New URAR form - help wanted -

[sputnam]

The panic is unwarranted. The change is about the appraisal report. It's not about how to do appraisals.

 

[chad hampton]

As long as it’s faster and more efficient, I’m good with whatever changes come. Unfortunately, when a big giant worthless piece of **** bureaucracy puts their hands on stuff, that’s usually not the case. So we’ll see.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Prolly just another learning curve to master.

 

[DWiley]

I think the transition to the new UAD will be a lot like the transition to the first UAD. In the beginning there will be frustration due to the increased time to produce reports. That increased time is not because the new system is worse, its because it is new, and the appraiser has not yet gotten to the level of autonomic report writing.

I often tell non-appraisers that when appraisers use their current forms software, it is a lot like driving your car to the grocery store. You have done it so many times you don't even have to think about opening the door, putting your foot on the brake, pushing the start button, etc. That stuff just happens. Well, it won't "just happen" with the new UAD, because it is a whole new way of reporting. But, within a short time, the new UAD will become "imprinted" in the appraisers' brains, and they won't want to do it the "old way" because the new way produces a much better report. Its far better organized. It is much easier to read/review. It is just a more logical presentation of the information.

 

[Dale Floyd]

Respectfully, I think some of you are off to see the Wizard.

Seriously - My firm will acclimate to any modernizations and technological advancements without too much problem, but this isn’t going to be a breeze for anybody. Especially for a ton of our more elder appraisers who still use very old methods.

Makes me think about a local surveyor here, in his 80’s, who still hand scripts his surveys. Frankly he is still one of the best, but he would never be able to make the leap into a forced technology beyond his level of computer expertise. There are tons of appraisers who are in that same exact boat. I know appraisers who still use clipboards and tape measures, who rely upon their wives or daughters to type their reports. They are competent and solid in the business, but simply lack tech savvy skills.

For all the rest - Do not be fooled into a false assumption that these changes will not include some real challenges. If it was going to be simple, it would not have taken a decade to program, multi-millions of tech investment dollars, and a couple of years to fully implement once started.

Take a class. Watch webinars. Take the time to learn and prepare. This doesn’t change the fundamentals, but it’s going to blow away the current process of communicating and reporting in my view.

 

[J Grant]

I think the transition to the new UAD will be a lot like the transition to the first UAD. In the beginning there will be frustration due to the increased time to produce reports. That increased time is not because the new system is worse, its because it is new, and the appraiser has not yet gotten to the level of autonomic report writing.

I often tell non-appraisers that when appraisers use their current forms software, it is a lot like driving your car to the grocery store. You have done it so many times you don't even have to think about opening the door, putting your foot on the brake, pushing the start button, etc. That stuff just happens. Well, it won't "just happen" with the new UAD, because it is a whole new way of reporting. But, within a short time, the new UAD will become "imprinted" in the appraisers' brains, and they won't want to do it the "old way" because the new way produces a much better report. Its far better organized. It is much easier to read/review. It is just a more logical presentation of the information.

The increased time continued after we got used to UAD. It has made reporting more difficult. The new forms with new fields to fill out for more detail at the inspection and in analysis will add significantly more time. I hope we can see the commensurate increase in fees.

I wonder how well the software companies are doing with adapting to it - I trust they will be able to make it compatible with our current templates.

 

[Dublin ohio]

Especially for a ton of our more elder appraisers who still use very old methods.

Watch it young whippersnapper. The only old method I use is my tape and clipboard when I run into situations where a disto is less than useless. I have adapted over my life from where your "calculator" was a manual adding machine with a paper printout, then an electric adding machine but still with a paper printout. My first calculator had a nixie tube display. My first computer was a Commodore 64. Decades later it is smart phone, desktop, tablet, think pad. Technology doesn't bother me in the least

 

[DWiley]

I trust they will be able to make it compatible with our current templates.

I certainly understand that desire, but it is a much bigger ask than most realize, given how much content in today's reports is unstructured text addenda. I just looked at a report this morning where, in a single block of text with no heading, the report addresses exposure time, ANSI, site value, reconciliation, etc. "Converting" that obvious template material would require something like GenAI to analyze the content for context, parsing it into separate categories, and placing it in the appropriate location in the new UAD.

 

[J Grant]

I certainly understand that desire, but it is a much bigger ask than most realize, given how much content in today's reports is unstructured text addenda. I just looked at a report this morning where, in a single block of text with no heading, the report addresses exposure time, ANSI, site value, reconciliation, etc. "Converting" that obvious template material would require something like GenAI to analyze the content for context, parsing it into separate categories, and placing it in the appropriate location in the new UAD.

If we can still create drop down inupt for the new forms that would be the way to go

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Makes me think about a local surveyor here, in his 80’s, who still hand scripts his surveys.

Do what you are comfortable with. The last of the plane table and alidade appraisers was still active in 2012. And most surveyors today don't even know what a plane table and alidade is. I do, because as a field geologist I know only did the work but have a plane table and mountain alidade myself. It was a great way to make topo maps or geologic maps. And seismic crews were still using it in the 1970s. Many of the modern survey crews are far more accurate but are not faster in reality, especially if the price points are considered. A surveyor easily has 50k plus a vehicle and probably a trailer and ATV to do their job.

Secondly, the range of "appraisal services" is wide and most of the concerns are from the very narrow format of the secondary market players. The non-secondary market players, especially those outside the bank lending forte are far more flexible and also get to charge a lot more on average since they often are not competing with many other players in the same arena.