When it comes to USPAP and report writing you say, “Tim, I already know how to write an appraisal report!”.  That’s great!  Congratulations!  Now, ask yourself this question, “Do I know how to write a persuasive appraisal report? How about, “Do I know how to write an accurate appraisal report?”.  And finally, “Do I know how to write an internally consistent appraisal report?”.  Then, all of these questions lead to the main question, the crux of this post:  “Should appraisers take a university-level writing class?”.  Now, I hear you grumbling, “I don’t need a college education to appraise real estate!  I’ve got 30-years experience!”.  An apendectomy is not particularly hard, either.  But, I bet you want that surgeon who’s going to take out yours to have gone to medical school, and then interned in surgery, right?  Now you say, “Tim, there are no university-level classes on writing a real estate appraisal report!”.  You are, of course, correct!  But, there are not any university-level classes on appendectomies, either.  There are only medical school-level classes on that.  So, why did that surgeon take a writing class in college?  It was not to be a better surgeon.  It was to learn how to express herself clearly, credibly, and persuasively.

USPAP and report writing calls for the appraiser to express herself clearly, credibly, and persuasively.  We are, after all, in the communications business. Appraisers communicate for a living.  We persuade for a living.  How so?  Consider this sentence, one that is all too common in reports:  “The adjustments are as shown.”  What did that sentence communicate?  Nothing.  How could that sentence possibly persuade our clients and intended users of the accuracy of our analyses?  Simply put, it can’t.

USPAP and report writing.  Please complement your 30-years of experience with a university-level report writing class.