Ocotillo Appraisals

We receive many inquiries regarding Comp Checks, in order for Ocotillo Appraisals to remain USPAP compliant we can do the following:

- We can supply you with data research only, however, no value or value range can be given, you must draw your own conclusion(s) upon reviewing the data provided to you.

- You should check with your title companies (many have computer programs and access to real estate databases) and online services such as Zillow.com, RealEstateabc.com and Yahoo-RealEstate for preliminary value estimates.

If you are interested in seeing historical data for an area you should check ARMLS Monthly Home Sales Reports, this link will provide you with statistical information from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service including Quarterly reports with average home values and the historical change in value for each zip code in Maricopa and Pinal Counties.

If what you want are only the sales of properties shown in the databases available to us with the criteria you specified (an example would be a list of sales within one mile and within 6 months.), we can do that research and send you the result. We will not filter the data any further to find the most similar properties. If we do only that, it is just research and is not an appraisal.

You can use that data to decide what you think your client’s property is worth. However, you need to recognize that there are risks if you decide to have the research done that way. If you decide to limit our work to just gathering the sales data using the research criteria you set, you are taking the risk that those criteria are both adequate and appropriate to find all of the market data relevant to your client’s property. You also take the risk that any appraiser’s analysis of that data would result in a value conclusion that falls within the price range suggested by the sales data assembled using your criteria. There is no assurance whatsoever that such a value conclusion would be the case. If all of that is agreeable to you, we can proceed.

- We can also complete a Desktop Valuation for a fee of $75. (Higher fees may apply to complex assignments)

This Desktop Valuation fee can be discounted off an appraisal fee of a complete appraisal if you decide to proceed. This Desktop Valuation assignment will supply you with an opinion of value, although due to the limited nature of the assignment you are again taking the risk and also need to recognize that there are risks in this kind of assignment. You should realize that our value conclusion could change if we subsequently perform a more complete appraisal assignment. Under the research and analysis limitations with this assignment, we would not have personally inspected or measured the subject, observed the comparables, verified some of the data, and would have to use extraordinary assumptions about the market data and your client's property information. We would not have performed some of the analyses steps we might complete in an appraisal assignment without those limitations. If all of that is agreeable to you, we can proceed.

These services can provide you with a lot of valuable information if utilized correctly. However these sources are not as reliable as a complete appraisal.

To learn more about USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) please go to www.appraisalfoundation.org