UP Standards

3.7. Review Reporting Requirements.Oral appraisal review reports are contrary to Uniform Act regulations and these Standards. Therefore, oral appraisal review reports as the end-result or final conclusion of an appraisal review assignment are not permitted. However, an oral appraisal review may be reported if the scope of work for an appraisal review assignment requires an oral review to be conducted in advance of a final written appraisal review report and there is adequate support for the oral review in the review appraiser’s workfile for the assignment.  These Standards do not require a specific review report format or structure. A number of federal agencies have required or recommended formats for review reports to provide consistency and efficiency in the review reporting…

3.6. Review Appraiser’s Use of Information Not Available to Appraiser.The scope of work for an appraisal review assignment involving a federal acquisition typically exceeds that of the usual appraisal review because Uniform Act regulations require the reviewer to determine whether the appraisal report under review can be the basis for the establishment of an offer of just compensation.161 In making that determination, the review appraiser may need to consider information that was not available to the appraiser who prepared the appraisal report under review.162 In light of the intended use (i.e., establishing a basis for offer of just compensation) and intended user (i.e., agency management), the reviewer is required to consider all available information in making a recommendation. A recommendation…

3.4. Responsibilities of the Review Appraiser.Like the appraiser, review appraisers must remain objective in their appraisal review activities. They cannot let agency goals or adversarial pressure influence their opinions of an appraisal report’s appropriateness or of the value opinion(s) it reports, nor can they let their personal opinions regarding an agency’s proposed acquisition enter into the review process. Also, review appraisers should not attempt to substitute their judgment for that of the appraiser unless they are willing and able to develop their own opinions of value and become the appraiser of record.  Review appraisers must recognize that technical deficiencies can be found in nearly every appraisal report. However, minor technical nonconformance with these Standards or USPAP Standards should not be…

3.3.7. Assignment Conditions.The type and extent of research and analyses undertaken as part of the appraisal review process must be clearly identified. If the review appraiser required significant assistance in arriving at conclusions, then the extent of that assistance should be summarized in the scope of work together with the names of those providing assistance (which must also be stated in the certification). Other assignment conditions to be discussed can include assumptions, extraordinary assumptions, hypothetical conditions, laws and regulations, or other conditions that affect the scope of work. Care should be taken to focus on assignment conditions applied to the appraisal review assignment itself and not just those adopted in the report that has been reviewed. 

3.3.6. Subject of the Assignment.An appraisal review must identify what is being reviewed by the review appraiser. Typically, this will be an appraisal report so the review appraiser must provide identifying details relating to the report under review, its author(s), the subject of the report, etc. However, review appraisers should also recognize that a specific scope of work may call for a review to include the workfile for the appraisal assignment, just a portion of the appraisal report, or any combination of these items. 

3.3.5. Effective Date. The date of the review appraiser’s report will normally reflect the effective date of the review appraiser’s opinions and conclusions. The appraisal review report must clearly disclose the date of the report and the effective date of the appraisal under review. 

3.3.4. Type of Opinion.The review appraiser must disclose the type of opinion being rendered, which in an appraisal review assignment is generally an opinion about the quality of the appraisal work under review. If applicable, the review appraiser should discuss the actions to be taken in accordance with the implementing regulations of the Uniform Act (e.g., accept, approve, or not accept the appraisal, etc.). 

3.3.3. Intended Use.The review appraiser must disclose the review appraiser’s understanding of the intended use of the appraisal review assignment results by both the client and intended users. 

3.3.2. Intended Users.The review appraiser must disclose the review appraiser’s understanding of who intends to use the appraisal review assignment results.