(Lessons from Appraisal, Applied to Everyday Life)

I was thinking about the solving-puzzles-disguised-as-real-property work that is real estate appraisal, when another thought jostled its way to the top of my mind. Isn’t it each of our own responsibility to check the facts we’re accepting as accurate?

There is something quietly comic about the modern idea of “fact checkers.” The notion that we need a third party to sort truth from fiction for us feels, at best, like outsourcing our own responsibility. In daily life **and especially in appraisal work** being your own fact checker isn’t optional. It’s vital.

You’re Only as Good as Your Data

As appraisers, we live and breathe verification. Every assignment asks: What kind of data is this? Primary? Secondary? Or puffed-up marketing dressed as fact? Sometimes the figures conflict outright. A square footage listed in MLS may disagree with county records. A sale price whispered in a neighborhood may not match the recorded deed. Our work is in the weighing — testing one piece of evidence against another until a credible picture emerges.

That, I’d argue, is exactly what each of us needs to do outside the world of appraisal too. Facts don’t arrive pre-packaged and free of error. They arrive messy, jostling, sometimes contradictory. And the responsibility for filtering them, anchoring them, and shaping them into belief rests squarely on us.

Due Diligence is Always Necessary

So here is my challenge to anyone reading: whether you’re an appraiser, a trainee, or simply someone who wants to live as a responsible citizen — practice fact-checking for yourself. Compare what you hear with what you observe. Place marketing claims beside lived reality. Invite conversation, especially with those who see the world differently. Then, once you’ve done your due diligence, decide which ideas hold up and which collapse under their own weight.

Let’s not become ‘spoon-fed’ without really searching out the real answers!

Personal success and communal good are not at odds. They both grow stronger when we know what we stand on. For each person, it doesn’t mean we will always agree. Quite the opposite! But when our beliefs are tested, solid, and aligned with reality rather than illusion… We can each ADD valuable insight to the conversations we have. If we each commit to fact-checking our own convictions, we not only steady our individual paths but also strengthen the ground beneath us all.