“What is a Recent Sale Search?”

This is an option that AllCal offers to our clients before an order is placed to get a better idea of the potential comparable sales that may or may not be used in the final valuation.

We will conduct a search using the local multiple listing service and public records with basic criterion in place. Such as; gross living area, lot size, year built, and radius from the subject. This option is only recommended in the event that your own research has given you mixed results.

AllCal Appraisal Order Procedures:

When an order is placed, our first step is to research potential, unfiltered comparable properties to evaluate if there are any apparent concerns. We will conduct this research prior to scheduling an inspection.

We will not predetermine a minimum, maximum, or a range of value. These practices, commonly known as a “comp check” are in violation of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), California state laws, and the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of the Appraisal Foundation.

What is a “Comp Check?”

Comp Check is a colloquial term in the US (also know as a "look-up") that is sometimes requested of a State Licensed or Certified real estate appraiser within the US, sometimes to assure a minimum opinion of value before an order, typically for lending purposes, is placed.

Because providing an opinion of value - for a certified or licensed appraiser in the United States - is the definition of an appraisal, the practice of the look-up, when excess care is not taken, runs a greater risk of being in violation of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) than an assignment with a more thorough Scope of Work

Due to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), licensed and certified real estate appraisers in the United States who are involved in a federally related transaction are required to follow federally accepted, uniform standards, known as USPAP, which are promulgated by the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of the Appraisal Foundation. In the Appraisal Foundation's "Advisory Opinion 19" (AO-19) the Appraisal Foundation makes clear the following:

An appraiser must perform assignments ethically and competently, in accordance with USPAP and any supplemental standards applicable to the assignment. An appraiser must not engage in criminal conduct. An appraiser must perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests.

An appraiser must not accept an assignment that includes the reporting of predetermined opinions and conclusions, and

Further, the MANAGEMENT section of the ETHICS RULE in USPAP states:

It is unethical for an appraiser to accept an assignment, or to have a compensation arrangement for an assignment, that is contingent on any of the following:

• The reporting of a predetermined result (e.g., opinion of value);
• A direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the client;
• The amount of a value opinion;
• The attainment of a stipulated result; or
• The occurrence of a subsequent event directly related to the appraiser’s opinions and specific to the assignment’s purpose (bold added for emphasis).