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This is a 4/25/2012 memorandum from the HEPR Office Director to the Division Administrators, The Directors of Federal Lands, and Division Realty Officers discussing the importance of appraisal review as a key QA/QC element of Federal-aid Highway program delivery. The memo also contains information on best practices for preparing an appropriate scope of work for the review along with appraisal review implementation.
The 1987 "Final Rule" expanded the limits and conditions under which an appraisal waiver may me used in lieu of an appraisal. This link will take the searcher to the results of a national survey measuring the effectiveness and impacts of the changes contained in the "Final Rule."
The Scope of Work is a written set of expectations that form an agreement or understanding between the appraiser and the agency as to the specific requirements of the appraisal, resulting in a report to be delivered to the agency by the appraiser. It includes identification of the intended use and intended user; definition of fair market value; statement of assumptions and limiting conditions; and certifications. It should specify performance requirements, or it should reference them from another source, such as the agency's approved Right-of-Way or Appraisal Manual. The guide is not a "sample" scope of work...rather, it is a guide intended to take practitioners through a thought process that will aid them in the development of an appropriate scope.
This link will take the searcher to links to 2 NHI, instructor led, appraisal courses. The course "Appraisal for Federal-aid Highway Programs" is a 2 day course; the "Appraisal Review for Federal-aid Highway Programs" is a one day course.
The text for the PDG has been developed as a reference for those responsible for completing the acquisition of realty for a transportation project. Information is arranged in a sequential order, based on the typical project development process. The format presents data in the following order: Federal laws; regulations; policies; procedures; implementation through policy interpretations, and best practices.
This link will take the searcher to the fifth edition of the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions. The Standards were originally published in 1971 with the most recent revision published in 1992. The existing Standards have earned a prestigious position. They are frequently cited by Congress in legislation relating to the valuation of federal land acquisitions and have guided the appraisal process in these matters since their original issuance by the Interagency Land Acquisition Conference. The appraisal standards contained therein must be adhered to by Federal agencies in all direct land acquisition efforts.