USPAP and Hot Sauce – TAA Podcast 134

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 clicks on my podcasts.  What this podcast is really about is the overuse of boilerplate in appraisal reports.  Deliberate amounts of hot sauce can improve the flavor experience of some foods.  Deliberate amounts of boilerplate can, on occasion, improve an appraisal report by shortening the time it takes to write one. But the overuse of boilerplate?  Nope, that can be as wrong as hot sauce in Key Lime Pie.

So, what’s the problem with boilerplate?  Actually, there  are two problems:  (1) it is there, when it has no reason to be there; and (2) it serves no purpose in the report.  Ask yourself this question, “If there is something in my report that does not at least indirectly affect exposure time, highest and best use, marketability, and/or market value, why did I analyze it in the first place, and why did I put in in the report?” In the previous 12 months two reports came across my desk in which the appraisers made clear they had not invoked Departure.  You now ask, “What’s Departure?”  And that is the proper question to ask since it has not been part of USPAP since 2006.  Put only what’s important in the report!