Have you ever walked away from a day thinking, “No one’s EVER going to believe this!” Well, we want to hear all about it! We are asking for submissions about your wildest appraisal stories – all the way from haunted encounters to animals that have been (unexpectedly) stumbled upon. Share with us and you could be featured in our Fall 2024 Appraisal Buzz Magazine.
The following Crazy Appraisal Stories were first published in the Fall 2023 Appraisal Buzz Magazine. If you have shared a story with us in the past that was never published, please resend it. Post your stories below or send your stories to comments@appraisalbuzz.com.
You’ve all got crazy appraisal stories: exotic infestations, unique collections, and surprising living conditions. Here are a few we found to be the most Buzzworthy. (Adapted from Appraiser eLearning’s YouTube series, “3 Questions for an Appraiser.”)
Donkey Devotion
I appraised a property on ten acres that had several outbuildings. I opened one of the barns to take pictures, and all of a sudden, I felt something strange on my shoulder. When I turned to look, it was this cute little donkey! He followed me around everywhere, and he wanted to come in the house too, but the owner said, “No, he can’t come in.” He was adorable. It was a fun day. —Lisa Desmarais, CO
Ferret Frenzy
The homeowners were rescue-animal folks. Walking through the house, I noticed a curtain around their enclosed porch. They pulled back the curtain: there were about 250-300 ferrets on the porch. It looked like something out of a horror movie. So we got past that, and I went outside to do my exterior dimensions. The wife accompanied me out, carrying a huge broom. I had no idea what was going on, and then up came a quasi-domesticated deer. The homeowner followed me around and beat back the deer with the broom to keep it away from me as I took photos. —the late, great Pat Felvey, IL
Rat Race
The basement was very dark, and I heard noises that sounded strange to me. I had forgotten my flashlight, so I went upstairs to get it and came back down. As it happens, that noise I was hearing was coming from a number of large rats—there were probably about 2-300 of them. They had come up through the sewer line. I removed myself from that basement very quickly and called FHA to tell them what I’d encountered. They said, “Don’t go back in.” I agreed with that assessment. —Ted Davis, CO
Human Heartbreak
The front door was open. There were feces and bugs, food and debris literally everywhere. The home was dilapidated. The home was in disarray, and it affected me. I walked into the kitchen, and there were so many bugs, the whole place was moving. Three seconds into disturbing that room and all that motion, a girl walked in, in her bare feet. She was probably three years old. I didn’t know what to do. My heart was broken. I had a job to do. I had to be professional. And I was caught in a moral dilemma. It was sad, and it hurt me. But I’ll never forget it. —Jason Covington, TN
Send in your wildest appraisal story, and you could be featured in the next Appraisal Buzz Magazine this fall. Post your stories below or send your stories to comments@appraisalbuzz.com.
