Running an appraisal firm is already a full-time job. Managing a website, writing articles, and keeping up with marketing can quickly become another one.
At KTS Appraisal Services, AppraiZen handles that marketing work. The family appraisal firm serves Northern Colorado, and Taston Sick works with AppraiZen to reach more homeowners, attorneys, executors, and other private clients while staying focused on appraisal work.
Check whether AppraiZen is available in your market.
KTS Is Built Around Appraisal Work
KTS Appraisal Services is a multi-generational family business. Taston described riding along with his father, Kenton Sick, during inspections when he was a child. He and his sister helped with measurements, including what he called the "dumb end" of the old fiberglass tape.
Today, the firm handles a wide range of Northern Colorado properties. Taston describes everything from in-town condominiums and typical subdivision homes to acreage, manufactured housing, outbuildings, multiple residences, luxury properties, mountain views, and private lakes.
When KTS first came to AppraiZen, its appraisal practice was established. Its marketing needed attention.
Before AppraiZen, most KTS assignments came from AMCs, community lenders, credit unions, and larger banks. Private appraisals represented a much smaller part of the business and generally appeared through professional relationships or word of mouth.
"It was just bonus work," Taston said. "Somebody had a death in the family, and another real estate professional would say, 'Here is the appraiser to call.'"
Private work was welcome, but KTS did not yet have a repeatable way for those clients to find the firm directly.
A Slower Lending Market Made Diversification More Important
When interest rates rose and lending volume slowed, KTS began looking more deliberately at diversification.
The firm had already invested time in live "Ask an Appraiser" presentations for real estate offices and lenders. Those presentations created relationships, but they did not give KTS a broad, durable online presence. Its earlier website did not represent the business as professionally or completely as Taston wanted.
There was also a practical family-business concern. KTS had three working appraisers, each with a household depending on the firm's continued strength.
"There is a whole huge untapped market out there that we need to expand into and really start to diversify our business," Taston recalled.
The goal was not to abandon lender relationships. It was to create another dependable path to the work KTS wanted.
What AppraiZen Handles for KTS
AppraiZen manages KTS's website and LinkedIn business presence and develops articles around the firm's services, market, and professional perspective. Search visibility, content, measurement, and ongoing website work are all part of that support.
Taston says the website matters for more than appearance. A private client may be preparing to invite an unfamiliar appraiser into a home during an estate, divorce, listing decision, or other stressful situation. Seeing the people behind the firm, their credentials, their family story, and clear information about the work reduces some of that uncertainty before the first call.
“The website makes us look really professional. They know what we look like. They know our credentials. It breaks down so many of those barriers, and we seem more accessible to people.”
AppraiZen also handles the marketing work KTS does not want to manage internally.
"I do not know much about how to get Google Ads and get Google clicks, and that is where AppraiZen came in," Taston said. "It makes it easy."
See how the AppraiZen system works.
The Time Commitment Stays Small
For Taston, one of the biggest benefits is avoiding decision fatigue.
Every assignment requires judgment. Running a firm adds scheduling, client communication, staff needs, billing, technology, and daily operational decisions. Marketing can easily become another list of tasks that never receives consistent attention.
With AppraiZen, Taston says his role is usually to review material, confirm that it reflects the firm accurately, and send corrections or observations when needed.
“It takes me five to ten minutes once a week or once every two weeks. It is one less thing that I have to worry about.”
That does not mean the appraiser disappears from the process. KTS's judgment, service preferences, local knowledge, approvals, and feedback are what keep the marketing accurate. The difference is that Taston does not have to become the website developer, search specialist, advertising manager, or content production team.
How the Partnership Supports KTS's Private Work
Taston reported that private work had been about 5% of KTS's business before AppraiZen. At the time of the interview, he estimated that non-lender work generated through the website had grown to roughly 20% to 25% of the firm's business.
That is KTS's individual, self-reported experience. It is not a typical-results claim or a forecast for another firm. Market demand, services, geography, capacity, pricing, responsiveness, professional reputation, and the way an appraiser handles each inquiry all affect what happens after a lead is delivered.
For Taston, the benefit is having more choice about the work KTS takes on. He says the firm can be more selective about complex lender assignments and say yes to more private work that connects it directly with people in its community.
He also describes private assignments as more profitable on the whole for KTS. Lenders and AMCs receive a form of volume pricing, while a one-time private assignment often requires more client guidance and may involve a more complex problem. KTS prices that work accordingly.
If that is the kind of shift you want for your firm, check whether AppraiZen is available in your market.
"We are dealing with people's largest financial asset, and you need to respect that," Taston said. "If we can help alleviate fear for them about what to do with our appraisals, then that is what we are going to do."
The Inquiries Are Often Specific and Complex
KTS receives private inquiries involving divorce, estate and probate needs, pre-listing decisions, acreage, and unusual property questions.
Taston also describes people contacting the firm after using ChatGPT to work through a complex situation. One caller had a well run dry on a 40-acre parcel and wanted to understand whether to repair it before selling or list the property as-is. Others had questions involving family trusts and the valuation needs that arose when trustees wanted to change their ownership positions.
These were not casual, one-line searches. The prospective clients had complicated problems and needed a local professional who could help define the appraisal assignment.
AppraiZen helps people find your firm and get to know you before they call. Your website and articles show them what you do, where you work, and how you can help.
Our article Private Appraisal Marketing Is a System, Not a Single Search Result explains how those pieces reinforce one another.
Why Taston Recommends AppraiZen
Taston says he has already referred other appraisers to AppraiZen.
His recommendation is aimed at appraisal professionals who want a larger private-client presence but do not have the time or technical background to manage a website and every supporting channel themselves.
“If you want to expand your private work where you do not have to be so lender-dependent on the swings of interest rates or refinances, this is worth your time and it is worth your money. It is amazing to work with people who understand what an appraisal is, who appraisers are, and how complex properties can be.”
He also values AppraiZen's protected-market approach. AppraiZen limits local client overlap so its work is built around each firm's actual services and market rather than selling the same generic package to an unlimited number of nearby competitors.
"I know I can call Andrew, shoot him a text, or send an email, and I will get a response," Taston said. "That customer service aspect, and the fact that it is tailored for us within our market, is what matters most."
"I wish we would have found AppraiZen earlier," Taston says.
A Marketing System Should Create Access, Not More Busywork
For KTS, AppraiZen makes the firm's experience visible, helps private clients understand its work, and supports new inquiries without adding another daily marketing job.
That is the role AppraiZen is designed to fill.
If you are an independent residential appraiser who wants more private-client work, the first question is whether AppraiZen is available in your market. We limit local overlap, so availability is reviewed before a new firm is accepted.
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About AppraiZen
AppraiZen builds and manages private-client marketing systems for independent residential appraisers. The work can include an appraiser-specific website, locally relevant content, search visibility, advertising, LinkedIn support, measurement, and protected-market positioning. Learn how AppraiZen works.
About KTS Appraisals
KTS Appraisal Services is a family-owned, multi-generational residential appraisal firm serving Northern Colorado, including Larimer, Weld, and Adams counties. The team works with homeowners, attorneys, and lenders on estate, divorce, and other residential appraisal needs. Its experience spans in-town homes and condominiums, residential acreage, and properties with unusual features. Meet the KTS Appraisals team.