Appraisal.com Nationwide Appraisal Network: Appraisal Requirements
704 Drive-by Appraisal

As a condition of payment and continued participation, the following requirements must be met by all appraisers on each report produced for the Appraisal.com Nationwide Appraisal Network. If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact the Appraisal.com Appraisal Quality and Review Department at 716.332.5950 x525 or email at support@appraisal.com.

General

(1) The appraisal report must state the entire three year sales history of the subject property.  This is an Appraisal.com requirement. 

(2) The report must be USPAP compliant, and meet minimum requirements set forth by Appraisal.com.

(3) The report must be produced in a manner that is consistent with all applicable federal, state and local laws.

(4) The report must be submitted on a typed or computer-generated (not handwritten) document that is a reasonable facsimile of the current Freddie Mac Form 704 and all pertinent fields must be completed. If the appraiser chooses to omit any fields, an explanation must be included.

(5) The report must be delivered to Appraisal.com as an Adobe Acrobat® PDF document or, if the appraiser is unable to deliver the document as an Adobe Acrobat PDF document, the report may be delivered by overnight courier to the Appraisal.com Nationwide Appraisal Network (620 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202). Delivery by courier shall be at the appraiser's sole expense and will cause the appraiser to incur a fee (see the Appraisal.com Terms of Use) for Appraisal.com to scan and upload the document as an Adobe Acrobat PDF document.

(6) Unless instructed otherwise within the order details, the report must name the company who ordered it as the Client for the report. If requested to do so by Appraisal.com within 30 days of report delivery, the appraiser must change the client name to reflect the correct name. However, if the name change request is due to a change of investor, the appraiser may charge a fee of up to $100 to Appraisal.com.

(7) The report must contain a final opinion of market value.

(8) The report must contain the effective date of the appraisal.

(9) The report must comply with any reasonable requests made within the special instructions section of the appraisal order.

Appraiser(s)

(1) The report must be produced by the appraiser (or appraisal firm) the appraisal assignment was sent to. The appraiser who produces the report (or the supervisory appraiser, if state law allows) must hold a current and valid state license and/or certification.

(2) The report must contain the appraiser's signature as well as the date of signature.

(3) The report must contain the appraiser's State Certification (or License) number as well as the expiration date of the State Certification (or License).

(4) If an apprentice or assistant produces the report, the supervisory appraiser must also sign the report and date his or her signature. The supervisory appraiser must indicate whether or not he or she has inspected the subject property.

Attachments / Addenda

(1) The report must contain a current street map showing the exact locations of the subject and comparable properties as well as the location of any other properties mentioned within the report as affecting the value of the subject (such as a neighboring property exhibiting negative characteristics).

(2) The report must contain an appropriate Statement of Limiting Conditions addendum. 

(3) If requested within the special instruction section of the appraisal order, the report must include a flood map addendum.

Photographs

(1) The report must contain current, clear and well-framed color photographs of the following:

·       Front of subject property

·       Street Scene

·       Any relevant or pertinent items (such as views, orchards, custom construction features, outbuildings, damage, detrimental conditions, substandard neighboring properties, obsolete items, pending construction, etc.) that are described within the report as affecting the value and/or marketability of the subject property and are readily visible to the appraiser in the course of the “drive-by” inspection.

·       Front views of all comparable sales used within the report

(2) All photographs of the subject property must have been taken at time of inspection. Photographs of comparables may be "file photos" (a "file photo" is any photograph taken from the appraiser's databases or the databases of a third party, such as a multiple listing service or appraisers' cooperative), as long as the appraiser has (a) viewed the comparable property within the previous 90 days and (b) has disclosed within the report that the photographs are "file photos".

(3) All photographs must be in focus and taken with sufficient lighting so that major and minor details of the property can be clearly viewed.

(4) All photographs must be framed in such a way that the subject of the photograph fits completely into the photograph.

(5) Photographs may not contain people or any element that may cause a reader of the appraisal to make assumptions regarding the racial composition of the neighborhood.

Comparables

(1) Comparable sales must have actually closed and must be from a verifiable data source.

(2) Any adjustment(s) that are in any way subjective (such as views, appeal, condition, location ratings, etc.) must be clearly explained in the report.

(3) All adjustments must be shown within the comparable grid and totaled.

·       Any individual adjustment that exceeds ±10% of the sale price for that comparable must be commented to include (a) an explanation of the adjustment made and (b) necessity for the use of that comparable.

·       Any total net adjustment of any comparable that exceeds ±15% of the sale price for that comparable must be commented to include the necessity for the use of that comparable.

·       Any gross adjustment of any comparable that exceeds 25% of the sale price for that comparable must be commented to include the necessity for the use of that comparable.

·       Any special adjustments (such as "upgrades") made by the appraiser that do not fall within the scope of the predefined adjustments on the 1004 form must be clearly explained within the report.

(4) The report must indicate the on(s) why any comparable located more than one mile from the subject property was chosen.

(5) The report must indicate the reason(s) why any comparable sale that closed more than 6 months prior to/after the effective date was chosen.

(6) The report must indicate the reason(s) why any comparable with a gross living area variance of ±20% was chosen.

(7) The report must indicate the reason(s) why any comparables that would seem (to a reviewer of the report) to not be the most appropriate comparables were chosen.

(8) Comparables with sales and/or financing concessions should be avoided whenever possible. However, if the appraiser chooses to include comparables with sales and/or financing concessions, a clear explanation of both (a) the concessions granted and (b) why the comparable was chosen (including the necessity of its use) must be included.