Assignment Information

Assignment Information

Before the report says a word about the house, it answers a simpler question: who did what, and how? That's the job of Assignment Information, plus a few IDs in the footer of every page. We'll cover the footer, how the assignment is classified, who's involved, and how inspections and credentials are reported.

The footer

Start at the bottom of the page. Two footer fields are always required. The Appraiser Reference ID is simply your file number. The Appraisal Version number goes up each time you send the report to the client. Resend a revision, and version one becomes version two. Client and AMC Reference IDs appear only when they apply.

Why, and how?

Assignment Reason takes one answer, like Purchase, Refinance, or Construction. If several apply, pick the primary one and explain the rest in commentary. Property Valuation Method reports the work you actually did, no matter what was ordered. Traditional means you inspected inside and out. Exterior means you saw at least the outside, from the street or closer. Hybrid relies on a recent property data collection instead of your own visit. Desktop relies on other third-party data, with no one on site.

Who collected the data?

A property data report is factual information gathered by observing the property, for mortgage purposes. It never includes an opinion of value. Tax records and MLS listings don't count. They're data sources, not property data reports. Choose Hybrid, and a property data report must be marked as used. That opens its own subsection: the company, the collector's occupation, their name if you have it, and how and when they inspected.

Fees, agencies, special IDs

Three items stay hidden unless you need them. Appraiser Fee and AMC Fee, when a state or client requires them. A government agency. Choose FHA, VA, or USDA, and that agency's extra fields switch on throughout the report. And Investor Requested Special Identification, only when an investor asks, say for a pilot program or a disaster.

One contact, many roles

Every person or company in the report is a contact, and each gets at least one role. Roles stack. When the lender is also the client, that one contact is both Lender and Client. Exactly one contact is the Client. An AMC is listed in addition to the lender, and where the law calls the AMC the client, it gets both roles. No AMC? Then there's simply no AMC contact. Don't type No AMC anywhere. Attorney and Investor are for when they ordered the appraisal, like an investor on an REO. Other covers anyone else.

Who looked, and how?

The Appraiser developed the value and signed. A Supervisory Appraiser supervised, signed, and takes full responsibility for the results. Each reports their own inspection, exterior and interior separately: Physical, Virtual, or No Inspection. So a trainee can walk through in person while the supervisor joins by video, and the report says exactly that. If both are No Inspection, the inspection date doesn't display.

Level, ID, designation

Level adds a few choices to the familiar licensed and certified ones. None covers trainees without a credential. Trainee Appraiser is a trainee who has one. And Other covers the rest. The ID is the credential number exactly as the ASC National Registry shows it. Don't add the state unless it's part of that number. Trade organization designations go in Designation. Your license never does.

Assistance, comments, exhibits

Did someone provide significant real property appraisal assistance? Give them that role, and they get their own subsection. At minimum, their first and last name and a description of their work. They don't sign the report. The scope of work commentary holds extra context. For an exterior-only inspection, say how far it went: from the street, or walked the property. Images go in Assignment Information Exhibits, which only appears when there are some.

Five things to remember

Quick recap. One. Every page carries your file number and a version that goes up with each delivery. Two. The valuation method reports what you did, not what was ordered. Three. Roles stack, and there's exactly one client. Four. Each signer reports their own exterior and interior inspection. Five. Credential IDs match the registry, and licenses never go in Designation. Next up: the Subject Property section.