_Todd Huttunen began appraising more than 20 years ago with a few years off in between to pursue a career in cabinet making. He relegated that to hobby status and is currently an appraiser in an assessor’s office. His best friend dubbed him The Hall Monitor because of his rigidity and respect for rules. He offers Soapbox readers tongue-in-groove insight on appraisal issues. Today Todd suggests we all rip the Caps Lock key from our keyboard._ …Jonathan Miller

I’M BEGINNING TO WISH SOMEONE WOULD JUST GO AHEAD AND NAME THEIR COMPANY CAPS LOCK AND BOILERPLATE APPRAISAL, INC.

CLIENTS CAN’T HELP BUT BE IMPRESSED WHEN THEY OPEN AN APPRAISAL THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS. NOTHING SAYS QUALITY, THOROUGHNESS, AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL QUITE LIKE A REPORT WRITTEN IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

WHEN THE BODY OF THAT REPORT INCLUDES BOILERPLATE COMMENTS THAT DON’T APPLY TO THE PROPERTY BEING APPRAISED, SO MUCH THE BETTER. AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SHOW EM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME TYPOS IN THE BOILERPLATE.

Now I realize that appraisers need to use all the tools available to them in order to work efficiently enough to make a living. The programs out there today are truly fantastic and light years ahead of the literal “cut and paste” drafts I wrote by hand before giving them to a secretary to type when I started appraising in 1985. Does anybody remember [Forms and Worms](http://www.formsandworms.com/)?

In a way, the technology available today makes the caps lock and boilerplate sloppiness even more unforgivable since you really only have to do it slowly one time. One carefully crafted phrase per section (maybe three for market conditions property values are up, down, stable) followed by spell check and that should hold you for years.

There certainly are appraisers out there who are doing quality work and know how to use the shift key. But of the appraisals that come into my office, about three out of four are SCREAMING. And no matter what words they write, this is what I read: I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO TYPE AND THIS IS FASTER. NO ONE REALLY READS THIS STUFF ANYWAY (unfortunately, that is frequently true).

If your reports look like a tabloid newspaper headline, do yourself and your clients a favor. Leave the caps lock for those occasions where it’s appropriate, like [DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN](http://www.historybuff.com/library/reftruman.html) (come to think of it, maybe that’s not the best example either and without question some of you are wondering, Who’s Dewey and what did he win? ).

By the way, for those of you who may have been wondering why I’m called the Hall Monitor, I trust this post has answered that question.

5 Comments

  1. Mark November 2, 2006 at 3:40 pm

    While I understand your concerns, I heartily disagree with your conclusion.
    I used to feel the same way (though, not nearly to the same degree) until I began working for an appraisal firm that REQUIRED all caps. Here’s what I learned: Some of their clients REQUESTED full capitalization. Their argument was that the report was more readable because the field data was clearly distinguished from the field titles. Also, they claimed that the text for the data was easier to read (which it clearly is). Later, I also received positive feedback from new clients when they first received one of my reports. The illustration you made by typing in all caps at the beginning is bogus, unless of course, your software also puts all the field titles in caps. (mine does not). What you say about boilerplate is true. Nothing should ever be copied over without thought – and certainly not without a final check to verify relevance. Other than these fine points, I agree with you entirely!

  2. Jonathan J. Miller November 2, 2006 at 3:49 pm

    That is really a weak argument. People read words using using the shapes as a guide. An all caps word looks the same – its a basic rectangle. Its just harder to read. To type all caps to separate it from the form text is also weak reasoning. Use a different font! How hard can that be? Can you imagine the New York Times or any periodical using all caps – it would be unreadable. Ask yourself why publications don’t do that…because its hard to read! While I don’t doubt that one of your clients appreciated it, what about all your other clients that never said anything to you? Sometimes I get frustrated at how stuck in the dark ages our profession can be.

  3. Tim M November 3, 2006 at 12:33 am

    “One carefully crafted phrase per section (maybe three for market conditions property values are up, down, stable) followed by spell check and that should hold you for years. “

    With all due respect, if the quote above is your idea of an appraisal report, one which “says quality, thoroughness, and attention to detail”, it pretty much invalidates everything else you have to say. While some statements and comments may certainly be saved in a database to save repetitive typing, true reporting of a detailed analysis could never be accomplished by “one carefully crafted phrase per section”. Good Grief.

  4. Koby November 3, 2006 at 12:37 am

    Since we’re on the topic of what sort of terrible things they used to do back in the old days, let’s talk about the attitude of “MY way is the bestest way and ALL other appraisers who do it their way are DEAD WRONG, therefore I shall report them to the board because MY way is the bestest way and ALL other appraisers….”

    On the other hand, typing in all caps is kind of tackey and poor grammer is even tackier. But tackiest of all is a cocky “good ol’ boy” appraiser.

  5. The Hall Monitor November 4, 2006 at 10:58 am

    Tim – I should have made it clear that “one carefully…” applies to the parts of the report where boilerplate is appropriate. Limiting Conditions and Certification definitely. But there’s nothing wrong with fill in the blank boilerplate for market conditions. “According to MLS, there have been ___ sales in the subject neighborhood in the last twelve months with an average sale price of ___ and a median price of ___ as compared with the previous twelve month…” I guess in that case it’s not really boilerplate. Thanks.

    Koby- This cocky “good ol boy” appraiser thanks you for your comment. By the way, there’s no e in tacky.

    H.M.

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