Can I solicit a listing during my appraisal?

I was recently part of a discussion where an appraiser asked the group:

I am an appraiser as well as a real estate sales agent. After I complete inspecting a property for an appraisal assignment and before leaving the property, can I then solicit the owner about the prospect of being his listing agent or buying agent if he needs one in the future? I have no current interest in the house being appraised. Would this action violate USPAP?

 

Remember that determining compliance or non-compliance with USPAP would ultimately be determined by your state regulator. Certain states may have position statements, guidelines, or specific instructions on how to handle yourself in these types of dual-license situations. That being said, let me discuss with you several important passages from USPAP which relate to an appraiser soliciting his or her sales services to a homeowner during the appraisal visit.

To start, the Conduct section of the Ethics Rule states that an appraiser “must not misrepresent his or her role when providing valuation services that are outside of appraisal practice”. Part of understanding whether we are “misrepresenting” our role is to consider our interactions from the point of view of the parties involved, in this case the homeowner. In your case, you are clearly performing services as an appraiser, since the homeowner was told an appraiser would visit the property, an appraiser’s office called to set the appointment for the appraisal visit, an appraiser arrived to measure and photograph the house as an appraiser, and so on. If, while you are perceived to be an appraiser, you solicit business related to sales services and later list the house for sale, might the homeowner think you are listing her house as an appraiser? After all, you solicited the homeowner when acting as an appraiser and the homeowner knows you by your appraisal work.

Soliciting for a listing while performing the appraisal as an appraiser can mislead a homeowner in terms of his or her understanding of what service you are providing now and what service you might provide in the future. The Management section of the Ethics Rule states “An appraiser must not advertise for or solicit assignments in a manner that is false, misleading, or exaggerated.”

Keep in mind, too, that the Conduct section of the Ethics Rule states “an appraiser must perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests.” Offering sales services as you described may cast doubt on whether you are truly acting impartially and without accommodating your personal interests.

Further, and perhaps most to the point, your act of soliciting or promoting your services as a listing or sales agent creates a prospective interest in the property or parties. To illustrate, ask yourself: Why are you advertising your sales services to her? Invariably, your intent is to obtain the listing and/or sell a house to her in the future – a prospective interest.

If you have an interest, USPAP then requires two disclosures for appraisal and appraisal review assignments. The Conduct section of the Ethics Rule requires: “If known prior to accepting an assignment, and/or if discovered at any time during the assignment, an appraiser must disclose to the client, and in each subsequent report certification: any current or prospective interest in the subject property or parties involved”. The initial disclosure to your client might take the form of a phone call or email, and the disclosure in the report certification should follow the example of Standards Rule 2-3. (Note that if you are performing appraisal practice that does not result in an appraisal report or appraisal review report, the initial disclosure to your client is still required.)

But disclosure aside, while USPAP allows the appraiser to have an interest in the property and parties, many intended uses prohibit the appraiser from performing the assignment if he or she has any interest. For example, the I.R.S., the GSEs, and federal financial institution regulators have regulations speaking to the appraiser’s interest related to the property or parties. So, while USPAP allows it, you would likely need to decline or withdraw from the assignment if you have a current or prospective interest.

In the scenario in question: by soliciting sales services, you are creating a prospective interest which must be disclosed and likely precludes you from performing the assignment.

To restate the oft-cited “hat” metaphor: bring only and wear only your “appraiser hat” for your appraisal assignments.



Joshua Walitt, SRA, AI-RRS, MNAA, CDEI
is a certified residential real estate appraiser, reviewer, and educator. As the Compliance Manager for Property Interlink, he oversees procedures, training, licensing, audit, operations, and review functions. His ongoing goal is to increase accuracy and efficiency through sound reasoning and communication skills, appropriate methodology and technology, and proper oversight.

He writes for industry publications, speaks at national industry events and client conferences, and designs and presents education courses. Prior to joining Property Interlink, he provided fee appraisal and consultation services. He has also been recognized as an expert witness in local and federal court.

Walitt holds the SRA & AI-RRS designations with the Appraisal Institute, is a Board Member of the National Association of Appraisers (MNAA), holds a Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI) certificate, is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor, and currently serves on the Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers.

Reasons Real Estate Agents Order Appraisals

I talk with real estate agents almost every day. Sometimes I’m asking them questions about a property that sold which I’m considering using as a comp or I’m teaching a class on appraisals to lenders and realtors. Other times they’re calling me asking about various appraisal procedures or if I can do an appraisal for them. The answer is Yes – appraisers can do appraisals for real estate agents.

 

Pricing a Listing
Let’s say a real estate agent is trying to get a listing from a homeowner that wants to sell. Since they’ll be working on behalf of that homeowner they want to get top dollar for that sale. But they also need to make sure that they don’t over price the home making it undesirable to any potential buyers relative to competitive listings already on the market. In some cases a market analysis done by an agent may be producing significant valuation swings between possible listing prices. In this situation a real estate agent may bring in a certified real estate appraiser to properly value the property, ensuring a reliable list price for a well-timed sale.

 

Difficult Homeowner
Some homeowners don’t want to hear from an agent that there estimate of the home’s current value is overinflated. In these cases to properly list the home at a price that will sell, a real estate agent may call a certified appraiser to develop a second opinion of the market value of the property in hopes of guiding the homeowner to a more realistic asking price. This hard third party evidence may be needed to convince the homeowner that if they want to engage serious buyers they must price their home accordingly.

 

Complex Area or Property
Occasionally a real estate agent will come across a property that is difficult to price. The home may be located in a mixed use area. It could be an older home that the surrounding zoning has changed significantly over the years. This could present challenges in finding nearby properties of comparable use. Or it could be a high end neighborhood which can be problematic because such developments have a tendency to have few resales – and consequently few recent comparables.

 

It isn’t always about the area – sometimes it is the home itself; a home may be significantly over- or under-improved for the neighborhood. One example would be a homeowner who builds a custom “dream house” that is substantially bigger with numerous high-end amenities – far greater than what is typically found in its neighborhood. The problem is there may be no comparables in the immediate area. Here a real estate agent may call an appraiser to establish a value for the home.

 

Legal: Tax Issues, Trust, and Divorce
Sometimes lawyers, trustees and executors are calling realtors to help sell or value properties, but they may initially call a realtor for a referral to an appraiser. Oftentimes, an appraisal – not a BPO or a CMA – is required for legal proceedings. A tax attorney may need to value (or advise a sale) of a property in order to use the proceeds from the sale to payoff state or federal tax liens. A trustee or an executor of a will may need to liquidate the real property of a trust or an estate.
Divorce attorneys contact real estate agents to sell marital homes as part of the divorce settlement. In many of these cases, the agents may be asked to recommend a certified real estate appraiser to establish a market value to satisfy the demands of the legal proceedings.

 

In all of these types of situations, I am relied upon to develop an accurate value opinion in a timely manner to help facilitate the client’s next step.

See my video here.

 

Related articles:

House Market Value: Valuing a House Based on Price Per Square Foot

Exterior-only Appraisal: Thinking Outside the House

I do pre-foreclosure and home equity work for several clients, and their assignments include some Exterior-From-Street appraisals. Insurance companies and agents request this type of report as well. Recently, I heard from an appraiser who doesn’t do “drive-by” Exterior-Only assignments. I understand, as part of managing businesses appraisers make different business decisions related to the nature of the work they will and will not accept. And I’m never about to tell another appraiser what work to accept and what work to avoid. (I enjoy a good Full interior-and-exterior inspection and I often hear from homeowners they are impressed that I spent more than 15 minutes at their house – so, I’m not advocating eliminating Full inspections!) But it’s the reasoning I’ve heard over the years, for not performing Exterior assignments, that I don’t always agree with…

Josh Walitt 12-2013 e

“How can I appraise it? I don’t even know what’s inside!”

That’s exactly why extraordinary assumptions are used. The Exterior-Only appraisal scope is specifically based on NOT knowing 100% about the property – that’s the point.

 

“I’ll do the sales comparison approach, but not the cost approach – after all, I don’t know the quality or condition!”

 

My next question is always, “Then how are you developing a sales comparison approach without knowing the quality or condition?” The extraordinary assumption enables you to “know” subject characteristics for purposes of the appraisal.

 

“How can I make an extraordinary assumption? I don’t know what’s in the property!”

 

Right. That’s what an extraordinary assumption is.

 

“But it’s a manufactured house and the form needs the HUD tag for me to appraise it!”

 

A lender might need the HUD information for lending policies, but certainly an appraiser can opine value without knowing that HUD information. And since when is a form in charge of the appraisal process?

 

Now, I know that there are sometimes good reasons for NOT performing an Exterior-Only, and we need to consider the availability of information, the intended use, the complexity of a property, conflicting available information, etc.. For example, I was recently asked to appraise a property from the exterior for a refinance, but county records indicated it had two single-family detached houses and a detached garage with what appeared to be sq.ft. above it. In this situation, I messaged the lender that I believed the appropriate scope of work for this assignment would be an interior-and-exterior Full inspection of the property and I insisted on an “upgrade” to that scope of work. After I quoted my fee and turn-time, they agreed, and I’m going next week.

Residential Appraisal

On the other hand, an agent recently talked to me about her current listing which has had few showings and no “bites”. She has a prior appraisal (sketch, etc.), a virtual tour and MLS information and photos, and of course these sources are available to me. For this listing-related assignment, it may be possible to have a desktop scope, using data from the county, the sketch, the tour, the MLS and other sources to establish the characteristics of the subject through extraordinary assumptions, for the intended use of this assignment.

 

When an appraiser automatically refuses to do any Exterior-Only work, I sometimes ask, “So, does the property not have a value if you can’t see inside?” I realize they’re not really claiming that (and my response is a bit tongue-in-cheek), but for partially- or fully-destroyed properties, hostile occupants, pre-foreclosure, portfolio or retrospective work, it may not even be possible to gain access. So I maintain my point does stand: the property still has a value even if you can’t get inside, and a client may need an opinion of that value.

 

The question is, Can you develop a credible report by making reasonable extraordinary assumptions for the intended use of the appraisal?

WATCH Property Inspection Video

Originally printed in Appraisal Buzz. Click here .