Posted 12-3-07. Updated 12-19-07.

Page 269: Replace the entire section entitled "Documenting Significant Professional Assistance" with this text.

More than One Appraiser: Significant Personal Property Appraisal Assistance and its Disclosure

Some appraisal assignments will involve the participation of more than one appraiser and/or such services as advice, guidance, opinions, authentications, condition reports, or technical reports by non-appraiser experts. In addition, some assistance provided by an appraiser can be considered minor while other assistance should be considered as significant. Examples of typical scenarios in which assistance from others might be encountered when appraising personal property include:

• Two appraisers with similar areas of expertise working on the same assignment as equals.
  
• Two or more specialist appraisers contributing to an assignment from within their respective specialty areas such as a fine art appraiser valuing the paintings, a gemologist appraiser valuing the jewelry, and a generalist appraising the balance of the property.
  
• A non-appraiser expert providing input necessary for the appraiser(s) to complete the assignment such as an expert's report of authenticity attesting to his opinion that the painting being appraised is genuine; or a gemological laboratory's grading report on the carat, color, clarity and cut of an important diamond.

Assistance provided to the appraiser by others can come in many forms and levels of significance. When that assistance is provided by another appraiser and rises to the level of being significant in nature, then USPAP requires that mention be made of such significant personal property appraisal assistance within the appraisal report in two locations:

• Identify the individual in the USPAP Certification Statement.
  
• State the extent of significant personal property appraisal assistance provided elsewhere within the appraisal report such as in the scope of work statement:

When any portion of the work involves significant personal property appraisal assistance, the appraiser must state the extent of that assistance. The signing appraiser must also state the name(s) of those providing the significant personal property appraisal assistance in the certification, in accordance with SR 8-3. (USPAP)

The names of individuals providing significant personal property appraisal assistance who do not sign a certification must be stated in the certification. It is not required that the description of their assistance be contained in the certification, but disclosure of their assistance is required in accordance with SR 8-2(a), (b), or (c)(vii), as applicable. (USPAP)

Appraiser vs. Non-Appraiser. Only appraisers are capable of providing significant personal property appraisal assistance. Non-appraisers who provide non-appraisal related assistance need not be mentioned in the USPAP Certification statement because USPAP applies only to appraisers.

"… the reference to "appraisal assistance" means that the contribution is related to the appraisal process or requires appraiser competency. One misconception is that non-appraisers who provide assistance should be identified in the certification. This is incorrect because the certification requirements in USPAP apply only to appraisers. Thus, only appraisers sign the certification or are identified as providing significant appraisal assistance…" (USPAP, Q&A, May 2007)

For example, the use of a repair firm to determine whether or not an item of damaged property is capable of being repaired would not be considered significant personal property appraisal assistance because the repair firm is not an appraiser. Though not mentioned in the USPAP Certification statement as providing significant personal property appraisal assistance, a reference to assistance by non-appraisers should be made elsewhere in the report such as in the statement of work statement.

Minor vs. Significant Assistance. But what is considered to be significant personal property appraisal assistance?

Perhaps only a minor opinion is offered over the phone, or a suggestion regarding additional research efforts is made, or one assists the appraiser in gathering data resource such as price guides or auction records. Such assistance would not be considered as "significant" so the provider would not need to be mentioned in the USPAP certification statement, though it would be appropriate to make mention of his contribution in the appraisal report's scope of work.

But perhaps assistance is provided that contributes in a noteworthy way to the development of a value conclusion such as the selection of appropriate comparable sales or other relevant data, or the analysis of the relevant marketplace, or the inspection and identification (or even authentication) of the subject property and/or comparable properties. Such assistance would be considered significant. Help from others in the form of significant assistance might even include providing the appraisal itself for those items in which the assisting appraiser specializes. These examples of significant personal property appraisal assistance need to be documented in the appraisal report's scope of work statement, and the identity of the provider needs to be made mention of in the USPAP certification statement as well.

Note: If an assisting specialist appraiser prepares an appraisal report for property falling within his area of expertise, the signing appraiser should attach the specialist's appraisal report to his primary report as evidence of value for those particular items. In addition, the signing appraiser should make mention of that assistance as noted above by making reference to the specialist's appraisal in the report's scope of work and by making mention of his identity within the USPAP certification statement.