Summer 1994 Edition of Property Valuation Monitor

Low- and No-Fat Appraisals

"YOU CAN NEVER be too thin, or too rich." No matter where you turn today, nearly everything is becoming lite, low-fat or no-fat. Effective July 1st 1994, the same will be true for real estate reports.

In keeping with the reduced fat mania, the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) has decided to allow real estate appraisers to add low- and no-fat reports to their menus.

Appraisers can now serve up low-fat Summary Appraisal Reports and no-fat Restricted Appraisal Reports, as well as their traditional full-course (all-you-can-write) Self-Contained Appraisal Reports.

This will give rise to widespread (no pun intended) new books and seminars on this topic. Here are my predictions for new titles you may see:

Top Ten Titles

10. Appraise Thinner, Once and For All

9. Over Appraisers Anonymous

8. The Joy of Appraising Lite

7. Low-Fat Appraising

6. Fat to Muscle Appraising

5. Appraise Slim for Life

4. 12 Steps to Thin Reports

3. In the Appraisal Office with Rosie

2. Nutri/Page-Loss System

1. Lose 30 Pages in Thirty Days

In certain situations, lite reports are a good idea. Many appraisers are guilty of the why-use-one-word, when-six-will-do style of writing (you should see my first drafts). The new concise formats will save a few trees; a few split infinitives; and for regular reviewers and readers of appraisal reports, in some cases, a few yawns.

The author, Stephen Traub, ASA, is Chief Commercial Appraiser for Property Valuation Advisors, Newburyport, MA. He is a certified general appraiser in NH, ME and MA. He can be reached at (508) 462-4347 or by e-mail at: straub@shore.net.

Other articles in this Summer 1994 issue of PVM include: Loan Terms Brighten; More Good Stuff Cheap Free; Commercial Mortgage Survey; Northern New England Vacancy Survey; Four Letter Words of RE; Notes:.

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