Appraisal House Blog

I was appraising a house a few days ago that was on several acres.  A very nice house in a suburban area, with all the requisite toys - greta pool with water slide, a separate pool house with wet bar, firepit/conversation area, large playscape, detached studio, etc.  I noticed that there was a large stone fence across the back yard that separated the house and maybe an acre of land from the rest of the property.  I saw that the was a barn down there, and so went through the gate to go measure it.  There were a few mid sized lawn tractors and a 4-wheeler in the barn, and I figured that the purpose was just to house this equipment.  As I was measuring the barn (roughly 15' x 35'), I turned a corner and came face to face with a small donkey.  I'm not sure which of us was more startled!  He jumped a little and then moved off the other way, and I went back to my measuring thinking that maybe there were a few other donkeys around, and to watch where I was stepping.

As I finished the measurement, I was taking a few notes and something made me look up.  In front of me about 10 yards away was a full sized llama.  Now, I have a friend that owns a few, but I have no real knowledge of them, and certainly no idea how to interact with them.  I figured he would just move away like the donkey had done.  So I was therefore a little distressed to see him start moving towards me at a pretty good pace.  As he came closer and closer without slowing down, my train of thoughts ran something like this:

1. Is it going to try and kick or bite me?  I can't tell if it looks angry, but it sure is coming at me pretty fast!
2. Can I just push it away?  No, it's too big and coming too fast.  Maybe I could punch it to slow it down?  Could I wrestle it?
3. The owners are not going to be happy if I hurt their llama.  Okay, brace yourself and be prepared to get medical attention.

This llama just came right at me, never slowing down.  It's head came up and was right in front of my face, and then at the side of my head.  "Is it going to try and bite my ear?  What kind of attack is that?  Has it been watching reruns of Mike Tyson fights?"

But that was it.  It kind of sniffed me a bit, I pet it on it's neck for a minute, and then it turned and walked away, followed by the donkey.

So for all of you real estate professionals out there that may someday run into a llama unexpectedly, be aware that that is what they do.  I talked to the owner later who explained that llamas like to sniff at your ear, and they make a determination of whether they like you or not based on that.  If they like you, they will just walk away or let you pet them.  If they don't like you, they will move back a few inches and spit in your face.  You DO NOT want that to happen, for reasons beyond the general annoyance of being spat on.  The owner said that the spit is just chewed up grass that lingers in their throats, but it stinks to high heaven, and takes forever to wash out of your clothes and hair.         

So in the end I was pretty happy that I had not been spit on, and gained acceptance from the llama community, and not injured a homeowners pet.  A good day, all in all.