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Being Wrongly Accused without the Proof!

By
Real Estate Appraiser with Jeremy Cowin Appraisals
I remember being in grade school visiting relatives and my aunt wrongly accused me of convincing her duaghter, my cousin, to take something that was not hers.  I was petrified with anger and resentment as even my parents sided with my aunt and I got into HUGE trouble.  I tried to defend my self, past the point of sobbing in frustration as nobody believed that I knew nothing of my cousins theft.  Weeks later, when my cousin finally confessed, my aunt, other cousins and immediate family, thought I had further convinced my cousin to confess so I could get out of my punishment, since I was so "convincing."  It took a long time for everyone to realize, that my cousin actually had done this theft on her own and that I had nothing to do with it. 

My point?  

How do you handle being wrongly accused?  Especially by big names such as clients, peers, companies or corporations?  

Several months back I was accused of having a "history of submitting reports with 'multiple errors'" for a specific company.  I asked to be shown the reports that had 'multiple errors,' and requested to know what reports they were talking about.  And as of yet have not been told which reports those were or for that matter gotten any confirmation as to what my 'multiple errors' are/were.  I further asked, if I had been making such mistakes, why had my reports not come back to me with ROV's or revisions, or for corrections, or with questions or for additional commentary about the report like my other clients do. I never received any significant conditions from this client in over 1 year that would warrant this accusation. After several weeks of trying to get further info and to try and resolve this accusation, and having no one following up with any PROOF of what they told me, my last call to my client over this issue, I was instructed to not call them back on this issue anymore, and that I could no longer work for them, and was hung up on.  I tried one last phone call to my personal contact at the company, and she basically told me (in not so many words) to shut up and go away and that there was nothing she could do for me and she hung up on me too.  

Not only am I upset that I can not get a straight answer from my former client, but "Where is the G.. D... proof?"  All I have been told is a generic statement, and no-one at my former clients office will step up and tell me the truth or give me proof.  Are they just really PO'd that the value came in less than what they needed?  Was there someone in the office that made a deal that fell through or did something wrong and so they are making me the scapegoat or trying to cover up something?Of course the list of self doubt questions and situations have all been played in my head.  I'm really at a loss with this client.  

I just can't help feeling like I did when I was in grade school and feeling that I have been wrongly accused of something without any proof and nobody believes in me.  I'm not searching for sympathy, but my gut was in knots for weeks, and I really started second guessing myself and my work.  I asked several of my early mentors, current peers and educators and come to find out, at some time or another, each one of them had similar experiences with clients in the past, that for their own reasons, decided that they (my mentors, peers, educators) could no longer be an approved appraiser for them.  Some of them got answers, some did not.  Its a hard pill to swallow and tough to stand wrongly accused of something without the proof.  Even harder to try and defend yourself when no-one will listen, and even harder when the evidence is not produced.  

The one thing I pride myself in is taking responsibility for myself and my work, which was evident by my desire to resolve the issue with my client and to find out what my errors were and to rectify any wrong doing.  Did I need to take a class to address an issue and improve my competency?  Was I really an incompetent appraiser?  I know I'm not incompetent.  But false accusations still sting no matter how old you are!

Your thoughts/experiences?




Show All Comments Sort:
Scott Daniels Florida Real Estate 2.0. Agents Earn 100% Commission.
Florida List For Less Realty, Inc. Broker/Owner. - Cooper City, FL

JC,

I`d hire an attorney and sue the crap out of someone who accused me of anything important..

Sep 04, 2007 11:12 AM
Lisa Hill
Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Real Estate

Jeremy, Having this happen to you twice, under such stressful conditions makes me think maybe God has something planned for your future and these situations are to prepare you for it. Every single person in the bible who was destined for greatness, underwent unbelievably difficult circumstances that were designed to either make or break them. I'd suggest you choose to let these things "make" you. 

I heard a message preached one time about King David (as in David & Goliath). Here are the notes I keep saved in my Pocket PC as a constant reminder.

"If Goliath had been a midget, David would have never become a King. The size of your enemy is a clue to the size of your promotion.  Before God can promote you, He has to introduce an enemy. God has custom-tailored your enemy for you. Don't make God shrink your destiny. Stop asking for smaller battles and start believing for greater victory."

That's it. Your experiences sound awfully suspicious. It sounds to me like God is up to something. Try asking Him what He's trying to show you, and dig your heels in with determination to fulfill your awesome future. =) 

(I may have to blog about my notes)  

Sep 04, 2007 11:23 AM
Sara Goodwin
Estimation Nation Corporation - Portland, OR
Portland, Oregon Appraiser

It's a strange relationship ... that between a Lender and Appraiser -

I really wish people would just say something shockingly honest like 'you won't come into our inflated values' or'we don't like the fact that you're so persistent on collecting money after 90 days', etc.  .... I'm not at all assuming this is your case, I'm only reflecting on my own experiences.

Don't lose sleep over it, sadly it will likely happen again.

Sep 04, 2007 11:30 AM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

I greatly admire appraisals for the work they do.  It isn't easy going "on the record" with valuations day after day.  It is a very tough job and requires very tough skin.

I would suspect that someone came to the client and offered them reports for 50cents less.  That's just the way it goes with large companies. Or, someone's wife or brother got a license and..... you know the rest.

We agents and brokers have the same problem with everyone trying to get their hand in our pockets.

It's the ugly side of Capitalism.  The best guy does not always get the job. 

Sep 04, 2007 11:36 AM
Jeremy Cowin
Jeremy Cowin Appraisals - Altadena, CA
Scott - I have not crossed out the idea!

Lisa - Altho I don't subscribe to any religious thought, I do appreciate your "inspiration," words on "trial by fire," insight, encouragement and for sharing!

Sara - I've been told that this is part of the on going saga in our profession, and yes it is "unfortunate!"
Sep 04, 2007 11:45 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer
I think our backbones have to be strong right now.  There are a ton of knives being thrown in this "kick the dog" age.  Just wake up, do what you do best and ignore the rest!  You probably didn't do anything wrong, you did your job.  I REALLY wouldn't want to be an appraiser right now :)  Your friend should have gone to the agent and said "renegotiate".  Hell, don't we want what is best for our clients?  Why can't we just focus on getting the thing closed rather than run around and playing the blame game?  Appraisal's done, came in low, let's negotiate a new sales price.  Not a hard concept really!
Sep 04, 2007 01:15 PM
Birmingham Alabama Real Estate, Stephen Wolfe
LivingInBirmingham.com - Birmingham, AL

I am sorry to hear about this unfortunate circumstance. Hopefully your broker is standing in your corner. I recently showed a home of someone I knew. They saw my card and gave me a call. They also told their agent that they called me after they saw my card. The other agent called my broker accusing me of trying to steal their clients and leaving a note to call them (I didn't)

The sad thing was... I told them they had a great agent who I am sure would get their home sold in a timely manner. Edification... sadly not reciprocated.

Stand tall and you will end up on top.

Sep 04, 2007 03:07 PM
David Resendes
Infinity Business Affiliates, INC - Naples, FL

thank you for post a great piece of information. I enjoyed reading your blog.

Sep 11, 2007 09:45 AM
Jeremy Cowin
Jeremy Cowin Appraisals - Altadena, CA
Renee - thanks for your post.  Yes, our back bones have to be strong, and doing our jobs honestly/ethically/honorably/and with integrity, is even more important than ever.  Pride is a hard pill to swallow when money (greed) is at stake.

Stephen - "paying it forward" is seldom reciprocated.  However, the accusations and mis-understandings/communications are still frustrating.

David - glad you enjoyed it.

Oct 09, 2007 03:40 PM