the appraiser was here so was I

I know there is an earlier thread re south orange and this issue. I could not find it. This is now in Clinton/Midland area of Maplewood.  How can this still be happening?  I picked up my mail at front door at 5.  I sat in living room. I went to front door at 6 and a stickey note has appeared saying the appriser was here  Coming again on Monday at a wholly inconvenient time.  Not even enough time to call before the assigned time. How is this efficient?  If he had only knocked we would be done.   If he had made any noise at all I would have heard him. AAArrrrgh. 

is it possible you experienced a loss of time, similar in alien abduction cases? I hear this is a recent phenomenon in Maplewood.

It is annoying, but don't sweat trying to be home for the second appointment. Just call the number on the slip and you can make an appointment that is more convenient for you. 

The lesson here is that everyone should make up a sign with pictures instructing the appraiser on how to ring a doorbell or knock.

face the door, make a closed fist, knock with moderate pressure 3x (count 1,2,3) look at your watch, wait 30 seconds.  if no answer repeat.  wait 30 seconds......if still no answer leave sticky note

This is now the third thread about this exact occurrence.  Can't be a coincidence.   

I Hired a mime to stand outside my door and mouth I'm not home in mime.

This happened to me this week with the Salvation Army.  Said they came and I wasn't home.  Said they called me and got my voicemail.  Oddly enough, I have a video doorbell that also senses motion and nothing was on there.  There was also no voice mail message or any caller ID that an incoming call was missed the entire afternoon.  People lie.....

mumstheword said:

  People lie.....

Kind of hard to leave a sticky note on the door if not actually physically present in this timeline.

max_weisenfeld said:

mumstheword said:

  People lie.....

Kind of hard to leave a sticky note on the door if not actually physically present in this timeline.

Yes, but it is possible the person was in a hurry to end their shift so they went down the street and placed "you weren't home" notes on each and every door without knocking or ringing any bells.  They would be lying by pretending that they attempted to contact the homeowner when in fact they didn't even make a minimum effort.

On my block the appraiser came by and checked the exterior of all the homes, and left a sticky note on every door -- saying that he would come back because no one was home. We were home, watched him place the sticky on the door (without knocking or ringing the bell) and spoke with him directly. He said that he was only there on that day to do the exterior inspection, and that all the interior inspections would be done on another day. Which seemed... bizarre. But maybe that's what has been happening all over town.

No exterior inspection done as there was a also family sitting in back yard.  

some people are just clueless, my door bell doesn't work, but the way my door is, I really can't leave a sign without writing it with a sharpie right on the door...i place a strip of tape over the bell and replace as the weather removes it...yet if I order a pizza, they ring the bell and stand there..ring and stand......and then call wondering why I'm not coming to the door...never dawns on them a doorbell could be broken and you have to knock...and you would think when someone makes a living going to homes, they would be aware of that fact...i bet these guys would have the same issue.

It's making me wonder if the appraisers are paid per hour or per visit (vs per home) and this is a way for them to inflate their pay??

Have any of the people complaining brought their complaints to the attention of ASI or the Township Committee Members?

I have not yet been visited by an ASI representative for this revaluation; but the last time we went through this, the representative was most accommodating.

TomR

I complained when I called to make my appointment and got no response to that whatsoever. After I waited over ten minutes on hold, and I was told I was a liar that he could not have written he was returning between 11-6, I dropped it. (Apparently, he likely tried to write 4-6 but is so sloppy it looked like 11 with no cross bar on the 4.)

Otherwise I would have started screaming about the entire experience. I did not want an over valued appraisal as pay back.

why does every little thing in NJ have to be so corrupted?

poorly run maybe, but not corrupted.  My appraisal was fine.

FilmCarp said:

poorly run maybe, but not corrupted.  My appraisal was fine.

I'd say mine was fine, but I haven't seen the results yet. They guy was very nice and professional though.

Appraisal inspector just left.  Lower Courter Avenue.  Process was quick and painless.  He commented on the surprising number of home owners with a note on their door saying the doorbell didn't work.

Sorry about this. But glad I was not going crazy last week when I missed his visit although I was home and waiting, after leaving work early to be there at the scheduled time for the second visit. 

marylago said:

FilmCarp said:

poorly run maybe, but not corrupted.  My appraisal was fine.

I'd say mine was fine, but I haven't seen the results yet. They guy was very nice and professional though.

Right, the process was fine.  

Said they were coming between 4-6 yesterday.  Showed at 430.  Stayed 15 minutes (mostly because we were chatting) and left.  Nice guy.  Process was painless.

Are the reval folks working on only certain areas of town? Is there an order as to when they appear on certain streets?

I called several weeks ago and made an appointment for yesterday between 5 and 7 for my house in South Orange. He showed up at about 5:30. It took about half an hour (complicated house). He said his next stop was in Maplewood. So evidently they are shuttling between the two towns.

Our inspector arrived on time.  He also commented that the storm a couple nights ago is wreaking havoc on their original schedule but they are doing their best to catch-up.

OliveBee said:

Are the reval folks working on only certain areas of town? Is there an order as to when they appear on certain streets?

According to the presentation made at the TC meeting some time ago, they were focusing on SO first and working east to west in Maplewood.  They have been in Maplecrest this week, which would indicate they are about halfway through Maplewood at this point.  This refers to the first [unscheduled] visit.  As I understand it, scheduled visits to inspect the interior of the house can only be arranged after the first attempt is made.

Appraiser came to our house. He said "Well, the place is obviously well maintained but with no major renovations."

I said "Yeah, that's pretty much the look I was going for".

steel said:

Appraiser came to our house. He said "Well, the place is obviously well maintained but with no major renovations."

I said "Yeah, that's pretty much the look I was going for".

My appraiser said "Yes, this is definitely an unfinished basement."

The appriser said "this bathroom is original".  Really?  House built in 1929.  Bathroom is likely 1980+.

Guy left a post-it. Showed up when the post-it said he would, right on time. Pleasant and polite, and done in less than 15 minutes. A complete non event.