Compete Course in Personal Property Appraising (Featuring USPAP)

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2008-2009 Complete Online Course in Personal Property Appraising Syllabus

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Contact Information
Instructor: David J. Maloney, Jr., AOA CM
dave@maloney.com
301-228-2279

Course Description
Welcome to the Complete Online Course in Personal Property Appraising! This is the second version of the 550+ page course originally authored by David J. Maloney, Jr., AOA CM in 2002. Now updated and greatly expanded (including a 70-page mini-USPAP course in Lesson 7!), this latest version of the Complete Online Course in Personal Property Appraising offers learners a unique opportunity to obtain a core education in personal property appraisal principles, theory, methodology and report writing from the comfort of their own home at the times most convenient to them. This online course in appraising provides the most complete educational opportunity for the personal property appraiser available anywhere - either online or on site. As mentioned, it even includes a first-ever, 70-page mini-course explaining the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in plain English! It is estimated that the online course will take six months to complete with an average study time of 5 hours per week.

This course is designed for those those interested in a professional personal property appraisal career and who are seeking competency in the principles, theory and methodology of personal property appraising. Making use of the highly-acclaimed, 416-page book Personal Property Appraising: Principles and Methodology (Appraisers Press 2008) (purchase), this online course provides a complete and well-organized series of Lessons all of which are designed with the nationally-recognized USPAP at its core.

Lesson 7 makes use of The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP by David Maloney (Appraisers Press 2009) which can be ordered here. And, especially for Lesson 7, you will also need the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), (Washington, DC, The Appraisal Foundation). Purchase USPAP directly from The Appraisal Foundation.

In addition to reading assignments and narrated reviews, this course makes use of self-assessed Lesson quizzes and Review Questions to help the student comprehend the material being presented and to prepare for the mid-term and the final exams. Quiz results also assists the instructor in gauging the student's progress. Quiz grades do not count towards the final grade.

At mid-point in the course following Lesson 5 the student will make arrangements to have the first of two exams (100 T/F and multiple-choice questions) mailed to and proctored by a chosen proctor. The second exam following Lesson 13 covers material from the second half of the course (only Lessons 6 through 11. Lessons 12 and 13 are not testable.) In addition to passing each exam with a grade of 75% or higher, the student is required to submit a sample appraisal report for review.

Testing: Lesson Quizzes, Course Exams, Final Project
Click here to learn about the testing requirements for this course.

CEUs
Earn 12 CEUs from Appraisal Course Associates for the successful completion of this course, exams and sample appraisal project. What are CEUs?

Course Objectives
The objectives of this course (complete course outline) are to provide the student with an understanding of the following personal property related issues:

Appraisal terminology
Underlying principles, theory and methodology of appraising
Types and definitions of value and cost
Three approaches to value
Various intended uses of appraisals
IRS requirements for tax-related appraisals
Creators and detractors of value
Identification and authentication
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)*
Ethics and professional standards of conduct
Market research
How to describe property
Appraisal report writing including sample appraisals
Basic appraiser tools and techniques
Running an appraisal office
Legal issues of interest to the appraiser

Prerequisites
This course is intended for the novice as well as the experienced appraiser who may be lacking formal training in appraisal principles, methodology or professional appraisal standards. There are no educational or experience prerequisites to attending this course; however, it would be helpful if students had market-related experience relevant to the types of property in which they intend to specialize in their appraisal practice. Such experience may result from performing in the past as an appraiser, auctioneer, broker, dealer, claims adjuster, jewelry store owner, estate planner, attorney, estate liquidator, or avid collector. Be sure to read about "Your Obligation to Become Fully Trained".

Course Fee
The fee for this course is $1295 plus text books and exam fees.

Textbooks

Appraising Personal Property: Principles and Methodology (APPPM) - 2nd edition by David J. Maloney, Jr., AOA CM (Appraisers Press 2008) Purchase

The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP (USPAP-SUPP) by David J. Maloney, Jr., AOA CM (Appraisers Press 2009) Purchase Unlike other lessons in this course that contain reading assignments taken primarily from the above text book Appraising Personal Property: Principles and Methodology (APPPM), Lesson 7 of the course makes use of The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP by David J. Maloney, Jr. (Appraisers Press 2009). Referred to as USPAP-SUPP, this 76-page book is a supplemental manual focusing strictly on a plain-English explanation of USPAP. I wrote The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP due to the need within our industry for a thorough, plain-English guidebook to USPAP. In doing so, I greatly expanded the USPAP discussion that is contained in Lesson 7 of the first two editions of APPPM. Future editions of APPPM will incorporate the content of The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP. You can purchase a copy of The Personal Property Appraiser's Guide to USPAP here, or you can read it online as it is embedded in the nine .pdf Lesson 7 Tasks. USPAP-SUPP is a thorough mini-course in USPAP. Applying what is taught in Lesson 7 with the principles and methodology taught in the balance of this course will better enable the student to immediately prepare USPAP-complaint reports. Even though available to read online, students will want to purchase the book as it is an inexpensive, fully-indexed, 76-page, 8 1/2"x11" guide to USPAP that makes an ideal USPAP reference.

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (current version), (Washington, DC, The Appraisal Foundation) Purchase

Course Duration
Students should be able to complete this course within a six month-period if applying themselves about five hours per week. It may very well take less time. Registration entitles the student to access to this course for a six-month period. Students are encouraged to apply themselves diligently in order to complete the online requirements within this time frame. During the six month period, the student is required to take both the locally proctored mid-term and final exams. Students may request a one-time, three-month extension period for a fee of $100. Here are some tips for online success.

Refunds
A refund in full (less PayPal and text book charges, if applicable) will be made if a written request for a refund is received at info@appraisalcourseassociates.com within seven (7) days of initial registration.

Finding Your Way Around
Once registered, to not hesitate to poke around the various links. Get to know this web site. Be sure to read the site Users' Guide.

Lesson Requirements
Each Lesson is comprised of a series of reading assignments taken primarily from Appraising Personal Property: Principles and Methodology but also from supplementary readings. Reading assignments are normally followed by a narrated video review of selected material. They may be followed by additional Lesson activities as well. Most Lessons also include a 10-question quiz to test your understanding of the material. These are "open-book," self-assessed quizzes which will not impact on whether or not you pass this course; however, they will help you better understand and retain the covered material, and they will allow the instructor to gauge your progress.

Communication
Students are welcome to take advantage of the course Forum to share information and ask questions regarding the course material with the instructor and and other students. The Forum will also be used by the instructor to highlight issues as well as to make you aware of updates to the course material including updates made from time to time to the APPPM course book. The Forum will also be used to announce news regarding the profession. You will automatically be sent copies of all Forum posts via email to ensure you are kept current.

Certificates
Upon completion of the course (including the locally proctored mid-term and final exams as well as the final sample appraisal project), graduates will be awarded a Course Completion Certificate from Appraisal Course Associates.

*This course provides a very thorough instruction in The Appraisal Foundation's Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) such that the student will be capable of writing USPAP-compliant reports; however, to best understand USPAP and to obtain proof of attending and passing the one-hour USPAP course exam, the appraiser should attend a 15-hour personal property version of the National USPAP Course taught by an AQB-certified instructor.

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