This podcast sports a metaphysical title.  “USPAP:  Questions and Reflections”.  Why this title?  Who in their right mind wants to think about USPAP?  B-O-R-I-N-G!  I’ll concede that point.  But somebody has to think about it.  And, as a USPAP instructor, I get paid to think about it.  Really, I get paid to teach it.  But before I can teach it, I choose to think about it first.  Choose all the ways there are to explain it so that it is clearer and more persuasive than it is written.  And, frankly, it is not written overly well.  ..read more

USPAP and the Public Trust is a topic we appraisers do not address all that often.  Perhaps we should, since there is confusion on the issue.  At the base of this confusion is the fact appraisers think our job is to protect the public (i.e., the buyer, the lender, the client, the borrower, etc).  In reality, this simply is not true.   What USPAP does say is that it is USPAP’s job to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice. Clearly, there is a difference between the two, don’t you think? When we think of USPAP and the Public Trust, it mak ..read more

When it comes to USPAP and written reports, the response of the typical appraiser is to stifle a yawn.  “Who cares about writing reports?  We just fill in a form, send it to the client, and hope it does not come back for revisions!”  But, adding the narrative addenda items to the form is report writing, isn’t it?  And a common response to that is, “I just cut-and-paste stuff from other reports.  For $400, I can’t spend a lot of time writing!”  This is true.  But that appraiser will have a truckload of trouble selling that logic and reasoning to a state apprai ..read more

When you think about USPAP and ROVs (Reconsiderations of Value), gentle and peaceful thoughts are not what come to mind.  Somebody wants you to reconsider your value conclusion.  That is a gentle way to say, “I think you’ve made a mistake!”  But let’s face facts – we all make mistakes.  And given the state of the appraisal art – with our dependence on 90-year-old protocols and techniques – that we do not make more is a surprise. In the context of USPAP and ROVs, if a borrower initiates one, they think we have made a mistake.  Maybe we did.  But maybe not.  Th ..read more

There’s a lot of crap on the Internet about civilization’s pending collapse.  There is even stuff on the Internet about USPAP and Sasquatch.  But there is nothing on the Internet about USPAP and Hot Sauce.   So, I figured I’d add to the Internet’s mindless clutter and post about Hot Sauce, USPAP, their relationship, and the demise of western civilization.  But the only problem is that there is not such a relationship.   If western civilization collapses, it will not have its base in USPAP or Hot Sauce. Actually, the title “USPAP and Hot Sauce” is to get more ..read more

WOW!  “USPAP, Sasquatch, NAR, and Comparable Sales” is one helluva name for a podcast!  That’s true, thank  you.  But given that the ramifications of the Sitzer-Burnett are obvious but still unknown, invoked Sasquatch.  And the fact cash equivalency adjustments to comparable sales may become more prevalent than in times past brought all of those concepts together into one big, yet unanswered question.  And that’s the real conundrum.  We don’t know yet what is going to happen. Not only that, but in “USPAP, Sasquatch, NAR, Comparable Sales” I ask a truckload of ..read more

USPAP, analysis, and synthesis are terms we do not hear all that often.  That’s a shame, too.  This is because, according to USPAP, a credible appraisal and a non-misleading report are the results of analysis and synthesis.  Yes, Standard One is the appraisal development standard.  And Standard Two is the appraisal reporting standard.  But we know this, so what is so special about analysis and synthesis? Under USPAP, analysis and synthesis are necessary opposites. To analyze means to deconstruct something, or to take something apart.  On the other hand, to synthes ..read more

Preview, Foreshadow, Predict.  In the context of a real estate appraisal, what do these mean?  Some time ago, I did a podcast on writing the appraisal backwards.  I never meant this to confuse anybody with this.  What I meant was to impart wisdom.  It is wise not to open the reporting form on your computer the instant the appraisal order arrives.  Rather, once it arrives, do the appraisal first.  In other words, come up with a credible value opinion first, then write the report. Why?  Because when you know the end from the beginning, you can preview, for ..read more

Topics such as USPAP and relevant adjustments can bring out the very worst in appraisers, because of the arguments this topic causes.  This is simply because the science of relevant adjustments is taught only superficially in appraisal school.  Yet we teach it is art, or we do not teach at all.  This podcast is about understanding when adjustments are necessary.  Then its  about understanding why adjustments are necessary.  But the praxis of making them is the subject of another podcast.  There are plenty of them out there (here is one of mine). So, let’s tal ..read more

When it comes to USPAP and a verification model, where is that model?  USPAP makes it clear we have to verify the sales data, etc.  But USPAP is strangely silent on what to verify means.  It is equally mute on how to accomplish the verification it demands.  So, is there a reason for this lack of communication on USPAP’s part?  Or, is there some method to the ASB’s madness?  To both questions, the answer is “YES”. When USPAP does not define a term, it is because it sees no reason to do so.  So, as we look at USPAP and a verification model, USPAP (the ASB reall ..read more