A third party asks the appraiser for a copy of a report prepared for a lender. How should the appraiser respond?
Correct Answer
C) Decline unless the client authorizes the release
Why this is correct: USPAP's Confidentiality section prohibits disclosing assignment results without client authorization or legal requirement, protecting client confidentiality. Why the other choices are wrong: "Provide it, since the report concerns their property" is false; ownership doesn't grant automatic access. "Provide it once the requester pays a copying fee" violates confidentiality without authorization. "Provide a summary containing only the value figure" still discloses confidential information without permission. Exam tip: Never release a report without client authorization, even to the property owner.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
USPAP permits disclosure of assignment results only to the client, parties the client authorises, state enforcement agencies, and third parties authorised by due process of law, so the appraiser declines absent client authorisation.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Provide it, since the report concerns their property
Property ownership does not make a person the client and confers no right of access to a report prepared for someone else.
Option B: Provide it once the requester pays a copying fee
A fee cannot purchase disclosure that the confidentiality obligation prohibits.
Option D: Provide a summary containing only the value figure
The value figure is an assignment result. Disclosing it is disclosure, whatever form it takes.
Route Every Request to the Client
Route Every Request to the Client. They can authorise it; you cannot authorise yourself.
How to use: Say nothing before authorisation, including the value. A partial answer is still disclosure.
Exam Tip
A subpoena or court order falls within due process of law, which is a separate permitted category from client authorisation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Providing the value figure as a compromise
- -Treating the property owner as entitled to the report
- -Releasing on payment of a fee
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
USPAP's Confidentiality section prohibits disclosing confidential information or assignment results to anyone other than the client, parties specifically authorised by the client, state enforcement agencies and third parties as may be authorised by due process of law. A third party's request therefore fails unless it falls into one of those categories, and the correct response is to decline and refer them to the client, who may authorise release. The distractors describe three routes around the obligation that do not exist. Being the property owner does not make someone the client, and ownership confers no right of access to a report prepared for a lender. Payment of a fee cannot purchase what confidentiality forbids. And providing a summary containing only the value figure is still disclosure of assignment results — the obligation covers the conclusions, not merely the document. The practical habit is simple: every disclosure request goes to the client for authorisation before anything is said.
Background Knowledge
USPAP's Confidentiality section limits disclosure of confidential information and assignment results to the client, parties authorised by the client, state enforcement agencies, and third parties authorised by due process of law.
Real-World Application
An appraiser receiving a third-party request declines, explains the confidentiality obligation, and offers to release the report if the lender authorises it.
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Reconciliation of the approaches to value is best described as which activity?
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