Rent Schedule Only

[Metropolis]

So, I'm trying to think through the scope and I think I'm making it harder than it has to be.

I have a client who needs to determine the market rent on a property for a divorce case wherein the husband has been living in the house for the past 12 months yet both husband and wife are paying the mortgage. The attorney wants to know the amount of "rent" that would be due to the wife for allowing the husband to live there. Of course this is a 5,000 sq/ft estate home, but I do have rental comps.

Any compliance issues you can think of that I need to be aware of beyond the ordinary?

 

[glenn walker]

No just do it BUT make sure you charge a premium. It's a good idea to draft an engagement letter regarding the scope of work and your fee per hour in the event you are asked to testify in court and have it signed. This is probably a straight forward assignment but divorces can get nasty and the other spouse will often have his own appraiser or accountant complete a rental survey and of course his will be substantially lower than your rents : ) LOL

 

[Metropolis]

Thanks Glen. Court testimony will be required. Not that that is what dictates my commitment to a quality product, but it sure does place it under a microscope.

 

[CANative]

Keep in mind that an opinion of market rent is an appraisal and Standards Rules apply.

 

[hastalavista]

1. It is an appraisal.
2. If this is for litigation, then I think the applicable reporting standard would be SR2-2 ("appraisal report").
3. You can read through SR1 and SR2 to see what must be specifically reported in an appraisal report. But in sum (and IMO):

• Identify and report the physical and legal characteristics of the property (site & improvements, zoning, H&BU, etc.)
• Identify and report the economic characteristics of the market (the rental trade area, rental rates, demographics, etc.)
• Provide the rental comparable analysis as is appropriate for this type of home/assignment
• Make sure you include a signed certification
• Make sure you define "Market Rent"

For a divorce case, my rental surveys are typically 8-12 pages long.
I had a case going to court against a very well known appraisal firm; their rental survey was 20+ pages. Mine was 30+ pages; that was atypical. I would think the 8-12 page report would cover it for most assignments.

Good luck!

 

[glenn walker]

Boy I am in trouble the last one I did was two pages on the rent survey and a certification. I did describe the physical characteristics and neighborhood. I guess I was lucky the other appraiser showed up with a 1 page rental schedule and no certification. As always the Can & Denis are way ahead of the average bear : )

 

[Metropolis]

1. It is an appraisal.
2. If this is for litigation, then I think the applicable reporting standard would be SR2-2 ("appraisal report").
3. You can read through SR1 and SR2 to see what must be specifically reported in an appraisal report. But in sum (and IMO):

• Identify and report the physical and legal characteristics of the property (site & improvements, zoning, H&BU, etc.)
• Identify and report the economic characteristics of the market (the rental trade area, rental rates, demographics, etc.)
• Provide the rental comparable analysis as is appropriate for this type of home/assignment
• Make sure you include a signed certification
• Make sure you define "Market Rent"

For a divorce case, my rental surveys are typically 8-12 pages long.
I had a case going to court against a very well known appraisal firm; their rental survey was 20+ pages. Mine was 30+ pages; that was atypical. I would think the 8-12 page report would cover it for most assignments.

Good luck!

That's all perfect. I was sure about all of that-of course it is an appraisal so I'd planned on covering all of those bases. The one thing that hadn't occurred to me was to offer the definition of Market Rent. Good call and thanks for your help.

 

[DWiley]

That's all perfect. I was sure about all of that-of course it is an appraisal so I'd planned on covering all of those bases. The one thing that hadn't occurred to me was to offer the definition of Market Rent. Good call and thanks for your help.

Also remember to cite the source for the definition

 

[The Warrior Monk]

Ditto Denis.

Simply filling out a preprinted "Rent Schedule" does not cut it for this type of assignment. I have performed such rent analysis for disputed cases, and have also testified in such cases. I personally use a narrative format, and always double check the final report against Standards 1 and 2 to make sure I have all bases covered.

 

[RSW]

I was recently in a CE class where the instructor was a USPAP instructor. We got into a discussion as to if a stand alone rent schedule (1007) was an appraisal or not. Two of us in the class said it was. The instructor said it was not. He must have checked USPAP during lunch because he changed his opinion to, "it is an appraisal".