Appraisers' Free Forum

Which is your favorite software? Is it the best out there?

Hmmm. No answers since August 16th... guess everyone else is like me concerning appraisal software. I hate it all!

I do have one little program I kind of like. It's Microsoft Streets and Trips. Works adequately, although I do wish it did a couple of things it doesn't. Why do I like it so well? It only cost $40 and there was a $20 rebate.

I hate them all...
I am working with TurboCad Designer...its just a new world for me..sux.

I liked Quattro Pro. Excel is everyone's spread sheet of choice so have both and work simple stuff in QP because its faster for me, have to import anything else in XL.. ditto for presentation vs powerpoint...PP wins by default even though Pre. is more intuitive to me.
I hate Word with a passion...I use Word Perfect, which is about as close to a 'likeable' program as I use.
No one every says anything nice about Winsketch but I use it without incident and do not intend to buy anything else until it doesn't work.

I like Street Atlas but the newer interfaces suck putty balls compared to the old.

Surfer..horribly complex mapping tool.
Rockware's Rock WOrks...worse.
I use Paperport 8 and dread an update..i think they up to 11 or 12..

Writing this has made me so tired I think I will go to bed...zzzz.

I'm like Ter, I like WP and QP and use both all the time, although I have Word and Excel etc. Bradford and Winsketch work, each time, every time, have never called support.....what more do you need? Quick books, for bookkeeping.

Small programs I like include Karen's Replicator, Firefox, Street Atlas, Street Atlas Topography, Yahoo messenger, and Google Desktop.

I am with Terrel 100% on his comment. I hardly ever open Word... and, I absolutely refuse to open a Word attachment (too dangerous). I love QP... I use Correl Photo Paint and Corel Draw instead of Adobe, but since I've never used Photoshop, I cannot compare them. I like Adobe PDF writer and use it frequently. The only Microsoft program I have ever liked very well is Streets and Trips... and that has more to do with the price than with the way it works.

However, Greg, I disagree about B&R. I just finished a file using the AI forms in B&R. First problem was that they didn't have all the blank forms I needed, so I had to use a clunky import from the 1004 set. The real problem, however, was that I noticed that the addresses from the site valuation portion were transferring incorrectly to the photo pages for comparable sales and listings. So... I turned off the transfer functions and put the correct addresses in manually. Then I saved the pdf and sent it. This morning the client called... seems that the program transferred even after I told it not to and I, stupidly, did not catch it on proof reading. I have had a lot of problems with B&R over the years, but still suspect (this is really just a guess) that they are better than most other appraisal form filling software.

what more do you need

I only have one computer program I really love. It is called Time and Chaos, and no appraiser should be without it. Basically a PIM that works just like it should, and very intuitive. Shareware that you have to pay for and worth every penny. When I get a call from an MB, I can tell within seconds whether I have ever done anything with them before and what the results were... all because of Time & Chaos. I never lose a phone number or contact information. Christmas cards are a snap.

http://www.chaossoftware.com/chaos.asp

Now that I have given you the link, I hope the new one works as well as my old version.

What software do I hate the worst? That would have to go to Java, hands down. However, I suspect that Sun is not really responsible. It is well known that they are a long time rival of Microsoft and I suspect that Microsoft has put back doors in their operating system that cause java problems. It is a well-known fact that they did that exact thing to WordPerfect in the early days of Word. If was rumored that the catch phrase around Microsoft was "Windows 3 - 1 isn't done until WordPerfect won't run!"