Reviewing an Appraisal of a Property I Have Already Recently Appraised

[Tom4value]

Be careful that you do not cross the line between appraiser and advocate. Having already prepared an appraisal on the subject property, I believe it would be difficult to ethically become an advocate. If you do complete a review, make sure you disclose your prior work regarding the subject property. Nothing worse than to point out mistakes in the appraisal being reviewed and making them yourself.

You most certainly can and ARE an advocate for YOUR APPRAISAL. It is ok to point out the differences between the other appraisal and your own as it shows how you did a thorough job. The issue you are talking about is if you advocate for a pre-determined value or other attribute separate from your appraisal.

 

[ucbruin]

Terrell was sued over his report by a party grasping for straws to cover their own failures. If that case is a deterrent, no one should complete an appraisal. Apples and oranges in this discussion, I think.

My point is....
If the OP, for whatever reason, finds himself/herself in a lawsuit....
It will probably cost more, in time and/or money, than any fee for this "possible" assignment....
Terrel did not voluntarily place himself in harm's way....
The OP, maybe doing just that....

Is it really worth it....
I bet most appraisers would say it's not....

 

[TerryRohrer]

My point is....
If the OP, for whatever reason, finds himself/herself in a lawsuit....
It will probably cost more, in time and/or money, than any fee for this "possible" assignment....
Terrel did not voluntarily place himself in harm's way....
The OP, maybe doing just that....

Is it really worth it....
I bet most appraisers would say it's not....

A friend of mine was sued once and had a complaint filed against his license on a different assignment, and probably spent in excess of $10,000 "winning" each case. I have never been sued, but easily spent that much of my own time "winning" in the defense against the last complaint filed against me (for an assignment with a $650 fee). Neither of us volunteered for the pleasure "winning" accrued!

There is no avoiding that risk if you complete appraisals.

 

[ucbruin]

A friend of mine was sued once and had a complaint filed against his license on a different assignment, and probably spent in excess of $10,000 "winning" each case. I have never been sued, but easily spent that much of my own time "winning" in the defense against the last complaint filed against me (for an assignment with a $650 fee). Neither of us volunteered for the pleasure "winning" accrued!

There is no avoiding that risk if you complete appraisals.

You're 100% correct, we can't eliminate risk....
But we can minimize risk by not voluntarily accepting the time of assignment the OP describes....

 

[TerryRohrer]

For sure, everyone has to operate in their own comfort zone. If by volunteer you are meaning as a free favor, I agree. But a useful service can be provided for a fee in such circumstances. Of course, after 30+ revisions, USPAP remains ambiguous in this area, so the debate will continue.

See:https://appraisersforum.com/forums/threads/divorce-appraisal.238218/#post-3395610

 

[sputnam]

I would either do a formal review... complete work file or I wouldn't communicate one word about the other appraisal. You do not have to get paid to do a review... or an appraisal.. that's a business decision. If you decide to do a review. You must comply with USPAP. Create and keep a work file for the review. Consider Scope of Work.. you can review the entire appraisal or any part of it. You must comply with Standard 3... and maybe, Standard 1. If you report your findings, the report must comply with Standard 4.. and maybe Standard 2.

 

[Fernando]

When I see other appraisals, it could be good or it could be bad. That's how it is.
With bad there are mistakes I can see.
I don't worry about the other appraisals since Appraiser King does it his way and confident it can stand on its merits.

 

[Functional Obs]

If it goes to court the judge, in all likelihood, won't care about USPAP issues or even the other errors. His concern is "is the appraised value credible", not how he got there.

If the value is reasonable, tell your client about the errors in the report but that you agree/mostly agree with the final number. Let the lawyer take it from there. OTOH, if they want you to do a full review and are willing to pay you I see no reason not to do it. I've done it several times. When you get down to it, the legal system for civil courts is all a big game and lawyers love running up billable hours and spending their client's money.

Review it in a professional, objective manner and let the lawyer skewer the other appraiser on the stand. When the case is concluded, turn the other report into the state.

Certainly, the judge in any courtroom might not care about the nuances of USPAP, but I do think the other appraisal is going to have a big issue because of the whole, "This report complies with USPAP" comment." It also certifies, "The statements of fact in this report are true and correct." These are two statements that are going to be easy for the lawyer to disprove in minutes.

I've never turned in another appraiser's report to a state board. I've also never turned a report into a county (due to size differences or code violations). I kind of feel like that's the client's job.

I ended up sending the attorney an engagement letter for a review assignment.

 

[J Grant]

Some fees just aren't worth it. Does not matter how good or bad that appraisal was, or how good or bad your review is - this decision to make a fee off a review of an appraisal the other side is relying on puts you in a conflict of interest category ( IMO) and might create unforeseen problems.

A reviewer is supposed to be unbiased and impartial and the circumstances around this brings that into question - whether you actually are or not.

 

[Tom D]

skip the USPAP and appraiser lingo with civilians, or they won't understand you. you can point out obvious material mistakes like a listing, although if used for support, what would you say. but if you feel something obvious wrong and you can explain it in civilians terms, to your civilian then go ahead. all the USPAP stuff, throw out the window, they don't care. you can always mail it to the state with a list of what to look at, they care. you don't need your name or address anywhere on it. they might think it came from the owner.