We have noticed (and you probably have to) that our competitors are touting how they are pro-Appraiser and anti-AVM, anti-AVM Conference, etc. Many appraisers for one reason or another are also anti-AVM. Many think AVMs are taking their jobs away.

We think there is another point of view and we'll introduce it with a story.

Does anyone remember where ice came from before we had refrigerators? It came from ice plants. Every town in America had an ice plant and your parents would drive down to the plant and buy ice. Do you know where ice came from before we had ice plants. It was shipped in on ice ships.

Did any ice plant owner ever become a dominate manufacture of refrigerators? Did any ship captain ever become the dominant builder of ice plants? The answer is no. The ship captains were in the shipping business - not the ice making business. The ice plant owners were in the ice making business, not the refrigeration business.

Here's another one. Why is Amtrack not the leading domestic airline carrier? Because in the early days, the railroad owners were in the railroad business. Not the transportation business.

What do you think the railroad owners thought when they saw the first airplane. Maybe they said "That will never fly." What they could have said is "Wow - now we transport people two ways. The quick way and the scenic way."

Here's another one. What did the appraiser think about the first AVM? Is it a friend or a foe? We'll let you decide. But consider this:

In computer-aided engineering, engineers who knew how to use computers became more valuable. In computer-aided drafting, draftsmen who knew how to use the computerized drafting tools became more valuable. Same in computer-aided manufacturing. The list goes on and on. 

We believe appraisers can always outshine a remote AVM. The key is getting you the tools so you start practicing computer-aided appraising just like the engineers and draftsmen did. 

So while our competitors continue to bash AVMs, we are working to provide you with tools that will help you produce a better valuation. A valuation that is of higher quality, is produced faster and produced cheaper than you produce them today. Why? Because you are in the valuation business and automated valuation technology can help you value properties better, faster and cheaper.

Order Tracking and Accounting - Join the Discussion

If you have not joined the ClickForms User Forum, this is a good time to do so. As of Friday morning, there were 548 topics and 5,495 posting. There's something in there for everyone.

Looking for a boost in productivity? Consider having a dual monitor setup. 

There are two things that directly affect productivity. How fast your computer is and how much you can see. The speed of your computer and its affect on your productivity goes without saying. The faster the machine, the quicker it will do things for you. You won't type any faster, but opening files, scrolling, displaying images, etc. all happen faster. If you can save a few minutes on every appraisal it makes a difference when considered over the life of the computer which is 2-3 years. The savings in time start to be in days saved. Unfortunately we all cannot go out and buy the newest fastest computer so we live with what we have. But here's a way that everyone can increase their productivity cheaply. Get a second monitor. The more you can see, the more you can do.

When you have a small monitor (or a single monitor) you are usually opening up windows, resizing them, minimizing/maximizing them, scrolling and clicking, etc. to get to the part you need to edit. This takes time. For the next week or so, monitor how many times you have to open/close or resize a window just to do something. Consider what it would be like if you were to keep certain data windows always open for quick and easy reference. If at the end of the week you find yourself wishing for a second monitor and wishing you could stop opening and closing all those windows, do yourself a favor and buy a second monitor. You will be amazed at how much more easier things will be to do.

We said this was a cheap way to get a boost in productivity, because you can get some quality monitors for around $300 and it will directly affect your productivity.

ClickForms has been programmed for dual monitor use. You can park your windows on second monitor, using the Comps Editor on a dual monitor is a great way to re-order the comps - even if you have 15 of them.

One last note: When we used to sell MacAppraiser in the late eighties and early nineties, in order to convince appraisers that our product was superior to their DOS versions, we actually did time studies. Its seems common sense today, but having to click from screen to screen as in the DOS programs IS slower than seeing the entire report on the screen. We tried to find the time studies to give you actual figures, but we could not find them. But the two keys that came out of the study were the number of window related clicks need to be minimized and the movement of your eyes needs to be minimized. This is the reason we have always displayed the entire report in one window and why we display the responses under the cell that is being filled in - to minimize eye movement. 

So do yourself a favor and get a second monitor. It pays off in the long run.

Have a Good Weekend Everyone

Have a good weekend everyone. Drive safely while you're out inspecting. Don't forget to tell your friends about ClickForms.