USPAP

Behind Curtain at State Boards

Like most real estate appraisal boards, Florida’s Board publishes an annual summary of the cases it finalizes against its appraisers. Florida’s Real Estate Appraisal Board (FREAB) does not intend these summaries to be lengthy analyses of “what went wrong” or something law students might study for insight. They are merely summaries of the charges the… Read More

Environmental Due Diligence

In 1994 Fannie Mae formally introduced environmental due diligence to the appraisal industry- so what has changed? The Appraisal Journal (January 1995), published by the Appraisal Institute, included an article that reviewed what was then new environmental reporting requirements put in place by Fannie Mae and the new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) form (effective January… Read More

Calculating Diminution of a Contaminated Property

If you are appraising an environmentally contaminated property, you may need to consider more than just the cost of remediation (cost to cure). The property may suffer from stigma associated with the contamination. Stigmatized properties can take months and even years to recover from a blighted image. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal (USPAP) describe stigma… Read More

Tips from Appraisal Subcommittee

Jim Park, Executive Director of the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC), has valuable information for appraisers regarding their professional information posted publically on the National Registry of Appraisers and more. Last year, when Park spoke at the Valuation Expo in San Antonio, many appraisers wondered why the “complaint hotline,” established under Dodd-Frank nearly three years ago, was taking… Read More

Customary and Reasonable Assignments

Editor’s Note: Andy Anderson looks around and ahead toward fixing a now broken appraisal profession. Customary and Reasonable Assignments By Andy Anderson The appraisal profession was not broken. Just like other professions, there were (and are) some bad actors, but appraising was not broken and should have been allowed to do its job correctly. That is not… Read More