Certifications and Scope of Work

Certifications and Scope of Work

The last pages of the URAR aren't boilerplate you can skim past anymore. This is Certifications and Scope of Work: what's fixed, what changes with your answers, and where your own words go.

Three kinds of text

This section always displays, and it mixes three kinds of text. Fixed text, the same on every report. Dynamic text, where your answers pick which version prints. Certs 10, 21, and 29 work this way. And free-form text, for anything you add yourself.

Expand it, don't contradict it

The Scope of Work is predefined, worded to fit many kinds of assignments. Need more? Answer Yes to Additional Scope of Work, and your text prints right below it, not in an addendum. Just don't contradict the predefined scope, or repeat it.

Who it's for, and why

Intended Use covers a mortgage finance transaction, or related activities. That last phrase means the use isn't limited to the loan itself. The intended user is the lender/client. Additional intended users can't contradict that, or repeat it. FHA, VA, and USDA appraisals add predefined agency wording, and only government appraisals can add to Intended Use.

The fine print, in plain view

The Statement of Assumptions and Limiting Conditions always displays. The title is assumed good and marketable. A sketch shows approximate dimensions. Third-party data is used only when the appraiser considers it reliable, and data dated before the effective date is assumed unchanged since. No court testimony unless arranged in advance. And the report is not an environmental assessment.

Three certs that follow your answers

Three certifications change with your answers. Cert 10 matches your inspection: Interior and Exterior, Exterior, or No Inspection. Cert 21 names anyone who gave significant real property appraisal assistance, or states that no one did. Cert 29 covers your services on the subject in the prior three years. Answer Yes, and you describe them right there.

Additional and supervisory certs

Adding a certification, like a designation? Additional Appraiser Certifications are numbered from one, and can't contradict the originals. When there's a Supervisory Appraiser, a second block of nine predefined certifications appears. The supervisor's prior services are acknowledged in Additional Supervisory Appraiser Certifications, so that block always appears too.

One block per signer

Signature repeats for every appraiser and supervisory appraiser who signs. Name and credential details redisplay from Assignment Information. The date to watch is Date of Signature and Report: the day the report goes to the client. Revise the report, and that date changes.

Four things to remember

Quick recap. One. Fixed, dynamic, and free-form text, side by side. Two. Additions never contradict the predefined text. Three. Certs 10, 21, and 29 follow your answers. Four. The signature date is the day the report goes out. Next up: Appraisal Update and Completion Reports.