Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Rowe.
Paul, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated from Eastern Illinois university with a marketing degree in 2000. My first job of a college was as a sales manager for a men’s accessories company. It was a great learning experience that allowed me to travel throughout the United States as well as overseas to Italy, Mexico, and Canada.
Around 2005, had a major back injury and had to have surgery. And during the lengthy recovery process, I met a family friend who was an appraiser. I shadowed him for about a week and quickly decided that this was something I would enjoy and I could be successful.
I started my appraisal career around 2006 and we all know what happened and 2008 and 2009. The industry was quickly turned on its head as management companies became more prevalent and fees dropped as much as 50%.
I was struggling to find appraisal work and when I did it always seemed to be at very low fees. Even at night before heading to bed, I made sure my iPhone was right next to my pillow to increase my chances of being first in line to accept any new broadcast appraisal assignments should they became available in the middle of the night.
I set up a special email address that would immediately notify me whenever an email from one of my AMC clients with a potential order would come through. Many nights I would lay asleep and my iPhone alert would go off, after which I would jump up, grab my phone, and log into the client’s system as quickly as possible to accept the assignment before it was gone. If I hesitated a moment or even took the time to look at the address, it usually was too late and the assignment was gone.
This was a process I went through every day and every night. I kept my phone by my side at all times because if I was away from my phone for even a moment, I’d inevitably hear that “ping,” and I knew it was already too late.
Finding myself both emotionally and mentally drained, I finally realized this was no way to sustain a business and that I certainly wasn’t living the life I had imagined when I first became an appraiser. So, it was time to decide whether I would get busy trying to change my business and life or stick with the same frustrating road I’d been traveling.
Over the next few years, I took as many continuing education courses as possible and during that time several of my clients began noticing the quality of my work. As a result, I began developing closer relationships with them and shortly thereafter began receiving new requests for more complex assignments.
The decision to stand my ground and focus on quality appraisal reports actually resulted in my being added to several preferred or elite status lists which then led to even more work. I was even recognized nationally as an Extraordinary Appraiser by one of the national AMCs, based on a metrics that measured overall quality, including fewest revision requests, turn time, and more. This resulted in additional new lender clients. Soon after, I was able to be much more selective with the clients I worked with and I was also able to narrow down my coverage area which significantly improved my overall efficiency.
Even though I was now equipped with a steady flow of lender work from better-paying clients and saw a bump in my overall revenue, my business still plateaued and became un-scalable at a certain point. In an effort to find improved and more efficient ways of running my business, I joined my state appraisal coalition (ICAP), began reading every appraisal article I could get my hands on, joined an appraiser’s Facebook forum, and consulted with other professionals in the industry.
But I knew, I needed more help to go to the next level. I hired an appraiser marketing expert (Roy Meyer) to assist me in hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) including signing up for and going through his Outsourcing Boot Camp. Within six weeks I had a full-time VA on board who not only helped with the day to day operations of my business but who also took the lead in marketing my business for non-lender clients. Looking back, I can’t imagine going back to the days without her because not only is my appraisal business much more efficient but the value of my time has greatly increased as well.
What I didn’t realize was that hiring a virtual assistant was only the beginning of what I was about to learn in regards to growing my business. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing from Eastern Illinois University but I had much to learn about appraiser marketing. I completed Roy’s Appraiser Insider program and I now feel like I have a “Master’s Degree” in appraiser marketing. This lead to joining other groups like Dustin Harris’s “Dream Team Mastermind” and opportunities to join the leading online real estate education provider, McKissock’s advisory panel as well as others.
In regards to growing my business, I’ve learned the importance of knowing how to create an online presence, how to coordinate offline marketing efforts with online marketing efforts, how to create and utilize videos and blogging strategies in my business, lead generation and SEO tips and tricks, how to set up systems and automate my business, how to manage and nurture client relationships, how to network, how to capitalize on those opportunities, and more. We now have 5 certified appraisers, 2 trainees, and office manager, and virtual assistant.
As my current real estate appraisal business continues to grow and thrive, I am turning some of my attention to the consulting world. I will be spending a significant amount of time on that business over the next several years learning and becoming an expert in that area. It has given me a new energy and focus that I can’t wait to see unfold.
Everything I’ve learned and implemented over the past few years has taken me from the long days and sleepless nights of the iPhone by my pillow to my being able to choose who and how much I’ll work for. I’ve learned that by seeking to learn from others and becoming more efficient, running and growing my appraisal business, on the worst day, is manageable, while on the best day is extremely rewarding.
There is a lot of change happening in the appraisal industry and without question, things will look extremely different 5 years from now. However, there are also a lot of positives appraisers can focus on to improve and diversify their business. It’s certainly not all roses in my business, but I’m light years ahead of where I was just a short time ago and I now have renewed hope and high expectations for the future.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We have differentiated ourselves with our integrity, professionalism, and respect for their clients. By delivering the best service in the area, we have earned the trust of some of the most detail oriented and respected clients in the business including: the largest homebuilder in the U.S., local attorneys and real estate professionals, and most of the top national and local banks.
Our focus is on providing detailed, accurate appraisal reports and best in class customer service, This has resulted in us becoming the highest rated and most reviewed appraiser in the Chicago area. We have over 100 five star reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. This further supports our mission of providing a high-quality appraisal with great customer service. The client may not always be happy with our opinion of value, but at the end of the process, they will understand how we derived that value and all of the questions will be answered.
What were you like growing up?
Honestly, looking back at my younger high school self sometimes make me cringe. I was immature, and definitely thought I knew more than I did. But I was always curious. Especially as a child. I was always pushing buttons in the car to see what they did, or getting into cabinets and drawers at the doctor’s office to see what “tools” were in there and asking what they did. I think with maturity, this curiosity has become a real asset and has to lead me toward a constant hunger for learning and growing.
Pricing:
- Pricing – if you are looking for the cheapest appraiser available, please look elsewhere. We don’t compete on price. We compete by providing the best appraisal with the best customer service. When dealing with what is most likely your largest investment, I highly recommend not choosing the appraiser that will save you $50.
Contact Info:
- Address: 313 S Northwest Hwy Unit 3, Park Ridge, IL 60068
- Website: www.BestChicagoAppraiser.com
- Phone: (847) 863-5776
- Email: roweappraisalgroup@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/roweappraisalgroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BestChicagoAppraiser
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rowe-appraisal-group-park-ridge
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
