A recorded subdivision plat shows a lot width of 100 feet, while an appraiser’s field observation suggests 95 feet. No reliable current survey explains the difference. What is the appropriate response?
Correct Answer
D) Investigate with survey and title data and disclose the supported basis
Width alone does not establish site area. Investigate a material conflict through appropriate survey, recorded instruments and other reliable information, then report the supported site characteristics and relevant limitations. A field observation is not a boundary adjudication, and absence of a variance or recorded adjustment does not itself resolve the conflict. ANSI building-area measurement is not a universal rule for deciding land-title priority.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option D is correct because a material conflict between the plat and a field observation must be investigated with appropriate survey, recorded instruments and other reliable information. USPAP requires the appraiser to identify relevant property characteristics from sources reasonably believed to be reliable. After that research, the appraiser reports the supported site characteristics and discloses any relevant limitations.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Report 95 square feet as the site area, based on the field observation alone
Option A, reporting 95 square feet as the site area from the field observation alone, is wrong on two counts. A width is a linear measure and does not by itself establish site area, and an appraiser's field observation is not a boundary determination that overrides recorded data.
Option B: Declare that the plat conclusively overrides all survey evidence
Option B, declaring that the plat conclusively overrides all survey evidence, is wrong because the appraiser is not adjudicating boundaries. The conflict needs investigation through survey and title information, not a blanket rule that one source wins.
Option C: Average the two widths and call the result the legal acreage
Option C, averaging the two widths and calling the result the legal acreage, is wrong because averaging two conflicting figures produces a number supported by neither source. A width also is not acreage, and an appraiser cannot create a legal area by arithmetic.
Conflict means investigate, then disclose
When two property data sources disagree, think 'research, report, reveal': research reliable sources, report the supported figure, reveal the limitation.
How to use: Use this whenever a question pits a plat, survey, tax record or observation against another source with no explanation.
Exam Tip
When a question presents conflicting site data and no reliable resolution, prefer the answer that calls for investigation and disclosure over one that picks, averages or declares a winner.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Treating the appraiser's own field measurement as a legal boundary determination
- -Averaging conflicting dimensions to create a compromise figure
- -Confusing a lot width with total site area
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests how an appraiser handles a conflict between a recorded plat dimension and a field observation when no reliable survey resolves it. The appraiser identifies property characteristics from sources reasonably believed to be reliable, so a material conflict calls for investigation rather than picking or blending numbers. The best response is to research survey, title and recorded documents and then report the supported basis along with any limitations.
Background Knowledge
Site size and dimensions are relevant characteristics that the appraiser must identify from reliable sources, and Fannie Mae requires the actual size of the site. Plats, surveys, tax records and field observations can disagree, and appraisers are not surveyors or title examiners. When a discrepancy is material, the appraiser researches it and discloses the basis for the reported figures and any limitations.
Real-World Application
An appraiser measuring a residential lot paces off a frontage noticeably shorter than the recorded plat shows. The appraiser requests any available survey and title documents from the client, reviews the recorded plat, and in the report states which source supports the site size used and notes the unresolved discrepancy.
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