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ASA Appraisers The ASA Appraiser - Your Choice for Valuation Expertise When you hire an ASA-accredited appraiser, you are assured the best valuation expertise on the market, because ASA-accredited appraisers bring experience, knowledge of the market and industry, and solid reputation to the job. Education and Experience Each accredited member of the American Society of Appraisers has earned a professional designation in one or more appraisal specialties. Such accreditation is predicated on society criteria: intensive written examinations, submission of representative appraisal reports and screening of applicant's practice and ethics. With more than two but less than five years of experience, members may use the professional designation AM (Accredited Member). With five years or more of full time valuation experience, members are granted the right to use the professional designation ASA (Accredited Senior Appraiser). All accredited members are required to become reaccredited every five years through a mandatory continuing education process. In addition, each candidate for accreditation must have a college degree or its equivalent. Knowledge of the Industry To qualify for Accredited Senior Appraiser, an individual must have a minimum of 5 years of full-time appraisal experience; of that 5 years, at least 3 years of experience must be in the specialty being examined (or discipline, if specialties do not exist). At least 2 years of full-time appraisal experience is necessary for Accredited Member status; of that 2 years, at least 1 ½ years of experience must be in the specialty being examined (or discipline, as the case may be). As part of the mandatory reaccreditation process, designated members are required to submit evidence of professional growth through participation in professional activities and continuing education. A Solid Reputation Each individual seeking accreditation from the American Society of Appraisers must furnish professional and personal references and be subject to local credit and background investigations. In addition, local chapters conduct personal interviews and evaluate the practices of all applicants. One of ASA's primary objectives is to ensure ethical practices and procedures on the part of its members. The society is diligent in its efforts to strengthen and uphold the Principles of Appraisal Practice and Code of Ethics (the code of conduct to which all members must subscribe) in order to protect the client. ASA has developed a mechanism for the enforcement of the Code of Ethics whereby clients may file written complaints directly with the International Headquarters of the American Society of Appraisers if they feel that an appraisal rendered by and ASA member violates sound professional practice. ASA has permanent internal procedures for processing all documented grievances, assuring due process. Sanctions against members, if found to be in violation of the Code of Ethics, range from censure to expulsion with loss of professional designation. The Valuation Expertise You Need In short, ASA-accredited appraisers are experts. The meticulous ASA accreditation process ensures that ASA-accredited appraisers are accurate, impartial, and credible. They are educated and experienced in their specialties and are respected members of their communities. They can render independent valuations that assure your property is given its fair market value. The Machinery and Technical Specialties Appraiser The Machinery and Technical Specialties discipline comprises but is not limited to, those members performing general machinery and equipment appraisals as well as those performing appraisals in other specialties described below: Agricultural Chattels - These appraisers specialize in crops, livestock, agricultural vehicles, farm and ranch machinery/equipment and other non-real estate assets. They are concerned both with fair market value and various definitions of liquidation value for collateralization, estates, property sales, and futures markets. They are specialists who must also be cognizant of real property appraisal when dealing with crops that are real estate until harvested and then become personalty. Aircraft - The primary area of specialization of these appraisers is in developing current and projected market values for used reciprocating engine aircraft and turbine-powered aircraft. This includes corporate, commuter, and private applications of airplanes and helicopters, as well as types of airline equipment, up through the largest wide-bodied aircraft in use. These appraisers also value other aviation support equipment, such as spare parts, special tools, and ground support equipment. Arboriculture - The arboricultural appraiser is a specialist who places monetary value on trees and other plantings. Some of the arboricultural appraiser's assignments involve: condemnation cases, establishing loss for income tax purposes, settlement of insurance claims relating to loss or destruction of trees and other landscape plantings, and horticultural/forensic testimony in court cases. Computers and High-Tech Personal Property - These specialist appraise all types of computers, from personal computers to the largest mainframes, and all of the related components, including tape and disk drives and printers. They also appraise complex electronic equipment, including everything from large telephone switching systems to oscilloscopes, as well as medical and dental equipment ranging from small hand-held instruments to x-ray machines and CAT scanners. Cost Surveys - Appraisers who hold this specialty designation are involved mainly in the allocation of value among the various components of real property and personal property in industrial operations, factories, office buildings and other commercial and/or industrial settings. They are experts in the cost method of valuation as required for insurance coverage, insured loss analysis, accounting and tax allocation in mergers, acquisitions and other forms of business sales. Industrials - The industrials appraiser is involved with activities similar to those of the cost survey appraiser, being mostly concerned with the valuation of the property, plant and equipment of heavy industry and the process industries including, but not limited to, oil refineries, steel mills, smelters and mineral mills, extrusion, sheet and plate manufacturers, etc. In such operations it is extremely difficult to separate the values of the real property, machinery and equipment, and intagibles in any meaningful way, yet the appraiser must consider both total and component values. Machinery and Equipment - Appraisers in this specialty are professionally qualified to evaluate machine shops, refineries, hospitals, communications facilities, transportation equipment, construction equipment, office machines such as computers, copiers, and word processors, etc. Appraisals for insurace purposes require valuing the entire contents of buildings; the M&E appraiser is also called upon for allocation of purchase price and valuation for ad valorem tax purposes. Additionally, equipment analysis for future and residual values is fast becoming one of the more common assignments for today's M&E appraiser. Marine Survey - Both commercial surveyors and yacht surveyors practice under this specialty. They perform damage surveys and appraisals, usually required by insurance companies, detailing descriptions of the nature and extend of damage to yachts, larger vessels or marine cargoes; recommending repairs to restore the property to its prior condition; and estimating costs involved. Similaryly, surveys and/or appraisal are required to determine condition and value upon sale of yachts, small craft and ships. Mines and Quarries - These specialists are concerned with the value of mineral reserves other than oil, gas and other fluids, whether available through surface or underground mining or quarrying operations. Coal; industrial minerals such as talc, bentonite clay, limestone, etc;, and construction material s such as sand rock, gravel and marble are valued by engineering/mathematical methodologies for purpose of taxation, property sale, litigation, etc. Oil and Gas - These appraisers are concerned with the value of hydrocarbon reserves under the surface of the Earth, whether proven, unproved, developed or undeveloped. They must also determine values of various types of interests in minerals, subsurface leases, and unexplored properties. With backgrounds in engineering, geology and mathematics, they are concerned with future values as well as present values in an environment of economic and technological uncertainty. Public Utilities - These appraisers interpret values, both tangible and intangible, for properties in connection with rate case studies, sale or acquisition, eminent domain (condemnation), property tax appeals and insurance placement. Public utilities appraising requires specialized knowledge in order to take into account the unique economic and value characteristics of public utility properties and to properly recognize regulatory factors that influence value conclusions. Railroads - These appraisers identify and value railroad operating units primarily for ad valorem tax purposes. Unitary rail valuation is designed to estimate going concern market value. Segregation of tangible/intangible portions of unitary value may be necessary. This specialty requires analyses of regulatory atmosphere, economic cycles and financial performance. These appraisers are fully conversant with railroad operating and financial characteristics. |
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