Imagine stepping into a land where the vastness of nature dwarfs everything you’ve ever known — a world free of roads, where rivers weave through untouched wilderness, and mountains rise from a blanket of snow and fog. For Regional Appraisal Manager Tyler Testa, this was Alaska, a unique appraisal opportunity that transformed the traveler with a profound new perspective.
It happened in October of 2023, back when Tyler was a Valuation Associate traveling regularly on behalf of Centurisk. While Tyler’s journeys normally took him across the American West, this time his mission was Northbound, to appraise the school buildings scattered across two districts nestled in the Alaskan forest.
Into the Wild
The adventure began in Anchorage, Alaska, the state’s most populous city, but soon Tyler found himself boarding a bush plane and waving goodbye to the city’s bustle for the isolated communities of the Alaskan mainland.
“I met the pilot at 8:00 AM, at this plane that was not much bigger than an SUV. It had just two rows of seats and storage in the back for our equipment. I sat next to the pilot as we flew over what seemed like endless wilderness,” Tyler recalled. “It took us over two hours to reach our first destination, trees and mountains as far as the eye could see, and yet we’d barely scratched the surface of Alaska’s massive size.”
Their journey took them first to McGrath, where they picked up the school districts’ maintenance worker, a McGrath local with access to the buildings for appraisal. Then the plane took flight again for Anvik, located just west of the Yukon River. Tyler marveled at the untouched beauty below. “There were no roads, no trails—just endless land. We spotted a moose and a bison. We were thousands of feet above them, yet they were so large, they stood out like giants.”
Adapting to Alaska
Back on the ground, Tyler quickly learned that appraising buildings in such a remote region requires both personal flexibility and clever planning. “The schools are small, serving 15 to 20 students in total, with kindergarten through 12th grade in the same building,” Tyler explained. The districts themselves each included a school, a gas station, a convenience store or two, and the homes of the residents. Without hotels in the area, the schools were prepared to host any visitors for the night. The pilot and I slept in a classroom with sleeping bags. We got food from the convenience store and we had access to the school’s kitchen to heat our meals.”
The weather added another layer of unpredictability to the trip. “It would go from clear skies to a blizzard in minutes. The pilot talked about how in the past, he’d being stranded for weeks due to sudden storms. It was eye-opening how much the weather dictates their life out there,” Tyler said.
The cost of living in the region struck Tyler as equally surprising. “A quart of milk costs ten to fifteen dollars because transporting goods is so expensive. And construction costs for buildings are just as high. That’s why the schools often expand by adding new walls instead of tearing down and rebuilding. They work with what they have and add-on as needed.” This was unusual compared to the properties Tyler normally appraises, where complete rebuilds are common. This unique approach meant all valuation calculations needed to account for the higher construction costs; the Centurisk team leapt into action there, researching to determine the appropriate benchmarks for the area.
A Broader Perspective
Experiencing life beyond the lower 48, Tyler found moments of pure magic. “My favorite part was the flight back to Anchorage. Because of the wind, we took a different route out than we came in, flying between glaciers and mountains. It was the most beautiful scenery—like something out of a dream. The pictures don’t do it justice.”
A brief stop at a hunting camp, to pick up equipment, offered another unforgettable experience. “Walking through the woods, I saw bear, wolf, and bison tracks everywhere. It really drove home how wild and untouched Alaska is.”
Lessons from the Last Frontier
While Tyler arrived to appraise two school districts of remote Alaska, he left the state with more than just accurate property data. The trip served as a humbling reminder of humanity’s smallness in the face of nature’s grandeur. “I remember thinking, ‘If anything happens out here, I don’t even know where to go—it’s so big,’” Tyler reflected. “But that’s also what made it so incredible. It gives you a broader perspective, not just on work, but on life. It’s a place that stays with you.”