An appraisal review is not a second appraisal. It is an assignment in which an appraiser develops an opinion about the quality of another appraiser's work: whether the scope was adequate, the data appropriate, the adjustments supported, and the conclusion credible.
In litigation this is frequently the right first step. Before commissioning a competing appraisal at full cost, a review establishes whether the opposing report has defects worth attacking — and sometimes establishes that it does not, which is equally valuable information for counsel.
Lenders and AMCs use review for quality control and compliance. Insurers use it to test a claim valuation. Fiduciaries use it to satisfy themselves that a report they are relying on will withstand challenge.
NextPhase has performed more than 2,500 appraisal reviews, and its principal spent years running quality control and compliance for an appraisal management company overseeing roughly 5,000 appraisers — which is a different vantage point from having only ever written reports.
Written by
Jeremy C. Johnson — President / Valuation Specialist. AQB Certified USPAP Instructor, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, 21+ years and 7,000+ valuation assignments. Statement of capability →
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What the work actually looks like
Real assignments, client details removed — what each engagement actually turned on, rather than how it felt.
A house, a workshop of machine tools, a forty-year firearms collection and a stake in the family company — four disciplines that three appraisers had only partly covered. One engagement, one effective date, one set of assumptions.
A donation the regulations would have aggregated past the appraisal threshold, which the donor had assessed item by item. One qualified appraisal covering the group, itemized, signed inside the window the regulations allow.
An opposing report whose number was not obviously wrong — which is what made it dangerous. It failed on its own certification, and was answered section by section with an independent valuation to the correct definition of value.