🔒 The Report You Weren't Supposed to Attach

Here's a quick one that protects you more than it protects anyone else: if a seller hands you a copy of an appraisal from a pre-listing valuation or an estate, don't attach it to the MLS listing. Even if it feels helpful. Even if you have a legitimate copy.

Why it matters to you: that report is somebody's licensed work product, built for one specific purpose and one specific reader — not for public marketing. Using it outside that scope isn't just a professional courtesy issue, it's a legal one, and it's on you as the person who attached it, not the person who handed it to you.

Here's the piece most agents don't know: this has already gone to court and been decided. An appraiser sued a brokerage for using parts of his report in marketing material without permission — and won. That's not a grey area anymore; it's settled.

Think of it the same way you'd think about the second sale on every deal — the one to the lender. You already know that report has to hold up to outside scrutiny long after your deal closes. The same logic applies here: what goes in that listing needs to be something you can defend, not something you borrowed.

What's actually fine: your own measurements, your own floor plan, public record data, and a simple line like "priced below recent appraisal" if that's the strategy. What's not fine: the value opinion, condition notes, comps, or photos pulled straight from someone else's report.

Here's something else worth understanding: reports often carry conditions you can't see just by reading a number. An appraisal might be based on a hypothetical condition ("as if" a specific repair or improvement were complete), an extraordinary assumption (something taken as fact that hasn't actually been verified), or a retrospective effective date (an opinion of what the property was worth as of a past date, not today). Sometimes the value or the data is entirely contingent on repairs or inspections that were supposed to happen before listing — and may or may not have. The client knows that context. You, as a third party looking at a number without the report, don't. That's another reason a number pulled out of context can create real exposure for you, even with the best intentions.

Here's the good news: if you genuinely need specific data — like square footage or a floor plan — there's now a clean way to get it. Ask the appraiser for a proper data license. It's a short, separate document (not the full report) that spells out exactly what you're allowed to use — things like the sketch, GLA, and room counts — with the client's written authorization behind it. No grey area, no borrowed liability, just the specific facts you actually need, done the right way. - Some appraisers may be willing to do this with proper agreement with the client(s). Some may not.

One more trap worth knowing: vetted once doesn't mean vetted forever. A number from an old appraisal can outlive the listing it came from — sitting in MLS history, getting copied forward into the next listing years later, treated as "already verified" by an agent who was never part of the original agreement and has no idea where it actually came from. If you're re-listing a property, don't assume old data still holds. Verify it fresh.

One more thing worth knowing: we're actively working on something bigger to solve this at the root — a way for agents to get accurate, defensible listing data on their own, without ever needing to lean on someone else's work. Can't share details yet, but it's coming. Get the Edge — more soon. 👀

0 comments

🔒 The Report You Weren't Supposed to Attach

The Real Estate Value Edge

skool.com/revalueedge

💸 Empowering Agents to Dominate the MLS, Understand Lender Dynamics & Appraisals

Get your edge today-Formulated from 28 Years & 11,000 Valuations⚡

Leaderboard (30-day)