- Most professionals have a niche that makes them a specialist, giving them in-depth knowledge and experience that only comes from many hours of practice.
- Specialists share their expertise with other professionals in their industry, making the collective knowledge base far greater than any individual’s knowledge or experience.
Who can best represent your interests? A professional with the education, experience and supportive environment to meet your needs or a “rule of thumb” to value your life’s work? What quality of answer could you get from Google and Chat GPT?
Yes, professionals can be expensive, but on a net basis, they will likely save or make more money for you than you could on your own. It gives you more time to focus on what you do best. Working with the right professionals also gives you peace of mind, as you work to make fully informed decisions and reach the best solutions.