Today is the day where a good scare is usually just around the corner. In an earlier Halloween online story, we highlighted from the McKissock Learning post “Terrifying Encounters from Real-Life Appraisers,” ( where the company illustrated a few scary propositions that came an appraiser’s way when examining certain properties.

Property appraisal is not typically thought of as a “dangerous” profession, but personal safety is definitely something to consider when preparing for an appraisal inspection. A few years ago, McKissock Learning asked its real estate appraisal community on Facebook the question, “What’s the scariest thing you’ve encountered during an on-site property inspection?”  

McKissock wanted to share those answers with Valuation Review, and the responses ranged from “surprising to funny to startling—to downright terrifying.”

One frightening site can be those of mold and critters. Mold is one of the common environmental hazards one may encounter when inspecting a residential dwelling. Apparently, cats and mice (and possibly other small critters) are another issue to look out for, according to the McKissock post.

“An entire interior coated in black thanks to a flooded basement and four years of vacancy,” one commentor said. “A disgruntled foreclosed upon homeowner sprayed the house down with water and turned the heat on full blast and closed up the house. Needless to say, there was ‘discoloration’ or ‘a mold -like substance’ everywhere.”

Another spotted hundreds of cats in the master bedroom, which produced a mountain of feline feces. The same house had cockroaches running along walls and ceiling through cobwebs—in daylight. And believe it or not, a cute little old lady and her daughter lived there, one commentor claimed.

Additionally, another spotted an infested house where the walls of the basement looked like they were moving, but it was mice. The owner had kitty litter boxes full of mouse poison that was replaced daily and traps everywhere.

“Unsafe, unsanitary, and just plain creepy,” the commentor said.

Appraisers, McKissock said, may occasionally come across properties with safety and sanitation issues and may encounter homes that are just flat-out “creepy.” These next comments will remind appraisers to tread lightly and maybe wear a safety mask when entering an unknown or vacant dwelling.

“Twice I’ve walked into a front door and almost fallen into the crawl space because there was no floor or subfloor,” one said, while another commented: “There was flooring that crumbled under every step.”

And speaking of terrifying, one appraiser said there was “biohazard on the carpet of a very nice house where, brace yourself, the homeowner killed himself.”

Others have encountered bloody bullet holes in walls and satanic messages on walls of vacant houses.

In addition to critters like mice and cats, appraisers have also encountered larger, more threatening animals. Scariest run-ins with animals included a horse that wanted to fight an appraiser, while multiple dogs wanted to take on appraisers. A 12-inch alligator once came within 4 feet of an appraiser simply because the sales office “forgot” to inform the appraiser of such an animal near the home.

Frightening animals, though, aren’t the only fearful obstacles appraisers may encounter when on the job. Humans can be just as intimidating during on-site inspections.

“There have been random strangers approaching me at foreclosed houses,” one appraiser commented. “Most recently, a grown man (apparently under the influence) was hiding in the basement and jumped out at me as I started to go down the stairs in a house that was supposed to be empty.”

The presence of guns is another very scary issue that appraisers may run into.

“The house had guns all over the place. Not in cases or anything, just laying around,” one commenter said. “The homeowner was agitated and wouldn’t let me see several rooms. When the front door lock didn’t work, we went to try the back door where a shotgun was set to fire if that door was opened.”

Of course, not all appraisers have encountered such scary or extreme situations while on the job. These stories are just a few to get appraisers thinking, or perhaps, to think twice about assignments today.

Stranger and scary encounters, indeed. But what else would one expect during the season of ghosts, witches and goblins? Happy Halloween!