Guides for Florida appraisers
Short, practical write-ups on the parts of a commercial appraisal that eat the afternoon: building the grid, reading the state's sale data, and finding the deed behind a sale.
How to build a sales comparison grid for a commercial appraisal
A step-by-step method for choosing comps, setting up the grid rows and ordering the adjustments, plus the mistakes that cost an afternoon.
Florida sale data for appraisers: where it comes from and how far to trust it
What the Department of Revenue sale files and county sales lists tell you, what they leave out, and the checks that catch a wrong price, date or sale.
Finding and confirming a sale in Collier County: parcel records, deeds and mortgages
From a Collier County parcel number to the recorded deed, the true sale date, the parties and any mortgage, using the property appraiser and the Clerk.
Lee County parcel numbers and building area: what to know before you use the data
How Lee County writes its parcel numbers (STRAPs), why the county's building area can be larger than the building, and how to confirm a Lee County sale.
A comp database or a spreadsheet? When each one stops working
A spreadsheet is fine for a handful of comps. Here is where it starts to cost you time, and what a purpose-built comp database changes and does not change.