Michael Hickox is the owner of A. Michael Hickox Appraisal Services, Inc. on Amelia Island. He’s a certified residential appraiser.
WHY OPEN AN APPRAISAL BUSINESS?
He has been in the real estate business since 1977 when he went to work for Glenn Reynolds and DW Hutson in Jacksonville as a site agent in Argyle Forest. He then went to work for Watson Realty before moving back to Fernandina Beach where he is from and opening Eight Flags Realty in 1984. Bruce Jasinsky of Coldwell Banker Jasinsky and Hickox formed a partnership in 1989 and bought the Coldwell Banker franchise. “The federal and state guidelines changed in relation to the appraisal business around 1990, so I decided since there were no appraisers on the island, that I would open an appraisal business. I went to work for an appraiser in Jacksonville, Hollis, Wilson and Wagon, for a year and then Bruce bought my half of the business and I opened this business in 1983.”
WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO?
Residential home appraisals. “We do about 1,800 appraisals a year. We only do the Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach and Yulee market. We have a lot of resort properties here, so that’s my specialty.”
PROPERTY VALUES
“They have gone up in leaps and bounds. It’s been hard to keep up with the times because they have gone up so much. We are in a period now where values are more stable. This is a very complex market because we have a little bit of everything. We have manufactured homes on the island and multi million dollar properties and everything in between.”
PURPOSE OF YOUR WORK?
“The purpose of most of my work is to help the lender establish value for loan purposes. They are using the real estate as collateral and they take the appraisal, my opinion of value, and base the loan amount on that.”
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE VALUE?
“It’s based on what other comparable properties are selling for in the neighborhood. If a buyer was looking at your house, what other properties would they have looked at? They would have looked at other properties in your neighborhood. Everyone thinks their house is worth more than it is because they are putting value in the color selection that they have chosen and in the window coverings. All of those things have no value. It’s the sticks, bricks, location and size that determine the value. Everything is based on supply and demand. The real estate value is as of an effective date because the market changes. Real estate doesn’t always go up. “
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE PRICES A HOUSE TOO HIGH?
“The market rejects it. They are not going to pay more for your property than they can pay for a suitable replacement. It’s all supply and demand.”
HOW ARE REALTORS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“The real estate agents are the ones on the front lines in the business. We try to keep a good reputation and give them good service. Every sale has a drop dead date that it has to close by and we try to make sure that we get our reports back in timely manner and they send us business. I was on that side of the fence for a long time.”
WHAT IS SOMETHING REALTORS CAN DO TO HELP YOU?
“Don’t give values off the top of their head. Do their homework. Don’t work by the seat of their pants. If they’ve already thrown a value out and then there is this phenomenon that the highest value is always correct. So whatever the people hear as the high value that is the one they think is correct.”
TIPS FOR REALTORS
“Quit telling the sellers what they want to hear. Don’t tell them their house is worth $500,000 just because that is what they want to hear. Do your homework and be straight with them. They will respect you more in the long run and the property will sell. If a Realtor takes a listing that is over priced, it won’t sell anyway. Always be straight. Treat people like you want to be treated. Give them service that you would expect.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE FACING HOME APPRAISERS TODAY?
“The Internet is probably one of the biggest issues. The lenders are trying to eliminate the appraisal from the transaction if they can. They try to take a statistical approach to value off what’s available on the Internet. Sometimes if they have a loan on the value, are doing a home improvement or second mortgage and they have a low risk buyer, then they try to eliminate the appraisal to try to cut cost. But, very rarely is it an accurate assessment of the value.”
HOW DID YOUR PREVIOUS REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE HELP YOU AS AN APPRAISER?
“I had always been a listing agent more than a selling agent. I always saw a value in carrying a lot of listings. That is what I specialized in. If you have control over the listings, then you control the market. When I was a broker, I focused on having as many listings as I could and let other people worry about going around showing property, putting a family in their car and making the sales. I focused on inventory and a lot of that is in pricing and turnover. If you want to sell your listing in 90 days or 120 days, it has to be priced right. So, I had done market analysis for these listings for years and I had done some appraisal work. Before the changes in 1990, you didn’t have to be licensed or certified as an appraiser, you only had to have a broker’s license, which I do.”
WHO WORKS FOR HIM?
He has four appraisals and two office staff.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCATIONS
He is the current Multiple Listing Service president of the Amelia Island/Nassau County Board of Realtors and a member of the Amelia Island/Nassau County Chamber of Commerce. He was the president of the Amelia Island/Nassau County Board of Realtors in 1989 and a district vice president for the Florida Association of Realtors in 1991.
by -Michele Newbern Gillis