APPRAISER STORIES
IN THE TRENCHES…
APPRAISER STORIES
You’ve all got them…. The crazy car chases, the surprising living
conditions, the exotic assignments, and the unique collectors. Here are
a few of your stories we found to be buzzworthy.
I had an appointment at a home in the country out
in the woods. The access instructions said the cat
MIGHT be caged. Got to the home and the cat was
at the front door and hissed at me as I went in. I tried
to make friends with the cat, but it didn’t work, so I
ignored the cat and started my inspection. As I came
he lunged at me as I had to use my clip board as a
shield. I ran to the other bedrooms hoping to
complete the inspection, but he followed me trying to
attack. Thank goodness for clipboards because I was
using it to keep this cat from charging me. Next was
the basement. As I was down there, I could hear the
other. He got faster and faster. I came up the stairs
slowly, knowing he was waiting. Sure enough, there
he was. And he was mad, really mad. He was hissing
and would stand on his hind legs and would lunge
at me. I ran to the laundry room that was attached to
behind me. I decided I would shut the garage door
38 | APPRAISAL BUZZ FALL 2020
and jump the beam to get out
and secure the home. So out I
went. All was good and I
proceeded to the front door to
secure the home. Wouldn’t you
know it, the cylinder in the lock
turned and turned but it was at
that point I realized I would have
to go back in to lock it from the
inside. For those wondering why I did not call the
realtor, this home was in the middle of nowhere and
I had another appointment to make, so I decided I
had no choice but to go back in. He was waiting as I
expected. He stood on his hind legs, teeth showing,
hissing, and came at me. Once again, I used my
clipboard and ran to the laundry room where I was
able to shut the door. I was safe. I had to jump the
beam again, but I was willing to do anything to get
away from this cat. I named him Psycho Kitty.
I received an order and promptly called the
homeowner to set the appointment. He told me that
his wife died a year or so ago and he had not really
been out of the house or seen a woman in a while
and looked forward to my “visit!” Being a woman,
I was a little nervous about doing the inspection
alone, so I had my 17-year old son to go with me as
my assistant. When we pulled up to the house, it
looked similar to a “Sanford and Son’s” home clutter
it would be hard to measure and wondered what a
lender would say about it. I knocked on the door and
he cracked the door open a little bit and stared at my
comfortable with my explanation, he told us to come
in. We said we would start outside and work our way
to show us something. Well, the inside of the house
was even worse than the front and he led us to the
kitchen that had a root cellar. He told us to go down
and I said no, we will not go down there yet. I told
scene!