When I was 20 years old, I received some specialized training on how to study fingerprints. The class started with about 20 people and by the end, only four of us graduated. Myself and two others were hired by the Denver Police Department as fingerprint examiners. Why such a low graduation rate? It's not rocket… Continue reading Valuations, Identification & Human Perception
Often, when appraising homes, I see MLS listings that call a shed an out building. Ask any appraiser and they will likely say that a shed is not an outbuilding. So, are sheds outbuildings? Sometimes it's good to just get the definition from the dictionary and then go from there. According to Merriam Webster's dictionary,… Continue reading Are Sheds Outbuildings?
The great thing about land is that no matter what may happen to the structures on it, the land is always there. A structure can be torn down and a new one built. With home ownership, we usually take this for granted. However, there are locations in which this may not always be the case!… Continue reading Shrinking Lots and Eroding Values
You may have never heard the word fenestration until reading an appraisal report. What is it? It is the design and positioning of windows and other openings in a building. Imagine this room, pictured below, without any windows. Or maybe just a small window or two. It would not be nearly as appealing, would it?… Continue reading What is Fenestration and How Can it Affect Value?
What does tandem mean? The idea of something being tandem literally means one thing that is behind another. What comes to your mind when you think of the word tandem? Sky diving, kayaking, a tandem bicycle? Perhaps a tandem unicycle? In these situations, there is one person in the front and one person in the back.  In many of… Continue reading Do Tandem Bedrooms and Garages Impact Value?
