USPAP and expanding horizons.  Now that the appraisal business is slow, it’s time to expand your horizons.  This means taking steps you have never taken before.  It means engaging in activities in which you’ve never engaged before. We will need to adopt a mindset we have never adopted before.  In other words, it means change.  Appraisers fight change.  We are accustomed to a single set of appraisal protocols. It is common to fill out the 1004 form in the same way as always.  We use the same boilerplate.

It was Albert Einstein who taught us that it is insanity to continue to engage in the same activities, yet expect different results from those we achieved before. Therefore, as the real estate appraisal business changes, as the economy changes, we must be ready for those changes.

When we talk about USPAP and expanding horizons, what we mean is change is inevitable. Literally, since the beginning of 2023, the progress of artificial intelligence has increased more than it has in the last two years.  AI will continue to integrate into all areas of real estate appraisal, especially into the composition of appraisal reports. Are we going to expand our horizons and adapt AI to real estate appraisal?  Or, are we going to fight it while the rest of the mortgage lending continuum takes advantage of it?

USPAP is not a perfect document.  However, it is dynamic.  It is adaptable to change.  So, as we consider USPAP and expanding horizons, are we adaptable to change?  Are we going to take advantage of the educational opportunities these changes will demand?  Are we going to capitalize on this new technology to improve the way we write our reports?

USPAP and expanding horizons means we have a choice.  We can keep our own status quo which essentially means we will be falling behind. Or we can adopt and adapt.  Real estate appraisers tend to be smart, analytical folks.  If I we’re going to bet the mortgage payment, I would bet that appraisers will adopt and adapt. What do you think?