September 16, 2009

The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of The Appraisal Foundation develops, interprets, and amends the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) on behalf of appraisers and users of appraisal services. The USPAP Q&A is a form of guidance issued by the ASB to respond to questions raised by appraisers, enforcement officials, users of appraisal services and the public to illustrate the applicability of USPAP in specific situations and to offer advice from the ASB for the resolution of appraisal issues and problems. The USPAP Q&A may not represent the only possible solution to the issues discussed nor may the advice provided be applied equally to seemingly similar situations. USPAP Q&A does not establish new standards or interpret existing standards. USPAP Q&A is not part of USPAP and is approved by the ASB without public exposure and comment.

Application of Appraisal Reporting Requirements
Question:
If an appraiser is bound by USPAP for a particular assignment, when must the appraiser comply with the USPAP appraisal reporting requirements?

Response:
Whenever a value opinion is communicated, compliance with USPAP’s appraisal reporting requirements is required.
It may seem obvious in many cases that an appraiser must abide by the appraisal reporting requirements. However, in other cases it is not as obvious, such as the following examples: 
-Selecting and providing a client with comparable sales for a known property is an appraisal assignment as defined by USPAP. 
-Informing a property owner that their property tax assessment is too high is an appraisal report as defined in USPAP
-Providing an opinion of market rent is an appraisal report as defined in USPAP. 
-Providing an opinion of the most probable selling price for a homeowner is an appraisal report as defined in USPAP.
-Preparing, analyzing and communicating the results of an automated valuation model (AVM) for a property is an appraisal assignment.
It is important to remember that the applicability of USPAP is not affected by the amount or the lack of a fee.

Multiple Intended Uses in the Same Appraisal Report

Question:
May I perform an appraisal with multiple intended uses and communicate the results in a single report with a single valuation and be in compliance with USPAP? All of the intended uses have the same type and definition of value and were performed with the same scope of work.

Response:
Yes. USPAP requires the appraiser to identify the intended use of the appraisal opinions and conclusions. USPAP requires that the report states the intended use of the appraisal. Intended use is defined as:
The use or uses of an appraiser’s reported appraisal, appraisal review, or appraisal consulting assignment opinions and conclusions, as identified by the appraiser based on communication with the client at the time of the assignment. (Bold added for emphasis)
Therefore an assignment may have multiple intended uses with a single value opinion in the same report as long as the uses have the same definition of value and the same scope of work.
An example with multiple intended uses with the same type and definition of value and same scope of work could include a market value appraisal being prepared for a possible donation and being prepared for a possible sale.
It should be noted that there are many circumstances when appraisers provide multiple value opinions in a single report with multiple intended uses (such as for market value, liquidation value and insurable value all in the same report). In this example, each intended use has a different type and definition of value, different scope of work, and likely will have differing conclusions.