Tim Andersen, The Appraiser's Advocate Podcast

USPAP and standing tall?  What does that mean?  And, how is a competent real estate appraiser like a WWF pro wrestler at a ballerina’s convention?  Do ballerinas even have conventions?  And why is Tim, a real estate appraisal podcaster , concerned with WWF pro wrestlers and ballerinas?  Just where is this going?  Believe it or not, there is a relationship.  Read on and then listen to the pod...

USPAP and What’s Omitted?  What does that mean?  Really, we mean what’s omitted from your appraisal and report.  It is true, you should omit very little from the appraisal, as well as from the report.  Why?  A sale is not a comparable sale unless it has the same highest and best use as the subject.  So, appraisers cannot omit those analyses.  How about neighborhood analysis? Fannie Mae...

USPAP and pending contracts.  What does that mean?  It means its is perfectly OK to use the pending purchase and sale contract on your subject as a comparable!  Underwriters will swear that is a violation of USPAP !  Reviewers will need to buy red pens by the gross to mark-up reports if that happens!  Heads will explode!  GSEs will start to care about appraisers and what they think of the 1004 for...

USPAP and expanding horizons.  Now that the appraisal business is slow, it’s time to expand your horizons.  This means taking steps you have never taken before.  It means engaging in activities in which you’ve never engaged before. We will need to adopt a mindset we have never adopted before.  In other words, it means change.  Appraisers fight change.  We are accustomed to a single set...

USPAP and three questions?  What does that mean?  It means that, in this podcast , we are going to tackle three questions.  They are questions appraisers constantly ask.  This consistency means that these answers are not cast in stone.  That is a shame.  Therefore, we’re going to answer them in a manner that is applicable to any appraisal and report. Uspap and three questions is vital for ap...

USPAP and (un)intentional omissions?  What does that mean?  Unintentional omissions makes sense.  But why would an appraiser intentionally omit something? And that’s the question.  Why would the appraiser intentionally omit the analyses of the cost approach from the appraisal?  And why would the appraiser intentionally omit the results of those analyses from the report ?  These don’t m...

USPAP and enough iterations.  What does that mean?  Really, it relates to what is in your workfile.  Or, what is supposed to be in your workfile.  OK, what is supposed to be in the workfile?  Everything.  But that answer is too general and too ambiguous really to mean anything.  Let’s see if we can be more specific, more inclusive, shall we? When it comes to USPAP and enough iterations, we r...

USPAP and the NICK .  What does that mean?  Has a reviewer ever told you some part of your report was not right?  Gave you a hard time on it?  Told you to re-do something?  That’s the nick .  But there is help!  There are ways to avoid the nick in the future.  Read on! When we talk about USPAP and the nick, for example, did that reviewer say your neighborhood analysis was just a collection o...

USPAP and ammunition?  What does that mean?  We appraisers have made it too easy for our critics to shoot at us.  Not only that, we appraisers supply our critics with the ammunition!  One of the major points of contention we have with our critics is that since appraisers determine a property’s value then, in neighborhoods of color, why can’t we determine a higher number?  After all, it...

USPAP and sharp saws?  What do USPAP have to do with sharp saws?  Things are slow right now, right?  Volume of orders is less than it was even two months ago, correct?  So, now you have some free time.  Read some books .  Listen to some podcasts.    Take some classes .  That’s what you do when you have some free time.  You sharpen that saw. When it comes to USPAP and sharp saws, what should...

When it comes to USPAP and neighborhood analysis, many appraisers think such an analysis is a waste of time.  After all, every house in the US is near shopping, schools, houses of worship, entertainment, and recreation, right?  But what does Fannie Mae say about neighborhood analysis ?  She makes her demands really clear in section B4-1.3-03 , Neighborhood Section of the Appraisal Report , under &...

USPAP and the neighborhood.  This may be hard to understand.  USPAP does not even use the word neighborhood in Standards 1 and 2.  So how can neighborhood analysis be even minimally important?  For that, we have to forego USPAP and go straight to the Fannie Mae Selling Guide .  Section B4-1.3-03 covers the subject’s neighborhood and what Fannie Mae wants to see in this part of the appraisal...

Is it time to expand and diversity your appraisal business ?  USPAP and non-traditional appraisals may be just the proper answer you’ve been looking for!  In this podcast we do not discuss hybrid or desktop appraisals.  We’ve already done that.  Instead, in this podcast we consider expanding and diversifying your business by accepting assignments from other than traditional lenders, ev...

Appraisers rightly ask a lot of questions about USPAP and desktop appraisals .  These  desktop assignments have been around literally for decades.  They were not common in non-GSE appraisal work, but were the norm for other types of appraisal and valuation assignments.  After all, sometimes the appraiser must put boots in the living room.  And other times, no boots are necessary.  That decision, s...

You ask USPAP: “Are listings important?”  This is a question that comes frequently from appraisers – especially inexperienced appraisers.  It even comes in from well-seasoned appraisers , too.  But the question is valid, especially in a changing market.  We all understand the market in the last half of 2022 is different from the market in the first half.  How so?  Details are not...

USPAP – what’s important now?  As usual, in a real estate appraiser’s life, USPAP is always important .  But in this podcast, Tim talks about some of the more important stuff – right now.  For example, i-buyers.  Because of the housing shortage, investors are buying single-family residences. But not one at a time.  Those investors are buying in bulk.  So they are paying inv...

USPAP’s useless cost approach.  It is hard to learn.  Depreciation is too hard to calculate .  The market does not use it.  My peers do not use it.  So, yes, its useless.  Or is it?  If you listen to this entire podcast, you may have reason to change your mind.  But why? USPAP’s useless cost approach?  If you look closely, the beauty of the cost approach is not in its ability to indica...

When it comes to USPAP, facts, and opinions, there is a lot of confusion out there.  This podcast helps to unravel the facts from the opinions, the truth from the hype.  It follows, then, this podcast points some of these out, right? Some appraisers think that with USPAP , there is confusion over what is a fact and what is an opinion.  As a result of this confusion, the appraiser’s facts are...

When it comes to USPAP and report writing you say, “Tim, I already know how to write an appraisal report!”.  That’s great!  Congratulations!  Now, ask yourself this question, “Do I know how to write a persuasive appraisal report? How about, “Do I know how to write an accurate appraisal report?”.  And finally, “Do I know how to write an internally consisten...

What do you need to worry about?   There is a lot out there in AppraisalWorld to keep you busy!  But since you’ve already got worries enough, this podcast covers some of them for you.  However, don’t get all excited!  There is no reason to give those away here, so we won’t!  Please check out the podcast for details and specifics, though.  Some of these may hit close to home.  Others will not seem...

What’s a comparable sale?  Does USPAP answer this question?  (spoiler alert:  NO!)  Can the GSEs answer this question?  (same spoiler alert!). You’re an ethical, curious, well-trained and well-educated appraiser.  What are you going to do?  In this podcast , Tim Andersen, The Appraiser’s Advocate takes a stab at the answer!  Think highest and best use since that is the key to a c...

USPAP and the contract are a great team!  Make them part of  your appraisal team, and you’ll benefit from it, too!  Is that a lot of hyperbole, or what?  No, it really is not since they do make a great team.  But, since you are the Head Coach of that team, you must know how to pair them up.  What’s your job as Head Coach?  It is to know how and when to bring them together.  They make a...

“What’s in your workfile ?”  An even better questions might be, “What’s is not there “.  A follow-up question to each is “WHY?”   Scrutiny of what we do now comes from clients, from state appraisal  boards , from GSEs, and from HUD.   We appraisers will soon see scrutiny from the Department of Justice, too!  So, what’s an appraiser to do?  An a...

Did you mislead your client today?   How?  Why?  You say, “Of course not!  That would be unethical!”  And you’d be right.  To mislead your client, intentionally or unintentionally, would be highly unethical and a major USPAP violation .  But, again, did you mislead your client today?  You may have done just that.  You’re wondering how, right?  You’re wondering how usi...

Is your appraisal house haunted ?  How about your appraisal business?  Are you a ghost?  You know what a ghost is.  It is the nebulous apparition of a dead person.  Usually you can’t see them, but sometimes you think you maybe caught just a glimpse of one.  But, probably not.  After all, we are talking about ghosts here, right? But, is your appraisal house haunted?  You say that makes no sen...