 Hi, I'm Realtor Sara Morrow with Cell State Ace Realty. Today I'm joined by Kristin Fleckenstein of Hammond Appraisals. Kristin's father, Dawn Hammond, established this long-launded-based family-run business in the mid-70s, and after putting in her 2,000 hours required for licensure, Kristin became an appraiser herself in the mid-90s. She and her husband have run Hammond Appraisals ever since, and though she serves both Denver Metro and Boulder County, she especially loves scoping out and valuing the historic and unique homes of Longmont. She's been married for the same 30 years that she's been in business. She's got three sons and an adorable grandson, and they're a huge Colorado sports family. She's also an avid golfer, who I am just delighted to have here today. Kristin helped me through a really difficult time, and I cannot recommend her professional assessment and conduct enough if you are looking to come out on top when valuing your home. Kristin, thank you so much for being here. Hi, Sara. Thanks. You're welcome. Let's dive right in. Why don't you tell us a little bit about Hammond Appraisals, the business, how you got started, and what you love about your role. Sure, sure. Hammond Appraisals is a small family-run company. My husband and I are the current active appraisers, and my father, Dawn Hammond, started this company in the 1970s here in Longmont. In Longmont, small business, family business. So your maiden name is Hammond. It is. Okay. You're the second generation. I'm the second generation. And the verdict is still out on the third potential takeover. Is that? Correct, correct. My oldest son is considering. Cool. Okay. Okay. So let's just dive in. I mean, the burning question really is, like, what's an appraisal? I get that question all the time. Sure, sure. Well, an appraisal is a professional opinion or estimate, actually, of the market value of a house. Cool. I don't have an idea of opinion, but it's a professional coming in and doing an assessment to get as close to an estimated market value as they can. Yes. So can we talk about, because as a realtor, I do what we call CMAs for people of time. I generally do them for free. CMA is a comparative market analysis, but I'm strictly using recently sold comparables or comps. And I know that there are BPO's, broker's price opinions. I don't really consider myself a BPO person because a bank doesn't call me up for my expert opinion. I think the banks have their, like, managing brokers and their very, you know, esteemed colleagues do that, people who have been in the business maybe longer than me. But then there's also an appraisal. So maybe you can tell us, like, what really is the difference between, like, my CMA, a different broker's BPO, a price opinion? And then I assume, I always assume that appraisers have this, like, quiver of tools, this arrow quiver full of just, yeah, you use comps, but don't you use a lot of other factors? Yes, we do. I would say the level of detail is what differs among the three. The CMA is probably the least detailed. Broker's price opinions sometimes, appraisers do broker's price opinions as well as realtors. And then an appraisal is the most detailed. I see. So there are differences between BPO's and appraisals. You being someone who does both, it's just really the level of detail and granular assessment. Yes. Yes. Can you give us a sense of some of those factors? Like, is it true that, okay, this person lives on a busy road, deduct 5,000 points from Gryffindor? Like, are you putting price tags on features of homes? Well, it varies for every property. It varies for the market we're in. And it is big. An appraiser bases our adjustments on the market and what we're seeing for those things. And that's part of the sales comparison approach, which we're using comparables like you would. So would you say that's like 85, 90% of what you're doing? Like, because when I do it, it's just the comps. That's the only thing I'm really taking into consideration. I guess the finish is, I guess the age, I guess the average price per square foot, which is above grade. I know you're looking at all that, but like, are you saying that the comps really are the heaviest factor? Typically speaking, yes. You know, if a property is an income producing property, typically a two to four unit property, then typically a two to four unit income producing property. Income producing. I was trying to hear the word comparable in there, income producing. Then we have what is known as the income approach. And then we calculate how the income generated income will produce value. So are you only looking at that from an investor standpoint or also residential? Residential as well. And sometimes even on single family houses and condominiums, if it's in a highly, highly rented area, then that may also factor in. I've heard about desktop drive by, what are the different types of appraisals that are out there? Well, a desktop is strictly completed from our desk based on maybe MLS data, tax assessor's data, and... And comps. Exactly, yeah. And then a drive by appraisals is pretty much what it sounds. We stop in front of the house from the street and do an exterior only inspection from a public road. And then a full appraisal is when we go out to the site, measure the property, go through the interior, and it's obviously the most detailed. I see. So you're using the land assessment from the tax assessor's site. Are you using photos ever on the desktop or the drive by versions? Or is the inside of the house really reserved just for these full appraisals? If it's available, we will use that information. Sometimes it's available from us having completed an appraisal before on the property. Sometimes it's sold recently and then we have information on MLS data. So you do use all sources you can when giving a value of a home? Or do you try to keep it like if it's desktop, if a desktop is ordered or a drive by one is ordered, are you not supposed to use all those sources of information or do you just use it no matter what you can find? I use it no matter what I can find. Use everything you can find. Absolutely. I think it's better when I have more data. Sure. I just didn't know if maybe you couldn't because what if they did a rehab and you couldn't get in there. I didn't know if there was like a rule about, well, we're only doing a desktop or we're only doing a strictly drive by. No, I think that more isn't better. Absolutely. More info is better. Okay. That's good to know. So I guess I also am wondering when you assign a value to a home, let's say single family here in Longmont, three bedroom, two bath, is that a range? Or are you giving like $1 sticker number? It is an actual number. A suggested list price. It is. It is. There are certain cases where we may provide a range to a client, but ultimately we also give a specific assigned value. Is that usually like a suggested list price or is that up to the realtor? I would say that's up to the realtor. Okay. You're just strictly value. Absolutely. Okay. And can you tell us like, who is, I know you work closely with realtors, who is your client though? Is it generally a bank that orders the appraisal on behalf of a buyer and then once you get that appraised number that's what goes in with the contract, with the deadlines, with the purchase, or do you also work with, I assume you work with investors and sellers and divorcees and you must have a whole plethora of people, but is it mostly buyers? I would say, well, not necessarily buyers, but mostly banks or yeah, banks and mortgage companies for purchases and also for refinances. I would say a lot of our business is also coming from attorneys, sometimes for estate valuations, sometimes for divorce valuations, and then sometimes we do appraisals for pre-listings if a realtor feels like they want that extra bit of data. So if I'm going to list a house, I'm going to save everybody the trouble, I'm going to get a sense of the value, and then that just makes me kind of more valuable for knowing when I go in with my eyes wide open kind of thing. Sure. I like that idea. I might steal that idea. So I want to just sing your praises. Hammond was there for me through my divorce and you came out to my property and I'm so grateful and you did a wonderful job. You came very highly recommended from one of my favorite title reps here in town. And I guess, yeah, what's it like, tell us a little bit about, you know, you're going into people's homes, you're one of the few others other than us realtors that really poke around and really look at the condition of the home, the finishes, the flooring, the drywall, the outside, the inside. Do you like, are you a people person, are you a property person, what do you enjoy about that, and what are some things that you've learned? Yes, I would say I'm a people person, I do enjoy, you know, that's one of the biggest joys is going out and seeing different properties and, you know, exactly, exactly, but I also, you know, I love the old houses, so I really enjoy getting to see some of the nice old houses. You've probably seen most of the homes in Longmont. Not surprisingly, no, but I've seen Fairmount. Yeah, I just mean, you know, you know what the old town look is, you know, what some of the new developments are like, you have a really good sense of the build and the years and the models and the styles. Yes, yes, definitely, and I would say, you know, the Boulder County is probably our strongest area, but I do a lot down in the Denver metro area as well. So you're across the whole front range, really? Yes, I guess so. Mostly serving Denver metro and Boulder County. Exactly, exactly. Can you tell us when you, like going back to this quiver, you know, these tools that you have, this idea of, you know, assigned value, are you looking kind of like what I rattled off, like age and, you know, above grade square footage, are those really your focus and do you kind of deduct for certain things, like, oh, this, there's a crack in the foundation, like, do you actually do that and then add if there are improvements, if so, by how much? Well, and again, the how much just depends on the market, the location, the, you know, the neighborhood itself. But yes, condition is definitely a big factor, particularly as we're going into a slowing market, it becomes much more important. So let's talk about that. So when there's, obviously when there's less people moving, there's less business for all of us. It's not just us realtors, it's the appraisers, the lenders, the title reps, everybody, but what does that mean for you? It sounds like it's the lender-requested appraisal orders that slow down. Do you find that, like, it seems like people still get divorced, people still have the states, people still die, is that job security for you? Does that become more of the percentage of your business? It does, it does. And definitely, it's kind of what gets us through the lean times. So most definitely. I want to talk a little bit about the opposite of that, which was around the spring summertime when we were at that peak of the market, at least here in Boulder County, when we had, we had, we heard a lot of the home didn't appraise or we're going to hold our breath till appraisal. Can you talk a little bit about what that means? And typically, you know, that's something that probably a mortgage company or a realtor is going to say because, but it generally means that the appraised value was not as high as perhaps the contract price. So an offer was put in, but shortly thereafter or maybe even a few weeks after the appraiser comes in and says the value of this home is under what you offered at. Correct, yes. And it sounds like you don't have to then deal with that, with that out, with that fallout, but, but generally do you, how do you deal with it? Like, do you ever go for, do people fight you on that? Like, how do, how do people try to persuade you? Sure. Well, typically most banks or mortgage companies will have their own requirements and, and sometimes they will request us to look at more market data. They may have comparables that we didn't use that they would ask us to look at, so we can, you know, perhaps change our, our opinion. And that is allowed, right? Like, hey, check out my comps or do you disregard that? Like, well, I think that that's a lender by lender, bank by bank. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I got to tell you, I feel, I feel privileged to even know you because as you mentioned, realtors are not the ones hiring their appraiser. Buyers and sellers don't get to, like, call you up really. It's through the bank. That appraisal doesn't mean diddly until the bank says we ordered this and we say this is the value, right? Like, I can't just call you. If a mortgage is involved, then no, you know, an individual cannot hire the appraiser on the bank. The banks all have formal processes. Sure. And there are middlemen. Absolutely. And as a matter of fact, mortgage brokers can't order their own appraisers. Oh, interesting. You know, there's a very formal process that the banks have for making sure that everything's above board. I didn't know. I do appreciate that standard because it could become being a realtor is already complicated enough. We don't need the wild, wild West when it comes to valuing a property. But I do appreciate what you said, because one thing I tell my buyers all the time is like value is simply what a buyer is willing to offer and what that sellers willing to accept at any given moment. Like, of course, you give us a price, but there's already just so much complication in what the value of a home is. And like you said, like the market trends just shift and ebb and flow so fast that it keeps your job, I'm sure, very interesting. Yeah, it really does. It really does. The value you assign today, it sounds like that's not the same as what it's going to be in a few months. And oftentimes it isn't, you know, oftentimes our market is changing enough to have it be, you know, in two months. Something's not as accurate as it would be. So I hate to ask for, like, what's the expiration date? But like when you order an appraisal, how much what if that divorce takes another year to finalize? Like, how do you deal with the changing values and the changing market and something that like, yeah, but that's expired now. That's gone now. You're not going to get that much for your house. You don't have to buy him out for that much. Like, how do you deal with that if it takes time? Well, oftentimes, you know, for like a divorce, sometimes we are asked to update our values or one of the parties may hire or retain another appraiser to do a new appraisal. OK. So, like, just because I got one doesn't mean my ex couldn't have gotten his own correct until we came to an agreement. Correct. Got it. Well, that's an interesting twist. I didn't think about. But yeah, the market, too, obviously, is going to have their say and that's going to win over the two parties, I assume. Can you tell us what the cost? What is the average cost right now of an appraisal? And if you were to go back and do like an updated version, do I have to pay that same full fee again? And for us, you know, typically an expiration, I think for banks, typically they like to have an appraisal that's within the last six months. You know, for other purposes. Max in a market like this. Right, right, right. And cost of an appraisal, it varies depending on the type of property. If it's an acreage, if it's a big custom home, things like that. So I'd say that appraisals range. Typically for a single family from five hundred up to, you know, up to a thousand dollars, you know, and anywhere in between. It is pretty. It is pretty affordable, you know, I know you can go in and get it done in an afternoon for the most part. But like, when you think about how important the thing that you're doing is, like, why do people block at that? I mean, why? Obviously, you can't charge an arm and a leg because here I am doing something similar for free with my BPOs and my CMAs, but it's, I don't know. I just, I think it's interesting that one of the more important pieces of the contract is a thousand bucks or less. It's always kind of interesting to me because then, you know, when you think about even the, even the inspector is sometimes more. Sure, sure. I think I'm pretty much out of questions. I did, I did want to ask how do people get in touch with you? How do they find out more about your business? And, you know, can you tell us again where you serve so that I can refer you? Sure, sure. Typically, we serve anywhere, you know, like pretty much from Castor-Wack to Fort Collins, those counties. And we do have a webpage here at Wendepraisals.com. And then you can also reach us via phone and email. Awesome. Well, I'll put those up on the screen. And I just so appreciate your time today, Kristen. Thank you so much. But I did want to ask you one more thing. So you mentioned attorneys and estates. Sure. If someone I wanted to just ask, because this, like you said, seems to be kind of the thing right now, do does the family agree ahead of time to get the appraisal and to get it, you know, sorted? And then again, how long does that typically last? Sure. And for estate appraisals, not all estates are required to have an appraisal. And I don't know it's not my area of expertise as to why one house needs it and one house doesn't or family. But typically, typically that appraisal will then be done as of the date of death. That's kind of my question. Yeah. So that kind of that, that doesn't change. I see. But you, you just like with the divorce would need to go and update things if it's been a while since you did the original and then that since till they pass. Correct. Like if you take, if she doesn't die for a year or two or three, obviously you need to make updates. Well, and actually, typically we're hired after the death. And we go back and we look at comparables that happened in the year prior to that date of death. I was thinking you were part of the estate. No, no, some, some big estates may do that. But typically when we've been involved in the state appraisals, we are hired after the fact. Got it. So if you're getting a mortgage, if you're dealing with death in the family or if you're planning a divorce, Hammond appraisals has got you covered. Thank you so much for your time today, Kristen. You're welcome. That's the property.