Appraisal Reviews

At AmeriMac, our team of home appraisal experts are happy to help you craft any kind of appraisal review that fits your specifications. We are trusted to provide home appraisal services for mortgage lenders, banks, credit unions and others in the lending industry. When you need accurate reports with fast turnaround times, turn to the pros at AmeriMac for both commercial and residential appraisals. 

What is a Home Appraisal Review?

An appraisal review provides commentary on the apparent completeness and accuracy of an appraisal report. Clients, typically lenders but sometimes attorneys, might favor an appraisal review report versus starting over with a new appraisal due to cost or time constraints.

Why Would I Need an Appraisal Review?

The main purpose of an appraisal review is to guarantee compliance with federal and state regulations like USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice). It is also utilized to double-check the market data analysis or value estimate of the original appraisal report. An appraisal review is tailored to the client’s requirements and the type of review report is generally chosen by the client.

Common Goals of an Appraisal Review

• Determine if the original appraisal contains all the relative data available.
• Establish whether the original appraisal complies with common appraisal standards, practices, and techniques.
• Check that the conclusions made by the appraiser logically relate to factual information available. And that those conclusions applied to the data are deemed reasonable.

The main function of the appraisal review is not to re-appraise the property, but to examine the information in the original appraisal report. Therefore, it’s imperative that the analysis of the original appraisal be impartial. The complete work of the initial appraisal must be fully audited.

Real Estate Appraisal Reviews as a Second Opinion

As clients in other industries seek out second opinions, the appraisal industry does so in the form of an appraisal review. In this way, real estate appraisal reviews make sense as a reasonable business practice when dealing with the lending industry. Often, these reviews fortify a client’s confidence in the initial appraisal report.

When is an Appraisal Review Used?

Here are a few situations where an appraisal review is requested:

• Investigations on mortgage insurance claims
• Litigation support
• USPAP compliance reviews/appraiser negligence investigations
• On-site investor tie-outs
• Rebuttals
• Pre-trade due diligence (Wall Street investors)
• Standard quality control due diligence

Often, an appraisal review helps a lending company with risk-management. These reviews of real estate value play an important role in due diligence by ensuring quality control for the lender’s client. In litigation and dispute resolution, more than one appraisal report is prepared. In these situations, appraisal reviews add credibility or demonstrate shortcomings.

What Are The Different Types of Appraisal Reviews?

Home appraisal reviews for lenders can come in a few different variations. Some software providers offer residential and commercial review forms for numerous kinds of appraisal reviews. All of these forms must be checked for USPAP compliance and accuracy.

Field Reviews and Full Appraisal Reviews

“Form” reports can be less standardized and are customized to meet the client’s specific objectives. This includes field reviews, where the review appraiser examines the property, and full reviews, which include an independent collection of data.

Narrative and Oral Appraisal Reports

When in compliance with USPAP standards and client requirements, narrative reports can be created in the reviewer’s preferred format. Oral reports can be utilized when the client does not need a written report. This is common in court testimonies and must still be compliant with USPAP before issuing the report. Appraisal reviews can also come in the form of a simple checklist, depending on the client’s situation.

Get a customized appraisal review to perfectly meet your specifications by contacting us today.