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Web tips for appraisers
This article was previously published in Appraisal Today and was written by Ann O'Rourke.
It is copyrighted. For reprint permission, Contact Us.
Like most appraisers, every week I get a few
strange phone calls. Last week a caller said she was looking for a long lost friend by
calling real estate offices. (I have no idea why she looked under the real estate
appraiser section of the Yellow Pages.) I suggested she look on the Internet.
She didn't have Internet access, so I told her to ask around among her
friends and relatives. With more and more American households having Internet access, plus
many accessing the Internet at work, at least one of them was likely be on the Internet.
White and Yellow Page telephone directories are accessible through several Web sites.
Whenever I want to know something, I go to the Internet first.
Information is not always there, but it usually is. I recently appraised a life estate,
and wanted IRS information. I found the IRS monthly interest rates, the entire U.S. tax
code, the Society of Actuaries (for life expectancy information), and a phone number for
the appropriate IRS department.
Recently, an appraiser appraising a service station said he spent a few
hours on the Web and got more information on the industry than he could ever use.
How can appraisers use the Web?
Every appraiser who does commercial appraisals, apartments, or unusual
residential appraisals should be on the Web today to do research on their appraisals. Even
if you don't do those types of appraisals, you can get information, such as copies of
Fannie's 2055 form and letters to lenders. I regularly publish the Web addresses for that
type of information in this newsletter.
If you're concerned about federal and state legislative issues, check
the Web. All federal documents are available and many states have put all their
legislative information online.
If you use software and hardware, you should be on the Web to get
updates, help in solving problems, read reviews of hardware and software, etc. Even if you
use a computer consultant, you will have Web access available if he or she needs it while
in working your company's offices.
Finding stuff on the Web
The Web is not like going to your comp data source and pulling comps.
It is more like going to a library, where you look around for relevant information. You
use the Web for leads, that will lead you to useful information.
For example, you are appraising a straw house (walls filled with
straw). You go to a search engine such as www.altavista.digital.com and type in
"straw house." (NOTE: be sure to enclose the phrase in double quotes. Otherwise
you will get hits on both straw and house, definitely way too many to wade through!) You
find Web sites that have information on construction, a trade association, a listing for a
straw house, and appraiser discussion on straw houses. You take the leads and make some
phone calls, and send email messages.
Or, you are appraising a proposed condo project, or a unit in an
existing project, and remember reading something about the project in the local newspaper.
You go to the newspaper's Web site and search for stories on the condo project, such as
"Willow Glen". To find the Web site address of the newspaper, you look on the
front page of the paper, or use a search engine, for example, typing in "St. Louis
Dispatch".
Sometimes your search is more straightforward. For example, you need a
phone number of a buyer, seller, or owner of a property. You go to one of the several
white page phone book sites, such as www.switchboard.com. Or, you are doing an appraisal
of a medical office building and want the addresses of all the nearby similar buildings.
You go to www.bigbook.com for addresses and phone numbers of physicians' offices.
What is the Web?
The Web is a way to store and access information on the Internet. Prior
to the Web, other text-based software programs were used, such as Gopher. Sometimes when
you are searching for information on the Internet, you will be sent to a Gopher accessible
Internet site, often operated by a government agency.
The computer with the data is set up for Gopher, not Web browser,
access. The data is stored, viewed, and retrieved as ASCII text. When you see the letters,
gopher:// instead of http:// (hypertext transfer protocol), you are accessing text-based
data. These computers are gradually being changed to Web-based computers.
The key to the Web is hypertext, which has been around for many years.
With hypertext, you click on a word in a document, and you go immediately to another part
of the document. Windows Help uses hypertext. The next time you use a Windows program,
click on "help." You will see words outlined in a contrasting color. When you
click on that word, you go to another part of the document on your disk.
The Web works the same way. You can click on a word (link) and to
another part of the Web page, or another Web page. Since you are logged onto the Internet,
when you click on a link you probably will be going to a completely different Web site on
a computer in another part of the world.
That's why they called it the Web, and also why it can be so addictive!
What is a Web address?
When you type in a Web address, technically called a URL (Universal
Resource Locator), a message is sent over the Internet looking for the computer (server)
that has that file. For example, www.norwalknews.com/appraisers/
jjones/qual.htm. Jane Jones has her home page, the first file you see in her Web site
(jjones.htm), in the appraisers section (appraisers) of her ISP (norwalknews). The
qual.htm on the end refers to the file that has her page of qualifications. The file is
located in a standard DOS/Windows subdirectory/folder format.
Jane Jones' real address is 230.24.1235.22, which is how your browser
finds her Web site on the Internet. Fortunately, we only have to type in norwalknews
instead of the all the numbers in her IP (Internet Protocol) address. Eight computers
around the world, run by volunteers, maintain records of what names go with IP addresses.
What is a Web browser?
Many people get Internet access, the Internet, and a Web browser
confused. Netscape Navigator is a Web browser, a software program that allows you to view
files stored on servers (computers) in a graphical format. You access those files over the
Internet using the dial up services provided by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Some people get their ISP set up when they install their Netscape
Navigator software program, which also allows you to sign up with Netcom, PSINet, or other
ISPs.
Web browsers also have email and newsgroup software within the program,
so you don't have to go to another program to get your email.
A few browser tips
Browsers are usually set up to start with a specific home page, such as
www.netscape.com. That's why Netscape's site is always is Number One on hit counts. All
browsers allow you to change your start up page, or just leave it blank. I have a blank
home page. Some use a news Web site, others a search site such as www.excite.com or
www.altavista.digital.com.
Type a backslash at the end of the Web address. For example
www.yahoo.com/. This can often speed things up as it helps the software find and access
the particular file faster.
Set your browser to download text first, then images. Many sites have
huge images on their home pages that take quite a while to download. At least you can look
at the text and see if you want to wait for the image to download.
Use the stop button liberally. Sometimes a site will get "hung
up" when being downloaded. Stopping and restarting can speed things up.
You don't have to type http:// into most browsers. The software
automatically fills it in for you.
Like most computer programs, browsers are really picky about spelling.
If you have a typo in an address, you'll get an error message. If it's a long address, you
can try just typing the first part, then adding the rest gradually, until you find the
spelling error.
If you want to see what HTML coding looks like, go to view, then source
code. There are not many secrets on the Internet!
How to get Web addresses
Most of us find a "key" site, with links to other related
sites. For example, www.uli.org for commercial appraisers. If you don't have a key site,
you can start with a search engine, which is a Web site that allows you to search the Web
for words or phrases. Some of them are: www.altavista.digital.com, www.excite.com, or
www.yahoo.com.
Getting Web address from print publications is ironic, but I found out
about many of my favorite Web sites by articles in newspapers, particularly local papers
here in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the past year, it seems like almost every business,
and lots of people have their own Web sites, so reading about the site helps me decide if
I want to access it.
In the past year, I have increasingly used email mailing lists to let
me know about good sites. If you're on my weekly email list, you get ones I find useful.
Can you trust information on the Web?
When accessing a site, I first look at the Web site address. If it ends
in "edu", it is done by an educational organization. If it ends in
"org", it is done by a nonprofit organization. "Gov" is for government
sites. "Com" is for commercial (profit making) organizations. I am more likely
not to question information on an edu or gov site than information on a com site. Org
sites vary. If it is a trade association, the information often tends to be promotional,
but it should be reliable.
If you want more information, go to www.internic.net and search for
information on the domain name. For example, if you looked for my domain name,
appraiz.com, you would find out who owns the domain name (me), my phone number, and my
address. You will also find out my ISP's name, address, and phone number. Several times I
have called the phone numbers I got from the Internic site to find out more about who was
in charge of a Web site.
I am always continually surprised at all the free information provided
by commercial Web sites. Commer-cial sites are for promotional purposes. However, savvy
companies know that if all they provide is sales information, not very many people will
visit their sites. So, they put free information, if only links to other sites that have
useful information.
One of the biggest problems with the Web is "dead" Web sites,
even from major corporations. Once you put the files for your Web site on a server, and
keep paying your bill, the site can be accessed. The site provides outdated information,
often months out of date. Look for a date somewhere on one of the pages. That will really
help. Also, dates sometimes appear in the text. For example, referring to an
"upcoming" meeting that occurred months ago.
The other side of "dead" sites is sites that seem to change
on a weekly, or even daily, basis. A site that never changes is a "uncool" on
the Web (from Web designers point of view, anyway). For users, it means having to learn to
navigate the redesigned site.
What are some good Web addresses?
Many appraisers (and other users) have a hard time finding stuff on the
Web, and give up after a few hours. Using a search engine can be daunting if you get
20,000 hits!
The best way to get started on the Web is to find a "key"
site with links to related sites.
For commercial appraisers, try the Urban Land Institute's Web site,
www.uli.org and Peter Pike's site at www.pikenet.com. There are lots of excellent links to
commercial real estate sites.
Try Web sites maintained by appraisal associations. Check out
www.appraisalinstitute.org and www.naifa.com.
Many software vendors have sites. Check out your forms vendors site,
and word processing program's site. If you use a digital camera, check out the vendor's
site.
See if your city has a Web site. Use a search engine or call them on
the phone.
Most appraisers want to see what other appraisers' sites look like. Two
sites have links to appraiser sites, with ratings. Both sites are oriented to real estate
sales. For residential, go to www.ired.com . For
commercial, go to www.pikenet.com . Both have lots of
other information and links also.
The Web changes so frequently, I am reluctant to put many Web addresses
in print, particularly in a "reference" article like this one. But key sites
usually keep their links updated. Also, I regularly publish Web addresses both here and in
my weekly email newsletters so you can find out about the latest links.
If you're looking for information on a specific topic, such as
veterinary clinics, you will have to start with a search engine. It seems intimidating
when you first use one, but you really only need to search for awhile until you find a key
site, with links to other sites. Just be sure to include your search phrase in quotes, for
example "service stations".
Where to get more information
Many appraisers try to use the Internet, but don't really know what to
look for. The best way I know of is to get a list of Web addresses, and go through them.
Or, use a search engine and find Web sites for a personal interest, such as Mayan history,
or the San Francisco Giants baseball team.
I got my husband online because he was complaining about the time I
spent on the Internet. Then we got a special modem line installed. Now we fight over who
can get online. Warning: the Web can be addictive!
But the best way to find out about the Web is "just do it!"
Reprinted from Appraisal Today Newsletter. Written by Ann
O'Rourke
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