A new guide from The Ambrose Group explains the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the current edition, who must follow it in Texas, and how the standards affect appraisals used in lending, litigation and property tax disputes.
-- The Ambrose Group, a Texas appraisal, property tax and cost segregation firm, has published a guide to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, known as USPAP. The guide was written by James Hamon, the firm’s Vice President of Appraisal Services and a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in Texas. It is available at https://theambrosegroup.com/what-is-uspap-real-estate-appraisal-standards/ on the company website.
USPAP is the rulebook for how an appraiser carries out an assignment and reports the result. The Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation writes it. According to the guide, the standards grew out of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, when trust in appraisals and lending had worn thin.
The guide also addresses a common source of confusion. Many older articles say USPAP is rewritten every two years. That is no longer the case. According to the guide, the current edition is the 2024 Edition, effective January 1, 2024, with no fixed end date. Changes now go through a published exposure draft and a public vote.
In Texas, the obligation comes from Occupations Code Section 1103.405, which requires licensed and certified appraisers to follow the current edition, with narrow exceptions. The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board enforces the rules. The guide notes that the board cannot investigate a complaint based only on value. An owner who disagrees with a number can ask the appraiser to reconsider it based on new information.
The guide describes the core rules in practical terms. Appraisers may not accept work where pay depends on a predetermined result. They must disclose prior services on the same property within the previous three years, and they must keep a workfile for at least five years. The standards do not produce a single correct number, a point Hamon makes directly. “Two appraisers can follow every rule and still reach different, defensible conclusions,” he writes.
That distinction matters more as automated tools spread. In April 2026, the Appraisal Standards Board adopted Advisory Opinion 41 on the use of technology in appraisal and appraisal review assignments. The opinion is guidance, not a change to the standards. The guide explains that an online estimate has no certifying appraiser, no stated scope of work and no workfile. Under Texas rules, a broker price opinion must also state in writing that it is not an appraisal prepared under USPAP.
The standards carry weight in three settings covered in the guide. Lenders in federally related transactions require USPAP-compliant appraisals. In court, the standards give judges and opposing counsel a way to test a report. In a Texas property tax protest, an owner of property valued at $1 million or less who files a qualifying appraisal by a certified appraiser can raise the burden of proof the appraisal district must meet.
The guide is also clear about limits. “USPAP doesn’t set a price, doesn’t guarantee that two compliant appraisers will agree, and doesn’t guarantee an outcome,” Hamon writes. The firm’s appraisal services are described at https://theambrosegroup.com/real-estate-appraiser/ and a step-by-step walkthrough of the appraisal process is available at https://theambrosegroup.com/real-estate-appraisal-guide/ on the same site.
About The Ambrose Group: The Ambrose Group is a Texas real estate consulting firm based in Jersey Village that has provided appraisal, property tax consulting, cost segregation and brokerage services since 1994. The company profile at https://theambrosegroup.com/about-real-estate-company/ covers its history and team.
Contact Info:
Name: The Ambrose Group
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Ambrose Group
Address: 16545 Village Dr Building A, Jersey Village, TX 77040, United States
Website: https://theambrosegroup.com/
Source: NewsNetwork
Release ID: 89206792
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