Updated August 17, 2026. Educational information only; not legal, tax, lending, engineering or accounting advice.
Identify the actual lending client
Bank, credit-union, private-lender and attorney-directed assignments can have different intended users, forms and delivery procedures.
Confirm who engages the appraiser before work begins. A borrower-paid fee does not automatically make the borrower the appraisal client.
Define the property and loan context
Provide the complete property address, parcels, occupancy, unit count and known complex features. Private lending may involve properties outside standard secondary-market patterns.
The appraiser does not decide credit terms, collateral policy or loan-to-value limits. Those are lender decisions informed by the report.
Prepare reliable access and records
Make required areas accessible and provide plans, permits, surveys, leases and major improvement information.
Mixed use, unfinished construction, accessory units, manufactured homes and extensive outbuildings should be identified before inspection so the correct scope can be established.
Separate market value from liquidation assumptions
Market value typically assumes reasonable exposure and informed participants. A quick-sale, disposition or liquidation question may require different definitions and assignment conditions.
Do not assume a standard residential report answers every private-lending risk question. The client should state the required value premise explicitly.
Route questions and revisions correctly
Report delivery and reconsideration follow the client's process. New documents may be reviewed, but pressure to achieve a lending threshold is inappropriate.
Changed construction, new parcel information or a different value premise can require additional work rather than a clerical amendment.
Assignment planning checklist
- Identify lender/client
- Confirm intended users
- State value definition
- Confirm effective date
- Provide all parcel information
- Identify occupancy and units
- Arrange access
- Provide leases and plans
- Disclose complex improvements
- Keep credit decision separate
Frequently asked questions
Can a borrower order the lender's appraisal?
The lender's process and independence requirements control engagement.
Can market value equal quick-sale value?
Not automatically. Different premises and exposure assumptions can produce different assignments.
Does a high appraisal guarantee the loan?
No. Underwriting considers many factors beyond collateral value.
Can a private-lender report be reused by a bank?
Only if the receiving institution determines the engagement and report satisfy its requirements.
Send the address, intended use, effective date and material property characteristics before scheduling.
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