Tim Andersen, The Appraiser's Advocate Podcast

A hill to die on. That sounds way too serious for a real estate appraisal podcast, right? These are supposed to be about USPAP, and education, and more practical stuff. But I've been studying on this topic for some time. Frankly, what AMCs do (or don't do) does not bother me as much as it does some appraisers. Those appraisers complain that AMCs do not distinguish between their gro

To comply with USPAP can be such a pain in the neck! For example, take what's happening now. In the past, a commission was a commission and nobody gave any thought to it. But now, it might be nothing we appraisers should worry about, but it also might be a sales concession. If the commission inflates the purchase price over what it would have been otherwise, we appraisers have to a

There's too much going on in AppraisalWorld. It is essentially impossible to keep track of what's going on. FHFA just announced, in the most neutral of tones, that appraisal waivers could now be had, under certain conditions unheard of before. Again, conditions apply, but waivers are going to be available up to a 90% loan-to-value ratio (and 97% with a property data collection requ

Financing concessions and USPAP! More on this? Haven't we heard enough on concessions, cash equivalency, and stuff they don't teach us in appraisal school?! If you listen to what Fannie and Freddie have to say on these topics, the answer would have to be an emphatic "NO!". Why? Because Fannie and Freddie continue to tell us we are not making the necessary adjustment when we need to

What do technicians, mechanics, and engineers have to do with USPAP and Real Estate Appraisal? Maybe nothing. But, at this point, it is easiest to conclude that a technician is one who knows that something should be done, though not necessarily how, when, or why. Technicians, mechanics, and engineers understand there is a process involved somewhere. A technician understands this,

One of the purposes of this podcast is to make you mad. Another is to open your eyes to the power the analytics of the cost approach have to analyze sales. Another is to anger you. About what? About the depth of its questions and what is likely to be the shallowness of your answers to them. With any luck at all, this podcast will do both. If it does, then you’re paying attention.

This question comes up - a lot! It is common for reviewers to conclude the appraiser did not support, for example, the GLA adjustment. So the appraiser gets all bent out of shape and shouts, "I supported my adjustments! Right in the narrative I write the GLA adjustment is $65 a square foot! How can that reviewer say I did not support my GLA adjustment!?" Now it is time to go to USP

When you think of USPAP and the State Board, chills run up and down your spine, right? In any given year, the typical real estate appraiser has less than a five percent chance of getting that letter from a state appraisal Board. But what happens when that letter thuds on your desk? It is not a time to panic, but it is a time to pay attention. Close attention. Life will go on. You'l

USPAP and Functional Obsolescence?! You ask, "Tim, haven't you covered this topic here on the podcast, as well as a bunch of other times, places, venues, and symposia?" Yes I surely have. But that was the other functional obsolescence. Today, on this podcast, I'm going to talk about the true functional obsolescence. Yes, the functional obsolescence the market really abhors. And th

There are some of our appraisal fellows whose grasp of the concept USPAP and Competence is yet to be as strong as it could or should be. In a 15-ish minute podcast, it is simply not possible to look into this subject with any depth or conviction. So we won't. But we will look at what USPAP says about the topic. Note to our friends on the ASB: In the next 7-hour USPAP update class,