USPAP - June 2009 Q&A's

The Appraisal Foundation has released the June 2009 USPAP Question and Answers. This month the Q&A's deal mostly with Real Estate issues, but there are certain aspects and guidelines we can glean out of most of the answers. This months Q&A's are not as interesting as last months with the effective date question, but there is some decent information which translates to the personal property appraiser. The second question receives a good answer about the competency rule and scope of work, which is well worth reading.

The questions are:

• I am completing an appraisal assignment for which I was engaged by an appraisal management company (AMC) on behalf of a lender. The AMC has asked me to collect a fee from the prospective borrower. I am to retain my portion of the total fee as the fee for my appraisal services, and forward the balance to the AMC. The AMC requires that there is to be no disclosure in the report of the total fee, nor of the manner in which the fee is to be split. Does USPAP permit this type of fee arrangement?

• I am a residential appraiser performing work for several appraisal management companies. Often, I am asked to perform an appraisal assignment outside the areas I am most familiar with. The assignments come with a requirement that a completed report be submitted within 48 hours or less. This time frame does not permit me to adequately research the subject property market. Is it permissible for me to accept an assignment under these conditions?

• I have completed an appraisal assignment for a client. The report was completed using the 2005 version of the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR). The client has requested that I remove one of the comparable properties from the report because, in the underwriter’s opinion, it is not sufficiently similar to the subject property. If I do this, will my action comply with USPAP?

To read the June 2009 USPAP Questions and Answers, click HERE.