USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) is the law which under-girds the appraisal industry with standards. Several years ago there were three formats allowed by USPAP, a Self Contained Appraisal Report, a Summery Appraisal Report and a Restricted-Use Appraisal Report. In 2018 USPAP was been simplified in this area and now allows only two formats, an Appraisal Report and a Restricted Appraisal Report. no matter the format, we are required to complete the same analyses in a reasonable and ethical manner.
Appraisal Report
Appraisal Reports are our more detailed written report. Appraisal Reports are allowed to be relied upon by third parties and are usable for purposes such as Estate Tax where the IRS will need to rely upon it, mortgage underwriting where a FDIC Insured lending institution can rely upon it, or litigation where a court might need to rely upon it.
Restricted Appraisal Report
Restricted Appraisal Reports are less detailed in write-up. The less detailed write-up allows us to be more competitive with regard to pricing as we spend less time writing our analysis results. A restricted report may be depended upon only by the client, thus it is not allowable for use where a third party, such as the IRS, will be required to depend upon its content and analyses. However, it is quite appropriate for non-contentious estate matters as well as use by an owner of a property for internal decision making purposes.