The purpose and scope of an assignment determine the type of appraisal report needed.

In the descriptive material, reference is made to "professionally qualified" appraisers. This refers to individuals who have been tested and accredited in their particular fields of expertise/specialization under the auspices of ASA's International Board of Examiners.

Every accredited appraiser must start his or her ASA membership as a Candidate member. In order to be accepted for Candidate membership, the prospective Candidate must be interviewed and approved by his or her local chapter. Subsequently, each Candidate must pass ASA's Ethics  Examination and an examination on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) within a specified period of time. (The Uniform Standards are published each year by The Appraisal Foundation, authorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications.)

The Candidate's technical appraisal proficiency and understanding of the fundamentals of appraisal ethics, principles and concepts are evaluated by intensive written and oral examinations. Copies of the Candidate's appraisal reports are reviewed and must meet professional criteria. When the Candidate has met all these requirements and has gained the necessary experience, he or she may apply for advancement to Accredited Member or Accredited Senior Appraiser status.

To qualify for the Accredited Member designation (AM), an individual must have at least two years of full-time equivalent appraisal experience and a college degree or its equivalent.

To qualify for the Accredited Senior Appraiser designation (ASA), an individual must have a minimum of 5 years of full-time equivalent appraisal experience and a college degree or its equivalent.

To attain the Master Gemologist Appraiser® designation, an individual must:

To achieve the Fellow designation (FASA), an Accredited Senior Appraiser must be recognized by ASA's International Board of Governors for outstanding services to the appraisal profession and/or the society.

ASA has a mandatory re-accreditation process whereby designated members must regularly submit evidence of professional growth through participation in professional activities and continuing education. This ensures that ASA appraisers keep their knowledge up-to-date.

I recently took out a mortgage. The appraiser will not give me a copy of the appraisal without the lender's written permission. I paid for the appraisal. Why won't the appraiser give me a copy?

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, which have force of law in most states for real estate appraisal, define a client as "the party or parties who engage an appraiser (by employment or contract) in a specific assignment". Many residential mortgage lenders are subject to federal regulation, and federal law requires that the appraisal be ordered by the lender.

That makes the lender the client, regardless of who actually paid for the appraisal. As the client, the lender "owns" the appraisal, and the appraiser cannot issue copies to or even discuss the appraisal with anyone else without the client's permission. However, federal law also requires that, if you paid for the appraisal and request a copy in writing, the lender must provide you with a copy of the appraisal.

Residential appraisals for lending purposes develop an opinion of the market value of the subject property. It is important to keep in mind that cost does not necessarily equal value. Market value is an opinion of what a typical buyer would pay for something, not what it cost the seller.

Swimming pools and other major improvements are frequently considered overimprovements, that is, the cost of the item is not recovered in the market. The contributory value of a pool depends primarily on the location of the property and the overall range of values in the neighborhood. A $25,000 pool in an average quality tract subdivision will likely only bring a portion of its cost at sale, while the cost of the same pool may be fully recovered in a neighborhood of custom luxury homes.

In Arizona, all real estate appraisers are required to be either licensed or certified by the Arizona Board of Appraisal. There are three levels in Arizona. A licensed appraiser may appraise only 1 to 4 unit non-complex residential properties valued at less than one million dollars.

A certified residential appraiser may appraise all 1 to 4 unit residential properties, including those considered "complex" or valued over one million dollars. A certified general appraiser may appraise any type of real estate, including residential, commercial, industrial, apartments, farms and ranches, subdivisions, etc. Each level of license or certification is determined by experience hours, educational hours, and testing.

Appraisers tend to specialize in specific appraisal disciplines falling into the following categories often with many sub-categories within each.

Appraisers should be qualified to conduct an appraisal by virtue of education, experience, and professional designations. Professional appraisal organizations typically specialize in providing education and professional designations for its members who meet their minimum requirements. It is a violation of USPAP to accept an appraisal assignment without having the necessary credentials to conduct the type of property to be appraised without so informing the client.

The Purpose and Use of an appraisal plays a large part in determining the scope of the assignment, the type of appraisal to be conducted, the type of report to be completed, and the methodologies to be utilized. USPAP Standards and most standards promulgated by the professional appraisal organizations require that the Purpose and Use of an appraisal be stated in the appraisal report. Business appraisals can generally be categorized into three groupings:

Intellectual properties are considered intangible assets which (for valuation purposes) must have the following characteristics:

Examples of intellectual properties include trademarks, trade names, books, recordings, and computer software

In most instances, no. Condition issues are not always clearly delineated in a photograph. Quality of execution can also be hard to read in a photograph. Appraising art is about judging its quality and condition and then finding how the proper market values it.

When the artwork has been stolen or no longer exists, a hypothetical appraisal can be performed using photographs in combination with other information gathered.