Property Appraisers and Assessors

Mixed — a routine tier and a judgment tier. An 8 reflects that comps selection, grid adjustments, and the URAR narrative are increasingly machine-drafted while the inspection and reconciliation of a non-conforming property still need a person on-site — the mixed score, not lower, is because condition and functional-obsolescence judgment resists digitisation even as the analytical core has fallen.

Some physical or field component. A 10 is the site visit: measuring GLA to ANSI standards, crawling attics and basements, photographing roof and mechanicals, and driving neighborhoods — physical and uncontrolled, but a lot of the day is still desk work in a forms platform, which keeps it well below field trades in the 15+ range.

Licensed human required and personally liable. At 14 the state-certified appraiser signs the report and personally holds the USPAP obligation, carries E&O, and can be disciplined or sued for a defective valuation years after closing under FIRREA Title XI licensing — the reason it isn't higher is that appraisal waivers and AVMs are increasingly permitted to bypass that signature entirely, so the shield covers a shrinking share of transactions.

Some relationship component. A 7 fits work where the client is usually a lender's AMC assigning through a rotational panel: the homeowner never chooses you, fees are bid, and the report goes to an underwriter who reads the number — the modest points come from repeat relationships with attorneys, estate work, and tax-appeal clients who ask for you by name.

Meaningful discretion. A 10 recognises the genuine discretion in reconciling divergent value indications, deciding which sale is truly comparable in a thin market, and supporting a highest-and-best-use conclusion — but USPAP, Fannie Mae Selling Guide requirements, and the URAR form constrain the process enough that most residential assignments follow a prescribed path rather than an open call.