Fees
Making the most of your Appraisal Dollar
As a result of an independent operation and low overhead expenses, Mr. Dobbs is able to charge considerably less than the large appraisal and accounting firms. With certain limitations, fees can be reduced further by the careful choice of an appropriate type of appraisal (please see the explanations below).

TYPES OF APPRAISALS DEFINED
The Uniform Standards of Professional Practice (USPAP) published by the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation, Washington, DC, establishes certain rules and guidelines for developing and reporting appraisals. Certain definitions emanating from these rules and guidelines are as follows:

"Complete" or "Limited"
Under Standard Rule 1, in developing a real property appraisal (i.e. arriving at the estimated value), an appraiser must meet certain absolute requirements such as being aware of, understand, and correctly employ those recognized methods and techniques that are necessary to produce a credible appraisal. Beyond meeting these absolute requirements, an appraiser is also expected to follow certain additional "guidelines" in development of his value conclusion but these he can depart from under certain circumstances. An example of such a guideline is that an appraiser should, before appraising a proposed project, have reviewed project plans and specifications for it.

Because seeing plans and specs is a guideline and not an absolute requirement, under USPAP the appraiser can appraise the property without seeing them under certain conditions. Specifically, USPAP allows "departure" from "guidelines" but only if the appraiser has: A) determined that the departure will not lead to a misleading or confusing report, B) has advised the client that the departure will lead to something other than what is required by the specific guideline and that the report will clearly identify and explain the departure and C) the client agrees that the performance of a "limited appraisal" is appropriate.

If the departure provision is not invoked, the appraisal is said to be a "Complete Appraisal". When the departure provision is invoked, the appraisal is said to be a "Limited Appraisal."

"Self-Contained", "Summary", or "Restricted Use"
Under Standard Rule 2 all appraisals must be reported in one of three formats:

1) Self-contained Appraisal Report,
2) Summary Appraisal Report or 
3) Restricted Use Appraisal Report.

USPAP states that: "the essential differences among these three options are in the use and application of the terms "describe", "summarize" and "state". "Describe" is used to connote a comprehensive level of detail in the presentation of information. "Summarize" is used to connote a more concise presentation of information. "State" is used to connote the minimal presentation of information."

The aim of this provision is to insure that all appraisals contain sufficient information to enable the person(s) who are the intended user(s) to understand them. For example, a report for a person lacking a broad based familiarity with real estate may require a self-contained report, a real estate lender may require a summary report, and a person highly familiar with a particular real estate market may only need a restricted report.

Under USPAP an appraisal may not be reported in the restricted use format if there are intended users of the report other than the client himself.

Exceptional Appraisal Value
We offer exceptional value for the appraisals and services we provide. We welcome the opportunity to provide you with pricing information on your specific needs and encourage you not to skimp on the appraisal.