4 Potential Benefits of Hybrid and Bifurcated Appraisals

A major selling point for completing hybrid or bifurcated appraisals is that the appraiser will save a good deal of time by not inspecting the property, not taking photos of comparable sales, and not sitting in traffic. However, the notion that an appraiser could complete a hybrid/bifurcated appraisal in less than an hour is simply too good to be true. Below, we discuss realistic time expectations for completing these types of assignments. Then we outline four potential advantages of incorporating hybrid or bifurcated appraisals into your appraisal product offerings.

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Too good to be true

Appraisers are regularly told by proponents of bifurcated and hybrid appraisals that the segregated work model is designed so that the signing appraiser can complete the valuation in less than 60 minutes. But in reality, the appraiser’s research, data verification, analysis, development, and reporting are markedly similar to a traditional full appraisal.

An appraiser should realistically consider the time spent on the inspection process of a traditional full appraisal and compare it to a hybrid or bifurcated appraisal assignment for the same intended use, property type, definition and type of value, and the market area.

For instance, the time spent on a traditional full appraisal of a one-story tract home located in a subdivision within 15 miles of the appraiser’s office for the purpose of mortgage lending takes 5 hours to complete, on average. The time allocated to inspecting the home, scheduling the appointment, taking photos of the comparable sales, and the time spent traveling to and from the home averages 1.5 hours. The remaining 3.5 hours is spent on completing the research, analysis, and reporting.

Thus, is it realistic to believe that a credibly developed appraisal can now be completed in 30 minutes? No. The development, analyses, and reporting will still take 70% of the time of a traditional full appraisal, and the appraiser should charge accordingly. In other words, it would make sense that the appraiser charges 70% of the typical average fee of a traditional full appraisal assignment for this assignment.