Taking Possession Of Your Report

[J Grant]

USPAP class Instructor urged narrative writers to take possession of their report and not use 3rd person comments, Do it in the first person. "I did this...I did that" not "We did this. The appraiser did that." Don't distance yourself from your work.

Started today to search my reports and realize I do use third person way too much...

I would not use "we" for I when it is just me. I often use the word " The appraiser"... instead of "I" , because it shows my work in the capacity as a professional appraiser, instead of reflecting "me" personally. Obviously since I sign with my name, it does come down to me, however it is me in my role as appraiser. Either way should be fine a personal preference imo.

 

[George Hatch]

I just get a little nervous when I hear of other topics being attributed to a USPAP Instructor during a USPAP course, because that's how material that isn't addressed in USPAP gets conflated with USPAP after the fact. I'm sure MOST people can distinguish between course content and the odd comment on the side an instructor happens to make during idle conversation. But there's always a couple of people who can't, and for some reason they often end up working as reviewers and impose their unique interpretations as to what is and isn't actually required on the reports they review.

The way I handled off-topic opinions was to physically step away from the podium and express them as such. (this is not USPAP, but rather a personal opinion) And I STILL occasionally got misquoted after the fact.

 

[Deleted member 134708]

I would not use "we" for I when it is just me. I often use the word " The appraiser"... instead of "I" , because it shows my work in the capacity as a professional appraiser, instead of reflecting "me" personally. Obviously since I sign with my name, it does come down to me, however it is me in my role as appraiser. Either way should be fine a personal preference imo.

Agree.

Like my early post. Proper to use either way but not both.

As an appraiser, my reports went the “appraiser route.” This tells them The Who very, very clearly. If using , “I,” can leave room for confusion, I Who? I the civilian? I the appraiser, I the xyz. People are dumb so need to make 100% clear.

Again, either way proper. But in this world, never assume your reader is very bright.

 

[TRESinc]

I just get a little nervous when I hear of other topics being attributed to a USPAP Instructor during a USPAP course, because that's how material that isn't addressed in USPAP gets conflated with USPAP after the fact. I'm sure MOST people can distinguish between course content and the odd comment on the side an instructor happens to make during idle conversation. But there's always a couple of people who can't, and for some reason they often end up working as reviewers and impose their unique interpretations as to what is and isn't actually required on the reports they review.

The way I handled off-topic opinions was to physically step away from the podium and express them as such. (this is not USPAP, but rather a personal opinion) And I STILL occasionally got misquoted after the fact.

too true.

to this day there is still never been a class i have taken, even those with less than 5 people in them, where an "old timer" in the back has a story to contradict an example the instructor is using.

 

[Mark K]

I've always tried to keep personal pronouns out of reports. I don't often find it necessary to include a reference to myself. On the rare occasion, when necessary, I'll use the first person but very infrequently.

I try to tell the reader what was observed, not who observed it. 'The roof, attic, and crawl space were viewed and no obvious problems were observed'... "No extraordinary functional or physical depreciation was noted...."peeling paint was noted on the exterior siding", etc. If the sentence states that..."The appraiser noted peeling paint on the exterior siding" the 'appraiser' becomes the subject of the sentence. I want the reader to focus on the peeling paint, not the actions of the appraiser.

I often read it in other reports but have found that if you take out the phrase "..by the/this appraiser... or... by me", etc. the sentence conveys the same meaning.

 

[Michael P Jacobs MAI]

USPAP class Instructor urged narrative writers to take possession of their report and not use 3rd person comments, Do it in the first person. "I did this...I did that" not "We did this.

Well, just wondering... if I arrive at an opinion vs. my corporation arriving at the same opinion, which is easier to sue?

 

[Mr Rex]

I've always tried to keep personal pronouns out of reports. I don't often find it necessary to include a reference to myself. On the rare occasion, when necessary, I'll use the first person but very infrequently.

I try to tell the reader what was observed, not who observed it. 'The roof, attic, and crawl space were viewed and no obvious problems were observed'... "No extraordinary functional or physical depreciation was noted...."peeling paint was noted on the exterior siding", etc. If the sentence states that..."The appraiser noted peeling paint on the exterior siding" the 'appraiser' becomes the subject of the sentence. I want the reader to focus on the peeling paint, not the actions of the appraiser.

I often read it in other reports but have found that if you take out the phrase "..by the/this appraiser... or... by me", etc. the sentence conveys the same meaning.

That's my method as well. No need to get personal about it IMHO.

 

[Meandering]

Does it really matter?

When I started as a trainee, I was told, we write in 3rd person because that's how academic papers are written and presented. Professional, Intellectual reports are not love letters, and should always be in 3rd person. That's what I was told.

But then the real world kicked in, and you start to ask yourself why you are writing on the equivalent of an academic study to some idiot that is asking you if any income producing activities were taking place in a 1400 sf ranch simply because the zoning allows for such, AND, you have provided them photographs, which you don't find in academic studies.

So after multiple comments similar to, I saw a bed and a computer, I did not see any income producing activity, but it was early in the day and I can not comment to what might be happening after the sun goes down, you give up.

Even with the giant mixed use retail/warehouse/apartment complex, "appraiser to state why they believe the residential leases are not valid", just because no apartment had any food or clothing or soap or toothbrush and the supposed leases where more than 3 months in, well, again, you just give up and write toward the lowest common denominator. After all, effective communication includes considerations for the understandings and reference points of your intended audience, so now, first person and very plainly written communications with all technical words defined and referenced and explained. Because it really is not about how well, or not, an appraiser can compose. It really only is about how well, or not, the reader understands, as that's all that really matters.

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[djd09]

At one point i was told to dumb down the appraisal so anyone could understand. Now it is all fannie jargon. go figure.

 

[George Hatch]

Our writing is a form of technical report writing where the purpose is to inform, not entertain. Our professional standards assert an intention to convey our work in a manner that will be meaningful to intended users and not misleading. Within that context, more accessible > less accessible.

I try to stick to high school level vocabulary even when expressing abstracts, the exception being the technical terms we use for real estate and legal and appraisal terminology. I want every English speaker who reads it to be capable of following along to whatever extent they can understand real estate. Non-English proficient readers are on their own, although I will say I've often wondered about the ethics of submitting appraisal reports to people who can't read or speak english.