My Standards are Higher than Your Standards

Today for the first time in 40 years as an appraiser I had a potential client tell me they were going with a competitive appraiser because they had “national appraisal standards” and that I apparently do not.  As all appraisers are aware in 2008 the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) launched National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examinations.  The exams have ended up being somewhat uniform across all state lines and the exams have basically launched a national effort to establish uniform appraisal standards via testing.  

Together with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) which were also developed as a way to establish national standards and most states have adopted them as the basis for their licensing regulations.  I have read that even a couple of countries have adopted USPAP as their appraisal standards.

It’s a fact that all essentially all state licensed and state certified appraisers must pass the same or similar test to become licensed or certified and they are bound by the same USPAP rules as regulations.  There are no higher forms of licensing, so appraisal organization have gone on to create and market their own claims to higher and higher standards.

What is a “national certification standard?”  Each U.S. appraisal organization, almost all are national, has standards / requirements for their own designations or certifications.  So, each and every one has its own national certification standards.  So, a claim to having national certification standards doesn’t really say or mean anything, or maybe it’s an attempt to say “look at our standards, they are harder to meet than your standards so our appraisers are more qualified that yours.”  

Common sense should inform most people that a claim to more education, more experience and higher standards does not guarantee a better appraisal report.  It’s a good marketing technique but it’s also a misleading one.  The fact is that some of the best physicians educated by the best schools don’t turn out to be the best doctors, and it works that way in every aspect of life.  You get your share of educated and well-trained derelicts.

Just for informational purposes (FYI), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is an international appraisal organization, larger and older than its U.S. counterparts, and all but it’s U.S. members use the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and not USPAP appraisal standards as their guiding principles.   Does foundation date, number of members and superior Internationally accepted appraisal standards make the organization the best?  There are those who argue that those factors do in fact make RICS the absolute best appraisal organization in the world.  

You have to also ask yourself “if USPAP has become the basis for national appraisal standards in the U.S. then why is there such a strong move on the part of appraisal organizations here towards moving to the International Valuation Standards (IVS)?”  Could it be that U.S. appraisal organizations that tout their superiority don’t want USPAP standards but want to extricate themselves from it?    

I have seen appraisal work completed by some of the best appraisers in the industry and it’s my opinion that; education, experience, organizational membership and designations can get you only part of the way to knowing how good an appraisers report will be.  You can often get a report from two appraisers in the same market that have a price tag that is $ 5,000 and when you read them the differences will be minor.  It’s not rocket science.  So why pay the additional, and often exorbitant fee?  

Article source: http://www.appraisalarticles.com/General-Appraisal-Articles/Appraisal-Standards/4698-My-Standards-are-Higher-than-Your-Standards.html