USPAP and Whatever

To answer those USPAP and Whatever questions usually means going to USPAP to get an answer.  Really, where else would you go?  USPAP is not a difficult document to read.  What affects us appraisers directly is really in the first twenty-four pages.  So, in practicality, the document is not all that long.  Its brevity is both a strength and a weakness.  Its strength is that it does not get bogged down in the minutiae of telling appraisers how to practice real estate appraisal.  What’s its weakness?  Since it has no practical solutions, it can leave appraisers in the dark about what to do and how to do it.  But, if you think about it, that’s really a strength.

How is it a strength not to give practical solutions to answer those USPAP and whatever questions?  That strength is in the fact that USPAP’s restraint makes the appraiser look to USPAP for guidance.  Then, with USPAP’s guidance in mind, the appraiser comes up with her own solution to the problem.  In part, this is what USPAP means by independent, impartial, and objective.  Is an appraiser independent if she has to depend on outside influences to answer her every appraisal question?

To answer those USPAP and whatever questions independently, etc. calls for the appraiser to take a number of steps.  First is to understand where (if at all) the USPAP document covers this topic.  Here’s a secret:  If the USPAP document does not mention something, even in passing, is it all that important?  Here’s an example:  USPAP does not require the appraiser to measure the subject.  Given this indifference, it is safe to assume it does not care about the standard of measurement you use.  You can’t mislead the client.  But other than that, USPAP says nothing.

Therefore, to answer those USPAP questions is, in the main, your call.