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When it comes to USPAP and written reports, the response of the typical appraiser is to stifle a yawn. “Who cares about writing reports? We just fill in a form, send it to the client, and hope it does not come back for revisions!” But, adding the narrative addenda items to the form is report writing, isn’t it? And a common response to that is, “I just cut-and-paste stuff from other reports. For $400, I can’t spend a lot of time writing!” This is true. But that appraiser will have a truckload of trouble selling that logic and reasoning to a state appraisal board.
In fact, USPAP and written reports is such an important topic that basic appraisal texts usually devote one entire chapter to writing the report. If you’ll think about it, the phrase “…writing the report…” conveys little meaning. Rather, we should speak about “…communicating the appraisal to the client…” since this is really what we are hired to do. Clients hire us to communicate to them, in a precise format, the results of our analyses leading to a credible value conclusion. What clients do not want is a report. Rather, clients want (and need!) our analyses of the relevant data. Our analyses should transform the raw market data into information the client uses to make informed, timely decisions.
So, yes, USPAP and written report is a major topic – one to which we all are well advised to pay more attention. Because, really, we are not merely writing reports. We are (or should be) communicating to our clients. They want answers to value questions (among other things). That’s why they hired us, the experts, the appraiser. So, are we providing our clients with answers? Or do we merely provide them with filled-out forms?