Depressing, debilitating, disgusting, demoralizing, defeating, debating, deflecting, degenerating, demeaning, degrading, debunking, decapitating, deploring and finally, deflating. How much nonsense has the accusations about air occupied the time, money and energy of millions throughout the country. Is this not the most ridiculous situation ever? Absurd to the extreme and as I was contemplating all of this, it got me thinking about our profession. We as professionals are oftentimes subject to the same baseless challenges and accusations from any number of sources, much as the "experts" the Wells report purchased to generate the results necessary to imply wrongdoing by the Patriots. I guess I got up on the grumpy side of the bed when I sat at my desk to write this but it is aggravating to receive unfair and unjust criticism about the job we are all trying to do to the best of our abilities. In the past few weeks I've seen articles talking about the disparity between the public's perception of market value for their property and the values being generated by appraisers. How is it that the uneducated public is even considered when it comes to the valuation of real estate? I don't see them surveyed when it comes to a legal or medical opinion. Why? Because they have no idea and those who do opine in those areas are summarily dismissed for a lack of knowledge. Yet here we go again, our values are either too high or too low. We are like the three bears and Goldilocks, except we never see the articles or surveys saying we are just right. Part of this we bring on ourselves and to be sure, some of the same criticism befalls the legal and medical profession when rogue lawyers and doctors violate their own codes of ethics. So, how do we protect ourselves? Simple, do the best job possible in every assignment you undertake. Yes I know clients want us to cut our fees and speed up our response time but if there is one or maybe two things I've learned in the 41 years I've been at this is, those are the type of client you do not need. In the long run you will be a much happier and saner person. There is nothing more rewarding in our profession than to do a good job. As Bill Belichick is oftentimes quoted as saying simply "Do your job." Well, I think we should go beyond that and do a good job. Take the time and make the effort. I know, it's not always the most practical or expeditious course of action and, in many cases, there's no one looking over our shoulder. So, it would be easy to cut a corner or two. Don't do it! It is a slippery slope and is very hard to reverse course.
John D. Hewitt, MAI, SRPA, my mentor, once said even if you are just above average you will stand out since there are so many people who are average or below average. So strive for that or as I said earlier, strive to be good and you will be amazed at how the better clients you have stick by you and keep coming back. The bad ones; who cares. They are not worth the time, effort and aggravation of the miniscule fee they want to pay. As the phrase the Soprano's made into not just a New York or New Jersey term but one that says it on a nationwide basis, FUGGEDABOUTIT!
Steven Elliott, SRA, MRA, is principal at Elliott Gottschalk & Associates, Ashland, Mass.