Real Estate Analysis and Commentary in Peoria, Arizona

by Jason Clow
Opinion Piece

Well it has been a few months since the desktop appraisal option has been available in lender's toolboxes.  As a firm, we have not yet received an order for a desktop appraisal; however, we are making sure we are prepared and ready when the time comes.

As we discussed in the previous blog, the biggest hurdle in our opinion was the special drawing / floorplan required to be performed by a third party source.  So, we decided to sign up for CubiCasa^TM as it is really the only option available for appraisal firms that do not work for AMC's.  

WE ARE NOT AN ADVOCATE FOR CUBICASA^TM SOFTWARE, BUT RATHER JUST A TYPICAL CUSTOMER.  WE HAVE NOT BEEN COMPENSATED FOR THIS OPINION BLOG.

I tasked my youngest certified appraiser with the job "Mackenzie".  We had a vacant house (but staged with furniture) that we have physically measured recently, that was going to be our test subject.  The home was a very basic single level home, built in the late 70's, and considered a very easy measure, even for a novice appraiser.  I told Mackenzie to watch the YouTube videos from CubiCasa^TM, install the software on your smart phone and go measure this house like any third party realtor or homeowner would do and do a write-up of your experience.

Mackenzie, watched approximately 45 minutes of training videos on how to use the measuring software, installed the software on his smart phone, and logged into our CubiCasa^TM account.  The actual measure using the software took approximately 12 minutes and was sent to CubiCasa^TM for rendering.  We received the floorplan / sketch back in approximately 24 hours and were impressed overall.

The livable square footage of the home based on physical measurement was 1,758 sf, with a 542 sf garage, a 43 sf covered entry, and a 167 sf screened patio.  Performed to ANSI-Z765-2021 standards.

The livable square footage of the home based on CubiCasa^TM smart phone software was 1,829 sf, with a 510 sf garage, and a 166 sf screened patio.

So the correctly measured square footage performed to ANSI standards was 71 sf smaller (livable) than the software measuring tool.  Not too bad actually, but still was hoping it would be a little closer overall.  Wall thickness was 0.5 which is similar to what CubiCasa^TM calculates also.  The interior walls and floorplan was surprisingly accurate.

In conclusion, the typical homeowner would not be able to use this software based on our experience with the last COVID-19 desktops, where we sent an app link to homeowner's smart phones to gather notes and photos of the interior of the property.  That was in itself challenging for about 50% of homeowners.  Also believe it or not, a large portion of the population of homeowners do not have current smart phones and/or don't use them for "apps".  We believe seasoned realtors would be able to use this software effectively and it would take approximately 20 to 30 mins on average (including interior photos / notes).  WE WERE IMPRESSED WITH THE CUBICASA^TM SOFTWARE, AND IT IS A GREAT FLOORPLAN DRAWING TOOL ESPECIALLY FOR MARKETING PURPOSES OR VISUAL PURPOSES.  

See the two drawings for comparison below:

Physically measured drawing on Alamode Sketching Software



CUBICASA^TM DRAWING