Members of the Board,

I've read all of the submitted comments. You don't have to be an appraiser to understand that the proposed use of hybrid reports is a bad idea. It's also an insult to each of you!

You've all invested a good part of your lives to the appraisal profession. As appraisers, we've all experienced many bad ideas imposed on our profession. What part of this latest idea makes sense? 

There was once a Real Estate broker, in Richmond, who specialized in selling foreclosures. He provided his clients, the banks, market values for these properties with "BPO's". These BPO's were completed by an agent in his company, whom he paid $50 per report. The agent completed these reports, in isolation, sitting in a small room within their office. You all, given the number of years you've been appraising, probably know similar stories. These reports were completed by a non-appraiser within 30 minutes, at very little expense.

As members of the Board, you are tasked with reviewing the actions of bad appraisers, who have violated the public's trust. Now add hybrid appraisals to the mix!

Would any of you want your homes evaluated on the basis of a hybrid report or recommend to family members or friends that they do so? Or even better, have someone who is unlicensed, uninsured and in general, not ethically constrained, with no real estate experience going through your home "inspecting" and taking photos?

There would be many more comments opposing the concept of hybrid appraisals, if the general public was aware, but for the moment, members of the Board, the decision is yours.