Accredited Rural Appraiser

An appraiser who has received the ARA designation is trained and tested to ensure they are equipped with the tools necessary to tackle a wide spectrum of real estate valuation assignments. As with all assignments, competency in any specific arena is the duty of the appraiser; however the ARA has demonstrated through a comprehensive and intensive process that they have the knowledge and skills to successfully administer the appraisal. The Accredited Rural Appraiser conducts valuation work on wide range of property types that exist in rural parts of the country. These properties are often among the most complex properties from a valuation standpoint and require a sophisticated valuation expert to properly appraise them. An ARA has demonstrated through course work, experience, work review and a comprehensive exam that they have the expertise required for these complex valuation assignments. Below is a partial list of the types of properties and ARA’s appraise each day across the nation and beyond:

• Agricultural Production Facilities – examples include: commercial feed yards, greenhouses, potato houses, cold storage and others
• Agricultural Properties – examples include: production agriculture, recreational ranches
• Natural Resources – examples include: oil/gas and other minerals, wind/geothermal/solar, timber, water and others
• Federal , State, local Condemnation and Right-of-Way Appraisals
• Partial Interests – examples include: undivided interest, leasehold/leased fee, life estate, conservation easements and others
• Commercial Properties– examples include: small office buildings
• Small business– examples include: machinery dealers
• Rural Residential properties

Approximately one half of all land found within the United States is utilized in some form of agricultural production and even more is included in uses such as rural residential and recreational properties. At the same time, the number of appraisers that have been educated and trained in this specific type of real estate is relatively small as a percentage of the entire appraisal workforce. As a result, appraisers in this industry have formed a very close network of peers which aids in the ability to gather significant factual data pertinent to very difficult and complex real property issues. Given the complexities of issues surrounding such a large percentage of real estate throughout the United States, and the significant investment required by market participants to acquire ownership, a well trained and experienced valuation professional has vast opportunities to obtain significant business.

(Please take a look at the Accreditation Checklist under Helpful Links below for full details)

1. Required coursework
   
   • Integrated Approaches to Value (30 hours)
   • ASFMRA Best in Business Ethics for New Members (5 hours)
   • Eminent Domain (16 hours)
   • Advanced Rural Case Studies (40 hours)
   • Valuation of Conservation Easements and Other Partial Interests in Real Estate (24 hours)
   Total - 115 hours
2. Five years of appraisal experience. Experience must include at least 600 hours of the 1,600 hours in each of the last three years in rural appraisal. For the purpose of determining work experience, each applicant will be asked to submit six appraisal reports from their log.
3. Submit one demonstration report.
4. Provide evidence of certification as a Certified General Appraiser under the certification laws and regulations of any state, if the applicant of the designation works within the United States.
5. ASFMRA membership.
6. Comprehensive ARA Accrediting exam.

*While it is recommended that you take or challenge A304 Integrated Approaches to Value, if you have taken all of these courses – A110, A200 and A300, you will not be required to take A304 to be able to sit for the ARA exam. However, you must have taken all three courses to get the exemption for A304.