Standard 2 - Real Property Appraisal, Reporting
What Standard 2 requires
Standards Rule 2-1: each report must be clear, not misleading, and must state the scope of work actually performed. 2-2 lists required content: client and intended users, intended use, purpose, effective date, property identification, type and definition of value, scope of work, and enough information for the intended user to understand the analysis. 2-3 contains the certification - the specific statements about bias, compensation, and personal responsibility - and requires a signature. 2-4 requires oral reports to be documented in the workfile.
Only two report options
Appraisal Report and Restricted Appraisal Report. Both require complete analysis; they differ in how much is disclosed. A Restricted Appraisal Report must carry a use-restriction statement warning that it may not contain sufficient information for anyone other than the client, and the client must be the only intended user. Terms like 'complete' and 'limited' reports are obsolete and routinely appear as distractors.
Traps
- Disclosure is not analysis. Choosing an Appraisal Report does not make the work better; scope of work was fixed in Standard 1.
- The workfile is not the report. An oral opinion still must be captured in the workfile.
- Signatures. Only an appraiser who performed the work and accepts responsibility signs. A signature by someone who did not participate is a violation.
- Draft reports. Circulating conclusions before the certification is attached can create a misleading communication if the client relies on it.
Rule of thumb
Ask: could the intended user, reading only this document, understand what was done and why? If yes only for the client, you need a Restricted Appraisal Report - and the restriction statement must say so.