54 Page Residential Appraisal Report

[George Hatch]

My latest SFR report ran 27 pages, included a full cost approach with site sales analysis and site pics, an insurable value, "as is" value, prospective value upon completion - and the format I use is on letter sized, not legal sized, and you don't need a magnifying glass to read it. The report reads from front to back with no addenda aside from the exhibits.

1 page for the assignment and salient conclusions (the latter for the readers who don't want to read the report)
1 page for the neighborhood
1 page for the site
1 page for the improvements and HBU summary
1 page for the assignment conditions and valuation methodology
1 page for the Cost Approach
1 page for the market segment analysis and 1004MC elements
3 pages for the Sales comparison and another page for the MLS comments for each comparable (I put the latter at the end of the report)
1 page for the prospective value analysis
1 page for the reconciliation
2 pages for SOW, assumptions and limiting conditions and appraiser's cert
1 page for the insurable value analysis


Because I'm not saying stupid sht in the hardwired portions of my report format I am not compelled to "clarify" what I am saying. I guarantee I'm putting in way more original writing in those pages than most SFR appraisals include, even if they do have more pages.

 

[J Grant]

Mine are typically 30-35 pages but can be more or less depending on what's needed

I do see a number of reports made thicker with what I call "filler".pre printed addendum pages covering every possible contingency ...boiler plate...and then pages of what are usually generic MLS or software populated graphs/charts so wide ranging in area or housing type to be meaningless.

 

[hastalavista]

When I see boilerplate/filler in reports, those reports are usually not 40+ pages (my experience... not arguing that it isn't so in other cases).
The most common example of boilerplate/filler is maybe 2-3 pages in a report that is otherwise 20+/- pages.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I wouldn't trust a report with lots of unecessary paragraphs and meaningless charts.. To me you are hiding something between the lines.

That's not sound logic, but encountered it in FSA reviewer when I had four comps of poultry farms, identical barns and contracts. Claimed I used 4th to inflate value, it was opposite, marking the low range of value. Shortcut artists aren't going to waste time writing more than they have to.

 

[J Grant]

The problem with form reports is they tend to "look" alike...perhaps why some include pages of of extras to set theirs apart. Which still does not make an appraisal better or worse, just longer or shorter.

The REAL issue is the critical key content...one sentence of key analysis or piece of property/ market information. (by inclusion of omission) can change the appraisal outcome. And that holds true no matter the length of a report.

Which echoes the weakness with client QC reviews; it may not be apparent from a short form review/ computer review, whether key information or analysis is present, and conversely, if misleading information was conveyed in the report that does not belong.

 

[chad hampton]

99% of my reports are 25 pages or so.

I allow a 1 page addendum where all other text goes. On the most complex properties, the text rolls into another page. But very rarely.

I've seen reports where every line of page #1 of the URAR reads "See comments". I start to roll my eyes when I see that, and know I'm getting ready to read endless paragraphs of nonsense. Stick to the lines on page #1 for most of your reports.

 

[Don Clark]

99% of my reports are 25 pages or so.

I allow a 1 page addendum where all other text goes. On the most complex properties, the text rolls into another page. But very rarely.

I've seen reports where every line of page #1 of the URAR reads "See comments". I start to roll my eyes when I see that, and know I'm getting ready to read endless paragraphs of nonsense. Stick to the lines on page #1 for most of your reports.

In the "old day" reports of a length of 54 + pages would have been considered to be a "narrative report". A form report was supposed to be a series of "statements" with only a few places where one would need to have a narrative. But, with the advent of the electronic age I suppose this is an easy way to avoid a hard copy of a report file. Just put all the **** in an electronic report and forget a hard copy.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

How can one provide a TofC without knowing the PDF pagination that isn't known until the PDF version is printed?

Yet we're required to keep a copy of the report we transmit. (Which is possible but a significant PITA.)

 

[timd354]

In the "old day" reports of a length of 54 + pages would have been considered to be a "narrative report". A form report was supposed to be a series of "statements" with only a few places where one would need to have a narrative. But, with the advent of the electronic age I suppose this is an easy way to avoid a hard copy of a report file. Just put all the **** in an electronic report and forget a hard copy.

There is simply no reason for a 54 page report for most mortgage related appraisals. Most of the time, reports that long are filled with pages and pages of CYA boilerplate and other useless information that adds no credibility to the report. Bigger does not always mean better.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

The market(s) in which I work are, for the most part, not particularly homogeneous, requiring comments about data limitations and comparable selection. In the past year, I've probably had only 2 appraisals that did not have SCA comments that rolled over to a text addendum. I can understand someone in a very large market having a large number of similar, recent sales not having to discuss at length why they were used. I don't understand why an appraiser doing GSE work won't amplify the SOW, certs and limitations to explain what she did or didn't do in with those requirements.

Boilerplate - I think any appraiser doing GSE work would be foolish to not explain in some detail the limitations of the MC addendum and the way it requires the data and analysis to be presented. I would wonder whether an appraisal report that doesn't put the analysis reported on that form in a larger context would be - on its face - misleading.

But that's just me.