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New Cert Res here…can anyone provide guidance for how an appraiser could get into litigation and/or estate work. Not necessarily what firms to call for work, but the right steps to get educated/mentored correctly so that an appraiser could be credible? Thanks in advance
If you are new, you should try to spend some time working with an appraiser who is experienced doing litigation and/or estate work. As far as generating business, you need to visit lawyers and CPAs.
Not only are the courses relevant, you will meet appraisers and those that order appraisals:
From the Appraisal Institute,
"Take a Deep Dive Into Real-Estate-Based Litigation
Take a deep dive into real-estate-based litigation and your role as an appraiser.
During this professional development program, you will:
Analyze eminent domain actions and appraising for condemnation.
Review specialized types of litigation where valuation of real estate is frequently an issue.
Learn how to bring value to the litigation arena, including how to market yourself.
Gain practical strategies for providing expert testimony.
The Litigation program includes the following three courses:
The Appraiser as an Expert Witness: Preparation and Testimony (16 Hours)
Learn the basic concepts and strategies needed to engage in litigation valuation.
Litigation Appraising: Specialized Topics and Applications (22.5 Hours)
This course covers specialized topics, such as:
Environmental contamination
Ad valorem tax assessments
Construction defects
Bankruptcies
Fraud and misrepresentation
Income and estate tax disputes
Inverse condemnation
Contract disputes
Equitable distribution in divorces cases
Condemnation Appraising: Principles and Applications (22 Hours)
This course will take you through:
The eminent domain process.
Rules and regulations governing condemnation appraisals.
Important issues unique to this appraisal specialty.
I don’t do litigation beyond divorces but I do have experience in estate work. Beyond the effective date of appraisal being something beyond current date, the appraisal practice is pretty much the same. Two things to concentrate on though.
1. Have a good, thorough Letter of Engagement. Unlike lender work, the scope of work can differ with the assignment so interview your client thoroughly to know exactly what the client is after. Also, really get detailed disclosing in your report who the client and intended users are and get specific with the intended use/uses are, especially in divorce work. Also in divorce work, emphasize that you are NOT an advocate for your client, only for your appraisal. Outline if you have an agreement to testify or not testify in court.
2. Double check your report and then check it again before you send it to the client. If you make a mistake in a report for a lender, underwriters are lenient and will just ask you to correct it. However, your client finding a mistake in your report when testifying in court is the worst possible time. The other side will use even the smallest errors to attack the credibility of your work.
Even if the assignment is for an estate where there is no litigation, zero mistakes is the goal. Unlike underwriters, attorneys are used to thorough, mistake free work in their profession and expect that from appraisers. They will not think twice about dropping you from future work if your reports are not thorough, understandable, credible and free from typos.
That being said, this niche is very rewarding. Unlike lender work, if the fee you quote is reasonable, they don’t question it or shop you around. They also are very lenient on turn times and if they like your work, are very loyal. Personally, I find these assignments a welcome change from lender work and I am free to write the report the way I think is best, not what Fannie/Freddie/FHA think.
New Cert Res here…can anyone provide guidance for how an appraiser could get into litigation and/or estate work. Not necessarily what firms to call for work, but the right steps to get educated/mentored correctly so that an appraiser could be credible? Thanks in advance
Fair market value
Do not use the 1004 form EVER
Preferably a narrative or a general purpose form. And learn how to use a narrative format if you do estates because lots of people have more than one property. You can reduce writing by putting all the properties in the same report (even if multiple sections ) Learn how to use templates, merge files, and fill in functions.
5 year history, not 3. The IRS is not your client nor an intended user in a cost-basis (Date of Death) report. If a gifting is involved, you will need to list the IRS as an intended user. With gifting you have to sign an IRS form 8283. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8283
Fair market value
Do not use the 1004 form EVER
Preferably a narrative or a general purpose form. And learn how to use a narrative format if you do estates because lots of people have more than one property. You can reduce writing by putting all the properties in the same report (even if multiple sections ) Learn how to use templates, merge files, and fill in functions.
5 year history, not 3. The IRS is not your client nor an intended user in a cost-basis (Date of Death) report. If a gifting is involved, you will need to list the IRS as an intended user. With gifting you have to sign an IRS form 8283. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8283
Not only are the courses relevant, you will meet appraisers and those that order appraisals:
From the Appraisal Institute,
"Take a Deep Dive Into Real-Estate-Based Litigation
Take a deep dive into real-estate-based litigation and your role as an appraiser.
During this professional development program, you will:
Analyze eminent domain actions and appraising for condemnation.
Review specialized types of litigation where valuation of real estate is frequently an issue.
Learn how to bring value to the litigation arena, including how to market yourself.
Gain practical strategies for providing expert testimony.
The Litigation program includes the following three courses:
The Appraiser as an Expert Witness: Preparation and Testimony (16 Hours)
Learn the basic concepts and strategies needed to engage in litigation valuation.
Litigation Appraising: Specialized Topics and Applications (22.5 Hours)
This course covers specialized topics, such as:
Environmental contamination
Ad valorem tax assessments
Construction defects
Bankruptcies
Fraud and misrepresentation
Income and estate tax disputes
Inverse condemnation
Contract disputes
Equitable distribution in divorces cases
Condemnation Appraising: Principles and Applications (22 Hours)
This course will take you through:
The eminent domain process.
Rules and regulations governing condemnation appraisals.
Important issues unique to this appraisal specialty.
Yes, thank you. I’m a member and headed for my SRA. I’ve been waiting for an online course to start since I live in another state, but I do miss a Chicago deep dish pizzas….
I don’t do litigation beyond divorces but I do have experience in estate work. Beyond the effective date of appraisal being something beyond current date, the appraisal practice is pretty much the same. Two things to concentrate on though.
1. Have a good, thorough Letter of Engagement. Unlike lender work, the scope of work can differ with the assignment so interview your client thoroughly to know exactly what the client is after. Also, really get detailed disclosing in your report who the client and intended users are and get specific with the intended use/uses are, especially in divorce work. Also in divorce work, emphasize that you are NOT an advocate for your client, only for your appraisal. Outline if you have an agreement to testify or not testify in court.
2. Double check your report and then check it again before you send it to the client. If you make a mistake in a report for a lender, underwriters are lenient and will just ask you to correct it. However, your client finding a mistake in your report when testifying in court is the worst possible time. The other side will use even the smallest errors to attack the credibility of your work.
Even if the assignment is for an estate where there is no litigation, zero mistakes is the goal. Unlike underwriters, attorneys are used to thorough, mistake free work in their profession and expect that from appraisers. They will not think twice about dropping you from future work if your reports are not thorough, understandable, credible and free from typos.
That being said, this niche is very rewarding. Unlike lender work, if the fee you quote is reasonable, they don’t question it or shop you around. They also are very lenient on turn times and if they like your work, are very loyal. Personally, I find these assignments a welcome change from lender work and I am free to write the report the way I think is best, not what Fannie/Freddie/FHA think.
Fair market value
Do not use the 1004 form EVER
Preferably a narrative or a general purpose form. And learn how to use a narrative format if you do estates because lots of people have more than one property. You can reduce writing by putting all the properties in the same report (even if multiple sections ) Learn how to use templates, merge files, and fill in functions.
5 year history, not 3. The IRS is not your client nor an intended user in a cost-basis (Date of Death) report. If a gifting is involved, you will need to list the IRS as an intended user. With gifting you have to sign an IRS form 8283. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8283
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