Before you lynch me for NOT turning down an assignment.
COMPETENCY RULE
Prior to accepting an assignment or entering into an agreement to perform any assignment, an appraiser must properly identify the problem to be addressed and have the knowledge and experience to complete the assignment competently; or alternatively, must:
disclose the lack of knowledge and/or experience to the client before accepting the assignment;...check
take all steps necessary or appropriate to complete the assignment competently;...working on it
describe the lack of knowledge and/or experience and the steps taken to complete the assignment competently in the report...will do
Guys, not to be argumentative, but depending on the assignment you, or myself, may be more qualified/competent than the appraiser who happens to live in the same county. For instance, there is a fellow from the UP named Bruce Closser who specializes in Ski Resorts - he travels all across the US to appraise them, and is an expert in the valuation of ski resorts. I have a bit of a specialty in Box Retail build to suit properties and have had several out of state trips to inspect, gather, collect, confirm, and analyze data. The appraisal process is the same in every market. You're just working with different data. And, I might add, you'd be surprised how alike most of Michigan's rural markets are.
I know of several appraisers from the metro area that will come up to the Thumb area for residential work. They've got Realcomp usually and they'll miss comps that are not carried on it (Like those on RMLS or IRA2000 only), sometimes it makes a difference, sometimes not. Rural markets are difficult anyways due to limited data, sometimes it takes 3 MLS subs to cover a rural market fully...at least if you're going to venture out of your typical service area team up with someone from the neighborhood to collect data.
I guess it is also a business decision...
(don't hate me just yet, just playing devil's advocate here for a minute)...
Let's say I have a client relationship that I have developed over some time.
Said Client needs an appraisal completed in Gladwin county.
I know there are good appraisers in Gladwin county who could probably do it faster and better than I could, (and I am not planning a vacation up north any time soon) so I make a few phone calls and sure enough find an appraiser that is able to complete the appraisal on a subcontractual basis for $300. I say "great" we shake virtual hands and I call my client back...saying we're ready to go. Client sends the order to me. I call the borrower, process the payment ($375) via paypal, and send the particulars to my local colleague who is going to complete the appraisal...he delivers the pdf to me with my company name on it and his signature...I review for QA...
--if it looks good/reasonable I ship it (after all it is also my reputation on the line with a good client)
--if it is substandard (not talking value here, just addressing thoroughness of the narrative/comp selection issues/or sloppy work), I ask questions and maybe require more explanation or that he/she add a comp that is more similar (i.e. all the original comps are 3 bedrooms, whilest the subject is 2 beds), then ship it after he/she has addressed said items.
At the end of the assignment, we've both made a new friend/associate and are better off for it. (i.e. he's got $300 and a job he wouldn't have gotten otherwise, I've got $75 for the "referral" and a little bit o' work and I didn't have to drive to Gladwin)
All this to say, I've never seen a profession so eager to attack one other...we are professionals, let's act that way. We all know what happens when we "***-u-me" certain things before we know much about the situation.
