Fannie Appraiser Update

By on July 24, 2026   /   Fannie, FHA, UAD 3.6   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: Fannie Appraiser Update, Kentucky Board Approves Increase in Licensing Fees

July 24, 2026

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Client Insists on Cost to Cure
  • Fannie Mae Appraiser Update, July 16, 2026
  • Glittering L.A Megamansion With ‘Dramatic’ 50-Foot Water Wall and Swim-Up Hits the Market for $88 Million
  • Kentucky Board Approves Significant Increase in Appraiser Licensing Fees
  • MY AD: Doug Smith’s tips on selecting UAD 3.6 software
  • Honoring Jan Bellas, Our Greatest Advocate
  • Where Does an FHA Appraisal End and a Home Inspection Begin? HUD Has an Opportunity to Clarify. By Shane White, SRA (REPRINT)
  • Upcoming National Appraisal Conferences in Las Vegas
  • MBA STATS: Mortgage applications increased 1.9 percent from one week earlier

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Fannie Mae Appraiser Update

July 16, 2026

Get practical guidance to help you prepare for the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 and Forms Redesign transition and stay current on updates that affect your work.

In this second Appraiser Update of 2026—and our 35th edition since launching in 2017—we’re sharing timely insights, policy updates, and resources to help you navigate industry changes and support your success.

In this issue, you’ll find:

Expert insights on key UAD 3.6 topics, including terminology updates, policy changes, unit counts, and more.

What Appraisal Management Company access to Collateral Underwriter® (CU®) means and how to navigate it effectively.

List of Topics

  • Changes to UAD language in 3.6
  •  Unit Count Differences in the Sales Comparison Grid
  •  UAD 3.6 Reports: Lessons Learned
  •  AMC Access to Collateral Underwriter

Sample Topic detail

Vet Comments for Accuracy and Necessity

Some of the most common problems we have seen in UAD 3.6 appraisal reports relate to inaccurate or unnecessary comments. Here are some actual cases that illustrate the issue:

Contradictory information: In the SCA grid, an appraiser correctly utilized the Comparable Weight field to state that Comp 1 was given most weight and Comps 2-3 were given less weight, but then the appraiser added a comment that “The final opinion of value has been weighted equally among comparable sales 1-3.” The contradiction between the information in the enumerated data versus the narrative comment is confusing to the reader and undermines the appraiser’s credibility. A more helpful and appropriate comment would explain why comp 1 merited the most weight.*

Repetitive information: Another common issue we have seen in UAD 3.6 reports is the appraiser repeating the condition rating (already stated in a defined data element) in the associated comment field.*

Outdated language: In another report, an appraiser commented in the Sketch Commentary field that “The GLA for the subject was derived by…” Of course, the term “GLA” or Gross Living Area has been replaced in UAD 3.6 with the term “above grade finished area” (see accompanying article in this newsletter), so the reference to GLA was a non sequitur and confusing to the reader.

*These cases illustrate the general principle that appraisers should not restate information already contained in the defined data elements.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Definitely worth reading for excellent “how to” advice on UAD 3.6.

Read more!! →

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Creative Appraisal Definitions – Humor

By on June 5, 2026   /   bias, FHA, UAD 3.6   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: Creative Appraisal Definitions – Humor, FHA Modernization Minimum Property Requirements

June 5, 2026

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Subpoena Threat Over a 10-Year-Old Appraisal
  • Creative Appraisal Definitions Humor
  • Foam Dome Home With ‘Not a Single Straight Line’ Hits the Market in Florida for $249K: ‘A Genuine Original’
  • My ad: How to decide which UAD 3.6 software to use
  • USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era, By Edwin Farr, MAI
  • FHA Seeks Public Comment Regarding Modernizing Its Single Family Housing Minimum Property Requirements
  • Upcoming UAD 3.6 Bootcamp in Irving, Texas
  • MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent from one week earlier

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Creative Appraisal Definitions – Humor

Excerpts:

  • Purpose of the Appraisal – To make a living in the appraisal business.
  • Functional Obsolescence – That state of many older appraisers.
  • The Subject – A term police use to identify the victim of a crime.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: We can all use some appraiser humor !!

For commercial and residential appraisers.

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Foam Dome Home With ‘Not a Single Straight Line’ Hits the Market in Florida for $249K: ‘A Genuine Original’

Read more!! →

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Appraisers – The Clipboard Has to Go!

By on May 22, 2026   /   FHA, real estate market, UAD 3.6   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: The Clipboard Has to Go, Systemic Failures in FHA Appraisal and Loan Review

May 22, 2026

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Am I Still on the ‘Do Not Use’ List?
  • Joe the Appraiser: Calling It Like It Is. The Clipboard Has to Go
  • Florida Megamansion That Starred in ‘Scarface’ and Was Used as President Nixon’s Winter White House Hits the Market for $237 Million
  • Systemic Failures in FHA Appraisal and Loan Review by Desiree Mehbod
  • MY AD: List of my articles about UAD 3.6
  • America’s Homes Are Older Than Ever—and Local Red Tape Could Make Them Harder To Fix
  • Survey: While Some Brokers Push Private Listing Networks, Most Soon-to-Be Sellers Want their Homes Seen By Every Buyer
  • MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlier

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Joe the Appraiser: Calling It Like It Is.

The Clipboard Has to Go

By Joe Pravettone

Excerpts: I’m Joe. I’ve been doing this a long time. Long enough to remember when “cutting-edge technology” meant a pager, microfiche, and a Thomas Guide rattling around in the glove box. (If you know, you know.)

I’ve spent nearly 30 years in this profession — 15 years in the mortgage world doing processing, underwriting, and operations, and another 15 deep in appraisals, wearing just about every hat there is, from fee appraiser and AMC staff to QC.

Let’s start with the UAD.

If you’ve been in this business longer than five minutes, you’ve felt it. That low-grade tension humming in the background. The new Uniform Appraisal Dataset is here. The forms are changing, the workflow is changing, and a lot of appraisers are somewhere between uneasy and ready to stress-eat.

I get it. I really do.

But here’s the other reality: We’re also heading toward a volume surge. Rates are easing. Refinances are starting to creep back. And when you combine industry-wide change with rising volume, things can get messy.

So let’s be honest about something. The clipboard has to go. I know, I know, you’ve got a system. Your scratch paper has a system. Your clipboard definitely has a system. You’ve been doing it your way for years, and your way works. I’m not saying it doesn’t. But the road has curved, and it’s time to turn the wheel.

To read more, Click Here

My comments:

This article was written by a long time lender appraisal “insider”. Worth reading.

As the November 2, 2026 UAD 3.6 deadline approaches more lenders and appraisers are getting ready. But, many appraisers don’t like the changes. Those that get ready will have lots of work from AMCs, who are looking all over the country now for appraisers who will do UAD 3.6 appraisals for them. GSEs do about 50% of mortgage loans. Lenders who don’t sell their loans to GSEs will be using the forms software you have been using. I am working on an article on how to get business from them.

I remember the “old days” of microfiche, Thomas Brothers Maps. When I first started appraising 50 years ago, I remember filling up my car by peeling off the back of polaroid photos. I still have old Thomas Bros. maps in my car “just in case” my electronic maps don’t work or are inaccurate. I also have some very old microfiche files but don’t have anything to see them on.

I definitely prefer using an inspection app. I will be writing an article on which tablets are required. I will also have an article with paper checklist instructions that go through SFR, condo and 2-4 units UAD 3.6 appraisals.

Read more!! →

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Appraisal Adjustments

By on August 29, 2025   /   adjustments, appraisal how to, FHA, liability, New URAR, UAD, UAD 3.6, USPAP   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: Appraisal Adjustments, How Freddie and Fannie Inflated Home Prices, FHA to Adopt UAD 3.6

August 29, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD Navigating Value Revisions in Appraisals
  • Appraisal Adjustments: Types, Methods, and Cheat Sheet Appraisal By Kevin Hecht
  • Inside Artificial Heart Inventor’s $4.8 Million Midcentury Modern Salt Lake City Utah Home
  • Inflated Prices, Taxed to Death, by Jeremy Bagott
  • Can the direction a home faces affect its value? By Ryan Lundquist
  • The Competence to Perform an Assignment, by Timothy C. Andersen, MAI
  • FHA to adopt UAD 3.6
  • MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 0.5 percent from one week earlier

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Time Adjustment Changes for Appraisers

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Appraisal Adjustments: Types, Methods, and Cheat Sheet Appraisal By Kevin Hecht

Excerpts:

Types of Appraisal Adjustments

Appraisal adjustments can take several forms, depending on the property characteristics being compared. Each type of adjustment addresses a different element that may influence value. Below are descriptions of common adjustment categories and their uses, followed by a “cheat sheet” chart with examples.

  • Qualitative Adjustments
  • Quantitative Adjustments
  • Transactional Adjustments
  • Market Conditions Adjustments
  • Property Adjustments
  • Locational Adjustments

Common Methods for Making Appraisal Adjustments

A long list, from matched paired sales to Cost Analysis

Appraiser Survey: What’s Your Go-To Method for Adjustments?

Paired sales/matched pair analysis (Most popular answer!)

“I typically cover rural areas where sales are scarce and there is not enough data for meaningful statistical analysis to be performed. Due to this, paired sales analysis is the most reasonable and defensible analysis position available.”

“I use linear regression to understand market changes and to calculate any necessary market change adjustments.”

“Depends on what item is being adjusted. If it is site or GLA, it is usually a percentage of the per acre or per square foot sales price. Other items are usually paired sales analysis or consideration for depreciated cost.”

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Comprehensive lists and interesting appraiser comments. I quit doing grid dollar adjustments many years ago. A person from our state regulator, speaking at a local appraisal meeting, said they would require support for all adjustments. I started by doing Plus and Minus grid adjustments and then went to “total property comparison” with a value. I do a qualitative analysis comparing the comps.

The only supported dollar adjustments I make are for market conditions and high dollar features such as a fantastic view of the Golden Gate Bridge from very high up a hill.

Inside Artificial Heart Inventor’s $4.8 Million Midcentury Modern Salt Lake City Utah Home

Excerpts: 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 5,447 sq.ft., 0.55 acre lot, built in 1957

The mastermind behind the one-of-a-kind estate was none other than Swiss architect Eduard Dreier, who brought Bauhaus principles to the modernist movements of Utah and Nevada.

Lovingly restored and awarded the Utah Heritage Award for Restoration and Renovation, this 5, 447 sq ft architectural gem blends timeless Dreier elements-exposed steel beams, walls of glass and cantilevered roof line, granite rock walls-with warm modern luxury. The 1,110 sq ft glass-and-steel attached guest house, designed by Dreier protge Brent Groesbeck in 2016, floats above the main home, expanding living where entertaining is elevated to an art form.

To read more, Click Here

To see the listing with 43 photos and a video tour, Click Here

Read more!! →

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Changes to FHA Appraisal Requirements

By on July 5, 2025   /   Economic analysis, Fannie, FHA, liability   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: FHA Appraisal Changes, Fannie Measurement Standards Update

July 4, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Unreasonable Subpoena Request
  • HUD Announces Changes to FHA Appraisal Requirements
  • The Rock House In Larkspur CO Is Back On The Market for $1,000,000
  • Baghdad Bob of Freddie Mac Merits Mention As Mideast Erupts
  • The Full Measure – June 25, 2025 By Kevin Hecht, Appraiser and Economist
  • Fannie: Standardizing Property Measuring Guidelines
  • MBA: Mortgage applications increased 2.7 percent from one week earlier

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HUD Announces Changes to FHA Appraisal Requirements

Excerpts: There are four significant appraisal-related revisions to Section II. D. of the Handbook.

  1. Subject and comparable photograph requirements have been revised….
  2. The appraiser is no longer required to state the remaining economic life of the dwelling in the appraisal report.
  3. In situations in which the subject is located in an increasing or decreasing market, the appraiser is no longer required to include an absorption analysis, a minimum of two sales that closed within 90 days of the effective date, and two active listings or pending sales.
  4. For Section 223(e) mortgages, the appraiser is no longer required to include an estimate of remaining physical life for the subject property improvements.

It is important to note that the originating lender is the client, not HUD/FHA, and as such, the lender may still require some or all the above items.

To read more, Click Here

To read the full document, Mortgagee Letter 2025-18, Click Here

My comments: Read the full article above and the original Morgagee Letter (Link above) for more details if you do FHA appraisals.

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The Rock House In Larkspur CO Is Back On The Market for $1,000,000

Excerpts: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,432 sq.ft., 0.86 acre lot. Built in 2000.

The Larkspur Rock House is an iconic Flinstones style home, and now it can be yours for only $1,000,000. The rocks are maybe 200 million years old!!!Outdoor living spaces.

The Rock House is anything but ordinary—this striking, stucco-clad home is seamlessly built into a soaring red rock monolith, transforming nature’s artistry into a one-of-a-kind architectural statement.

The dramatic rock wall isn’t a backdrop—it’s the centerpiece, rising through all three levels and anchoring each floor in natural grandeur. Every space is visually and physically connected to the monolith at its core.

To read more, Click Here

To read the listing, Click Here

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6619-Apache-Pl-Larkspur-CO-80118/13497121_zpid/

Read more!! →

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Appraisal WaIvers Can Be Risky

By on March 21, 2025   /   FHA, GSEs, liability, Mortgage interest rates, waivers   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: Waiver Risks, Appraisal Alleged Bias, FHA Rescinds Multiple Appraisal Related Policies

March 21, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA ad: Appraisal Used in Divorce Case — Now What?
  • The Hidden Risks of Appraisal Waivers: What Homebuyers and Homeowners Need to Know
  • Palm Desert California Home With Its Own Shark Tank Hits the Market for $59 Million
  • Relocation Appraisals: The Power of Market Analysis
  • NFHA (National Fair Housing Alliance) Rescinds Multiple Appraisal Related Policies Funding Dries Up. Appraiser lawsuit.
  • Fannie, Freddie board shakeups bring conservatorship exit closer to reality
  • FHA Rescinds Multiple Appraisal Related Policies
  • Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged. Two rate cuts may be coming this year.
  • MBA – Mortgage applications decreased 6.2 percent from one week earlier

Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news

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The Hidden Risks of Appraisal Waivers: What Homebuyers and Homeowners Need to Know

March 4, 2025 By Tom Horn

Excerpts: Imagine this: You’re buying a home, and your lender offers you an appraisal waiver. You’re told this will save time, reduce hassle, and even cut costs. It sounds like a great deal, right? But what if I told you that skipping the appraisal could lead to overpaying for your home, financial headaches down the road, and even market distortions that could affect entire neighborhoods?

6 Reason You May Not Want an Appraisal Waiver

1. You Might Overpay for the Property

2. Refinancing or Selling Could Become a Problem. Even if overpaying doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time of purchase, it can come back to haunt you when it’s time to refinance or sell.

3. Hidden Property Condition Issues Could Go Undetected

4. Appraisal Waivers Contribute to “Data Cancer” in the Housing Market. What is Data Cancer? “Data cancer” is a term used to describe the gradual corruption of real estate valuation data due to repeated reliance on flawed or incomplete information.

5. You Lose a Key Protection Against Market Volatility. A professional appraisal acts as a check and balance in the homebuying process. Without it, buyers are left vulnerable to shifting market conditions.

6. 6. Lenders Benefit More Than You Do. Appraisal waivers aren’t offered to help buyers—they’re offered to help lenders.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Worth reading. The first article I have seen showing why appraisal waivers can be bad for borrowers. Appraisal waivers are increasing. Per the GSEs they save borrowers money on appraisal fees.

When the new URAR is required starting in late 2026, waivers will have much more data from appraisals to allow waiver use increase by the GSEs

Read more!! →

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Highest and Best Use and Appraisals

By on February 21, 2025   /   appraisal how to, Fannie, Freddie, real estate market   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: HUD Layoffs – Including FHA, GSE Selling Guide Updates

February 21, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA Ad: Should I Complete this Assignment?

  • Highest and Best Use: A Superpower You Already Possess By Byron Miller, SRA

  • High Octane’ Desert Ranch That Boasts Airplane Hangars, Racetracks, and Custom Dune Buggies Hits the Market in California for $15 Million

  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s New Selling Guide Updates: What Appraisers Need to Know. What Data Sources Appraisers Are Using.

  • Massive FHA cuts would create dysfunction for mortgage industry, homeowners: ex-official

  • Builder Confidence Falls to the Lowest Levels Since May 2024

  • Mortgage applications decreased 6.6 percent from one week earlier

Zoning in the Appraisal Process

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Highest and Best Use: A Superpower You Already Possess

By Byron Miller, SRA

Excerpts: Like the Incredible Hulk, my superpower didn’t show itself until stressed. That stress came in January 2020, when Minneapolis became the first major U.S. city to eliminate single-family residential (SFR) zoning, allowing one-to-three units to be built on what were previously (SFR) parcels. Suddenly, there was a lot of confusion in the appraisal community about when and how to perform the highest & best use (H&BU) analysis for the new zoning classification.

As chapter president of the North Star Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, I fielded a flood of questions from residential appraisers to state regulators. One thing I quickly realized was that many of the residential appraisers I spoke with didn’t know the four tests of H&BU analysis.

Let’s revisit the basics: In an H&BU analysis, real estate appraisers determine the most probable use of a property by applying four tests: whether the use is legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive. Order doesn’t matter for the first two tests, but it’s essential for the last two. Moreover, appraisers must conduct each of the four tests on the real property as if vacant, and as improved.

Applying each of these tests properly is essential to the valuation process. In many litigation situations where appraiser’s values are far apart, it’s due to H&BU analysis differences.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Worth reading. The author is a residential appraiser. H&BU is one of my favorite topics! I have done many commercial properties for lenders and non-lenders where H&BU was not the current use. I appraised them at their H&BU.

If you only do residential properties H&BU issues is much less an issue, so you don’t do the H&BU analysis very often. Unfortunately, many of the res appraisers who call me did not think about the relevant H&BU. This article is an excellent reminder. You can get into Big Trouble with H&BU if you don’t know when it is important.

The article has a section titled: Practical H&BU Analysis of the 4 factors with an excellent case study. Interesting appraiser comment worth reading.

Read more!! →

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FHA Appraisal ROV Q&As

By on October 18, 2024   /   ADUs, AMCs, Fannie, FHA, liability, Mortgage interest rates, ROVs, UAD   /   Leave a comment
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Newz: FHA ROVs, Avoiding Court, ADUs and Sq.Ft.

October 18, 2024

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • Avoiding Court: A Common Sentiment Among Appraisers By Claudia Gaglione, Esq.,
  • FHA Q&A on ROV Policy
  • One of America’s Biggest Homes Hits the Market for $195 Million
  • UAD/URAR Threat, Opportunity, Confusion, Part 2 By George Dell, MAI, SRA
  • Why didn’t the appraiser add the ADU in the square footage? By Ryan Lundquist
  • Choosing the Right Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs): A Guide for Appraisers
  • Mortgage applications decreased 17.0 percent from one week earlier
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    Appraisal Business Tips 
    Humor for Appraisers

    Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!

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Q’s and A’s Now Available from Appraisal Review and ROV Industry Briefing Webinar

FHA INFO 2024-70

October 10, 2024

FHA Posts Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value Policy

Questions and Answers from Industry Briefing Webinar

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) posted a questions and answers document that addresses inquiries received from stakeholders regarding FHA’s Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-07, Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value (ROV), announced in FHA INFO 2024-24 on May 1, 2024.

To prepare mortgagees and other stakeholders for the implementation of the ROV policy, FHA hosted a live webinar on August 8, 2024. During this webinar, FHA subject matter experts briefed participants on the ROV policy and processes and addressed questions submitted prior to and during the webinar. Due to time constraints, not all questions were answered during the webinar; therefore, today’s FHA INFO includes a summary of the questions addressed during the webinar as well as those that were not.

Mortgagees are reminded that while the provisions outlined in ML 2024-07 may be implemented immediately, they must be implemented for FHA case numbers assigned on or after October 31, 2024, as announced in ML 2024-16. Additionally, the technology updates announced in FHA INFO 2024-43, will also be available in FHA Connection (FHAC) beginning October 31, 2024.

The questions and answers and recording of the ROV webinar are available for viewing on HUD’s Single Family Housing Archived Webinars web page.

To read the full Q&As (PDF), Click Here

Read more!! →

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GSE Appraisal Reports Online

By on July 19, 2024   /   app, appraisal business, appraisal forms, FHA, HOME INSURANCE, UAD   /   Leave a comment
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What’s in This Newsletter (in Order)

  • Confirming Construction Progress
  • The New UAD: “Don’t Borrow Trouble.”
  • Nicolas Cage’s Former New Orleans Mansion Lost to Foreclosure listed for $10,250,000
  • When will interest rates drop?
  • Who will refi when rates are lower?
  • Uncovering Flaws in FHA Appraisal & Loan Review Process
  • Home Insurance: It’s Not The Hurricanes In High-Cost Areas, But The Tornados In Low-Cost Areas That’ll Get You By Jonathan Miller
  • Iconic ‘Constellation 167’ House in Los Angeles for $10.9M
  • Mortgage applications increased 3.9 percent from one week earlier
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UAD and Forms Redesign Update for Appraisers (from 12-15-23)

Appraisal Business Tips 

Humor for Appraisers

Click here to subscribe to our FREE weekly appraiser email newsletter and get the latest appraisal news!!

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The New UAD: “Don’t Borrow Trouble.”

By Ernie Durbin, July 15, 2024

Excerpts: Reflecting on one of my father’s favorites, “don’t borrow trouble,” I find his advice particularly relevant today. It reminds me to focus on the present and not jump to conclusions about future uncertainties. What he was trying to convey was to trust in my abilities to handle challenges if and when they arise, rather than assuming the worst.

Many in our industry are “borrowing trouble” when they prematurely conclude that the new UAD and GSE report writing requirements will be detrimental.

The problem is… it’s not a form. The new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) is an appraisal report expressed as a form. This may seem like semantics, but it is a very important distinction. Although the UAD data set is all-inclusive of property types, only the data points necessary for a specific property need to be reported.

The dynamic nature of the new report will result in “form” outputs that are remarkably shorter than the early examples provided by the GSEs. As an example, if the income and cost approaches are not necessary for credible results, these elements will not be included in the appraiser’s workflow or the final URAR.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Worth reading. Current forms date back to 2005. A lot has changed since then, but somehow, we have to put it into our appraisal reports. I much prefer the “Turbo Tax” model where you only see what is relevant for what you are appraising. Changes to the software can be made at any time.

I am looking forward to online software for appraisal reports. Since 2006, I have used Constant Contact for this newsletter, which is completely online. Changes, when needed, such as additional features, can be done easily. With Office 360, Word and Excel software is online. I can work on any computer, anywhere. Of course, I have other software on my computers, including Excel and Word, if my Internet goes out ;>

Read more!! →

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Functional Obsolescence in Appraisals

By on March 29, 2024   /   adjustments, appraisal business, FHA, real estate market   /   Leave a comment
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Functional Obsolescence Can Be Challenging

By McKissock

Excerpts: For appraisers, functional obsolescence can be a challenging concept because the elements that influence property values may not be obvious or immediately apparent. To help you better understand what it means and how to pinpoint it, we’re exploring some examples, the different types of functional obsolescence, and how it can influence property values.

Additionally, we’re sharing insights from appraisers who answered our survey question, “When dealing with functional obsolescence in real property appraisal, what aspect do you find most challenging?”

Topics include:

  • Types of functional obsolescence
  • Curable obsolescence
  • Incurable obsolescence
  • Superadequacy

What aspects of functional obsolescence do appraisers find most challenging? We asked our appraisal community, “When dealing with functional obsolescence in real property appraisal, what aspect do you find most challenging?”

The top two answers were “supporting adjustments for it” and “finding comparable properties with similar obsolescence.” Here are the full survey results, followed by comments from appraisers who shared further insights into these two common challenges related to functional obsolescence:

Supporting adjustments: 46%

Finding comps: 33%

Sample appraiser comments:

“Functional obsolescence is not a searchable criterion in any MLS database I’ve found. The ability to find a credible impact on other homes repeatedly is an anomaly. So, I may be able to generate a factor or dollar difference but having only one comp to determine with leaves you deciding on credibility or making no deduction if you don’t feel it’s a credible adjustment.”

To read more, Click Here

My comments: We all encounter Functional Obsolescence when appraising. The blog post is well-written and understandable. It is worth reading the full blog post and the appraisers’ comments. Plus, the explanations about functional obsolescence are good reminders.

Functional Obsolescence for Appraisers

Appraisal Business Tips 

Humor for Appraisers

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NOTE: Please scroll down to read the other topics in this long blog post on home gets 147 offers, cutting costs, manufactured homes, appraisal analysis, unusual homes, mortgage origination stats, etc.

Read more!! →

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