The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB), through The Appraisal Foundation, issued new guidance for appraisers on inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic, TAF announced in a release.
Clarification has been issued regarding the topic of new personal inspections of exterior properties, plus remote or virtual inspection of interior properties.
The ASB was asked to provide guidance on the question of when an appraiser makes a personal inspection of the exterior of a property as part of a mortgage finance transaction (or in any other assignment) and then receives interior photos, video, or other technology-based view(s) of the subject, whether the appraiser can state that they performed an interior inspection.
“No. A personal inspection of the interior of the property by the appraiser is not the same as viewing the interior virtually or remotely,” the ASB responded. “It would be misleading for an appraiser to indicate that an interior inspection of the subject property was performed, when, in fact, the appraiser only viewed interior photos, video, or other data from technological solutions.”
The ASB suggested appraisers can review the Conduct section of the ETHICS RULE, Disclosure Obligations of the SCOPE OF WORK RULE, and Advisory Opinion 2, Inspection of Subject Property.