Voice of the Appraiser In-Depth Report

[Sadie]

I have seen PDR with incorrect county records info, like year built, etc, incorrect photos of the subject, missing rooms on the floor plan, etc. But as the appraiser you are required to use that bad information. If the data collecters were trained and licensed I would maybe consider them.

 

[George Hatch]

C'mon, you should know better. GSE specs are deliberately written in a manner, not to provide clear instructions to the users and to the appraiser, but to allow the GSEs to shift liability back on the lender and appraiser. Why would they design it any other way?

Not clear, huh? Which part would not be clear to someone who read it within the context of the whole and not in isolation of the whole?


And BTW, if people ever wondered why USPAP gets edited for wordplay, this exchange right here demonstrates exactly why.

 

[CGinMN]

The question has never been, does USPAP prohibit _____. It is, can the appraiser be held liable by the state or in a court of law. The answer is most certainly, yes they have and they can.

 

[George Hatch]

I have seen PDR with incorrect county records info, like year built, etc, incorrect photos of the subject, missing rooms on the floor plan, etc. But as the appraiser you are required to use that bad information. If the data collecters were trained and licensed I would maybe consider them.

If you have reason to believe they're wrong then you shouldn't be using them. There is no "appraisers are required to use bad information".

 

[djd09]

I have seen PDR with incorrect county records info, like year built, etc, incorrect photos of the subject, missing rooms on the floor plan, etc. But as the appraiser you are required to use that bad information. If the data collecters were trained and licensed I would maybe consider them.

if it was on the up and up...they would send you the pdc E&O insurance just in case

 

[Mejappz]

misleading is intentional or not...

I just finished that USPAP junk course and the latest buzzword is 'social change'—a thinly veiled euphemism for social engineering and liberal agendas. After going through this, it’s crystal clear why the industry is in such a mess. $500K to Relman just to tweak a few words in the Ethics section? What a racket! It's a shame to see the profession being pulled in this direction, away from its core purpose.

 

[George Hatch]

The question has never been, does USPAP prohibit _____. It is, can the appraiser be held liable by the state or in a court of law. The answer is most certainly, yes they have and they can.

These cases can be poorly argued, so that accrues to the atty. They can be decided poorly by the judge and subsequently overturned on appeal. That accrues to the court.

But the same is true for all types of assignments. There is no such thing as an assumption-free assignment; they all require the use of assumptions and the limitations which go with those assumptions. Some assignments just use more assumptions than others. Any appraiser or critic who considers the conventional 1004 to be the 100% solution to the potential civil liability for all unapparent-to-the-appraiser errors of fact is just zooming themselves. That amounts to an unreasonable expectation on their part.

Appraisers have used GSE forms with funky verbiage since before any of us got into this business. There's nothing new or unusual about this particular "disinterested source" example. The choice for appraisers always remains the same, either do or do not.

If appraisers think this program exposes them to undue risk of civil liability then maybe they should mount a class action lawsuit to force the GSEs to act in good faith. Or, don't perform such assignments.

 

[CGinMN]

So much for the theory that they can't blame you for something you did not complete.

View attachment 93717View attachment 93718

Ok, so with that in mind, I'm not sure why you'd second guess the validity of this. Indeed, they can and will blame you for something you did not do. They can always say you shoulda did more. To that, the majority of appraisers say, fine, if you won't allow me to inspect or at least control the assumptions and incorporate EAs, I just won't do it at all.

 

[djd09]

I just finished that USPAP junk course and the latest buzzword is 'social change'—a thinly veiled euphemism for social engineering and liberal agendas. After going through this, it’s crystal clear why the industry is in such a mess. $500K to Relman just to tweak a few words in the Ethics section? What a racket! It's a shame to see the profession being pulled in this direction, away from its core purpose.

i would guess over 90% of the so called appraisal industry leaders voted blue...eh, frank?

 

[George Hatch]

I just finished that USPAP junk course and the latest buzzword is 'social change'—a thinly veiled euphemism for social engineering and liberal agendas. After going through this, it’s crystal clear why the industry is in such a mess. $500K to Relman just to tweak a few words in the Ethics section? What a racket! It's a shame to see the profession being pulled in this direction, away from its core purpose.

SR1-1a has used for many years verbiage similar to

Social change has also had an effect on appraisal theory and practice. To keep ​

abreast of these changes and developments, the appraisal profession is constantly reviewing ​

and revising appraisal methods and techniques and devising new methods and techniques to ​

meet new circumstances. For this reason, it is not sufficient for appraisers to simply maintain ​

the skills and the knowledge they possess when they become appraisers. Each appraiser must ​

continuously improve his or her skills to remain proficient in real property appraisal.​

There's nothing new or recent about the requirement itself. Only the level of detail and elaboration is different and even that was only added to shut the critics up. I completely agree with you that the $500k shakedown is highly offensive and objectionable but when compared to the alternatives it was cheaper and more expedient than the alternative of fighting it out with these freaks in the courts.