The New USPAP

[Fernando]

The whining seems even worse when you consider that most of the people in this forum are real propery appraisers. Standards 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, and 10 don't even apply to us. What that means is that for most of us, USPAP has 34 pages that apply to our professional appraisal practice... 26 pages if you don't do reviews. And... Yes, I know that some people in the form also do other sorts of appraisals and the other Standards may apply to them. That is why I said... "most".

I heard over 95% of appraisal work are for lenders. USPAP should have main document for lender work and leave the hundreds of pages in back which are irrelevant to most appraisers.

 

[Dale Floyd]

The claim was that USPAP was nebulous and hard to understand. I saw some post disagreeing with certain things in USPAP, but no one has yet posted a passage they appear to not understand. Still waiting for that.

It wasn’t so long ago, we were all having heartburn caused by the definition of “misleading” in a revised USPAP.

E&O providers, appraiser organizations, AMCs, appraisers, and a few GSE personalities sent letters and expressed concerns about the inclusion of “unintentional” in that definition we had to live with for a minute.

Not sure anybody claimed to have an abundance of understanding about that.

 

[andrew81]

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[RCA]

I disagree. I have the book in front of me. The sections are in the same order they were before and are clearly labeled. There is a perfectly usable Table of Contents and Index. I agree that it was handy to have it all in one volume but, it's really not that hard to put one book down and pick up another one. I completely agree about the price. Fortunately, I live in NC and the appraisal board provides discounted prices to credentialed appraisers when a new edition of USPAP is available. However, if you think it should be different, get appointed to the ASB and make that happen. Then we can complain about the failings of your work product.

From what I see, you will struggle to make the most minor changes. And the final change could be quite different than what you envisioned. It is a hopeless standard. But while is should be completely trashed and replaced with a real standard, that is not going to happen because the TAF system is a very large spiderweb of dependencies and inertia.

Your efforts would be more productive if designed to create a newer system with a parallel existence and see where you can get with that. A sort of alternative reality for appraisal. You would have to find banks to go along with it and get congressional approval and I don't know what else. But the way I see it, the current system is totally impossible to improve to any significant extent - and I very much believe that to be the case.

Along with that we need a new appraisal organization and most of all a new appraisal journal.

And it should be based on the West Coast. Near Stanford and UC Berkeley.

 

[djd09]

"Conducting this comprehensive review and revision of the Ethics Rule will benefit the profession and the public," said Appraisal Standards Board Chair Michelle Czekalski Bradley. "The Board was pleased by the results of this process and feels that this new edition of USPAP will be an asset to appraisers and the public alike who are seeking to gain a better understanding of an appraiser's ethical obligations and requirements under fair housing laws and regulations. Bias and discrimination have never been permitted by our standards, and now that is clear to all who read them."

obviously it must of been unclear before...

 

[Fernando]

"Conducting this comprehensive review and revision of the Ethics Rule will benefit the profession and the public," said Appraisal Standards Board Chair Michelle Czekalski Bradley. "The Board was pleased by the results of this process and feels that this new edition of USPAP will be an asset to appraisers and the public alike who are seeking to gain a better understanding of an appraiser's ethical obligations and requirements under fair housing laws and regulations. Bias and discrimination have never been permitted by our standards, and now that is clear to all who read them."

obviously it must of been unclear before...

USPAP was amended with the nondiscrimination rules implemented last month.
The optics look bad as if USPAP was lacking the discussion of bias for past 30 years and is addressing this issue now.
Imagine the public looking at last year's USPAP and did not see elaboration on nondiscrimination (as if not that important).
Now USPAP is putting appraisers on notice that we are put at higher standard than real estate agents in making sure we don't discriminate in any way. More ammunition for attorneys to use against us.

 

[andrew81]

USPAP was amended with the nondiscrimination rules implemented last month.
The optics look bad as if USPAP was lacking the discussion of bias for past 30 years and is addressing this issue now.
Imagine the public looking at last year's USPAP

You didn't read last years USPAP either. Anyone looking at it objectively (without their own bias) and understanding that it says what it says, would realize bias and discrimination wasn't allowed then either.

"must not perform an assignment with bias;"

"must not use or rely on unsupported conclusions relating to characteristics such as race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, familial status, age, receipt of public assistance income, handicap, or an unsupported conclusion that homogeneity of such characteristics is necessary to maximize value;"

"In considering neighborhood trends, an appraiser must avoid stereotyped or biased assumptions relating to race, age, color, gender, or national origin or an assumption that race, ethnic, or religious homogeneity is necessary to maximize value in a neighborhood."

"Appraisers must ensure that their appraisal or appraisal review opinions and conclusions are impartial and objective and do not illegally discriminate or contribute to illegal discrimination through subjective or stereotypical assumptions."

 

[RCA]

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the renewed interest by appraisal leadership on bias issues is simply to further expand their spiderweb of political connections - since that is where the political appetite is now in Washington DC. It is just a question of jumping on the bandwagon with the most horsepower. It has almost nothing at all to do with improving thd defunct "art" of appraisal. It also, surprisingly to some, has little to do with reducing bias in appraisal, since that really doesn't exist. It is just politics, nothing more.

And let's be honest this is also wrapped to a very large extent with the "Get more women into appraisal" politics - it all goes together under Woke. To be serious, we are dealing mostly with women here. Now, understand, there is nothing wrong with getting women into appraisal - in fact it is maybe probably a good thing in some ways - I have never studied the issue and don't have an opinion about female appraisers, as most of the ones I have ever dealt with were male. But we need more intelligent appraisers, regardless of sex. So, making space available in the profession for all genders is better than not. ---> Only let's not forget competence.

 

[andrew81]

Only let's not forget competence.

Staying on topic of USPAP and without delving into social or political issues.

Can you define an appraisers competence?

 

[sputnam]

I heard over 95% of appraisal work are for lenders. USPAP should have main document for lender work and leave the hundreds of pages in back which are irrelevant to most appraisers.

USPAP has no special rules for lending work. A main USPAP document for lender work would look exactly the same as it does now. The AOs and FAQs are not part of USPAP. They are reference materials to help appraisers understand the application of the Standards in situations. Both have TOCs and Indexes. Fernando... if you would spend as much time trying to familiarize yourself with USPAP as you do posting in this forum... you would be a USPAP expert.