For Centurisk Valuation Associate Adam Guerrero, thorough property appraisal and asset inventory are his bread and butter. But his travels across California these past four years have unexpectedly fed something more: an eye-opening and enriching new perspective on the state he calls home.
Based in San Dimas, just outside of bustling Los Angeles, Adam always knew the Golden State offered variety. “I enjoy snowboarding, and in just a few hours’ drive, I could be in the mountains surrounded by snowfall. Or, in summer, I could head west to the beach, only an hour away. In the city, I could find anything else I was looking for. We have the option to do it all here, depending on the season or mood.”
But as Adam’s work took him farther afield, those quick weekend getaways felt like only a taste of the full California experience. Through his work with school districts and counties, he suddenly found himself winding along rocky coastlines, driving through thick forests, and stopping in dusty desert towns. The sheer scale of it came into focus last fall, when Adam and several other appraisers fanned out across California’s northernmost bounds to support a customer’s appraisal initiative. “Once you pass San Francisco and Sacramento, you think you’re at the end of California,” Adam said. “But there’s so much more out there. There are forests where you can drive miles without seeing another car. I’ll stop at oceanfront hotels, where people go for a quiet vacation. I’ll see tiny towns with one-pump gas stations and outrageous gas prices. But I’ll still have to buy that gas, because that’s the only chance I might get that day. Once I even hit desert on the border near Nevada. No cell service, no supermarkets—just a couple of little stores and communities where the residents have to depend on each other because there’s nothing else around.”
A Taste for Adventure
Navigating those areas created its own surprises. On one trip, Adam encountered rugged terrain he wasn’t sure he could traverse in his rental sedan. Later, his client warned not to park that same vehicle on the dry grass because his exhaust could spark a wildfire. “After that, I stopped renting sedans,” Adam laughed. “Now I stick to high SUVs with all-wheel drive. Safer for the car and my peace of mind!”
Without guaranteed cell service or reliable GPS, Adam has learned that sometimes he must navigate California’s farthest reaches in a more old-fashioned way. “Before leaving the hotel, I’d contact the client for directions,” he explained. “Sometimes they’d send me maps or tips on getting where I needed to go. Other times I’d just meet my site contact and follow them out to the property.”
Feeding Culinary Curiosity
When the day’s work wraps up, Adam samples these ever-changing settings in a different way, through local food and drink. He’s sipped award-winning reds at Napa wineries, tried flights of microbrews while listening to live music, and discovered impressively craveable sushi in central California. “My colleagues and I went to this one sushi spot three nights in a row,” he recalled with a grin. “Now, whenever I’m back in the area, I make sure to stop in.”
While he’s noticed Californians around major cities tend to be more pressed for time and to the point, Adam’s quick to make new friends at the small-town eateries he uncovers during his travels. This easy-going vibe, he says, extends to customer contacts in California’s more rural regions, as well. “They tell me, ‘Hey, anything you need. I’ll be with you the whole day.’” As a result, he gets the data he needs and it makes the job a pleasure.
Savoring the Variety
With summer here, Adam’s schedule generally turns to school district inventories; summer break lets him focus more thoroughly on the properties without the student presence. But whether it’s a fixed asset inventory at an elementary school or a valuation for a sprawling county, Adam finds his job’s variety a plus. “There are times that all the travel can get hectic,” Adam admitted. “But then I come back home and start on the property data work. So, it’s great being able to work in the field and at home, too.”
And though he explains he enjoys his current city living, Adam admits he doesn’t have a single favorite California destination. “I like having all the options,” he said. In Adam’s world, there’s always a new place to try, a local beer to taste, or someone interesting to meet. “That’s what makes this job fun,” he said. “You get to sample it all.”