Any occupant (tenant OR owner) can deny you the right to take pictures of anything. What they cannot do and you should not do is to ignore any (significant) commercial uses.

In a divorce, I’d be leery of bringing it up unless asked by an attorney in court. Even if personal use. On the other hand, NO ONE can deny you the right to report an improper or illegal use to your client. (1) Remember the identified scope of work in your report, and (2) avoid advocacy for the interests or cause of any party associated with the property.

I would not report a couple of plants. I WOULD report a grow-operation with significant special lighting and irrigation. If for no other reason than an EA that no mold results. Just an opinion. Follow USPAP and don’t advocate or do anything perceived as advocacy.

Yet in 2018 one AMC/AMS and famous bank manage to find a way to put the appraiser in an untenable situation by telling them to ignore impact on marketability and value.

By directing that they NOT ask questions related to legality, or whether it is used for owners own consumption or a commercial business; ‘or their intent’ the appraiser cannot comply with other aspects of USPAP.

What’s changed? It’s no longer just one state. It’s becoming a potential stage for federal versus states rights challenges that could affect value and marketability of specific properties. It is also now a case where one AMS is TELLING appraisers not to do certain things that are a normal part of any good appraisal. To ask questions in order to determine impact of ‘unusual’ conditions or circumstances.

It’s goes beyond personal use amounts. If I see a basement full of sodium grow lights and special overhead drip irrigation lines and many dozens or even hundreds of plants indicative of a commercial enterprise they are now telling me I can’t even ask questions. THAT leaves me directly vulnerable to a whole host of charges from a variety of sources.

IF I enter a home and see racist literature all over the place, it is none of my business. Though it is POSSIBLY an indicator that Federal Fair Housing laws may not be honored it is also NOT something I can prove.

Same with pot. OK, so lets ASSUME all us ‘over 50’ appraisers remember what growing pot looks like. Lets assume the house is not a large scale growing project replete with grow lights and special irrigation and indoor hothouses.

You CALL the lender and tell them you see 5, 10 or 50 pot plants around the backyard. You even take pictures. The lender kills the loan.

The borrower (refi) asks why his loan was denied. The lender NOW must decide whether to LIE or not on the loan denial notification. Maybe growing pot is legal in that state. Maybe its not. I don’t think there is a loan declined due to pot canned statement anywhere. In any case, the borrower knows he was turned down due to the plants.

He pulls them all up (or maybe its just harvest time)-now there is no proof of your allegation at all. Your interior photos are confidential to the client; and in some states wouldn’t be admissible evidence anyway.

He goes to another lender. FNMA declines to buy that loan because YOUR old appraisal said there was pot being grown there. Current appraisal has pictures that show petunias back where you claimed pot was growing.

Owners attorney tells him he should sue you and turn you in to the state. State says report is misleading. You show pot pictures. Owner says they were rubber gag plants and that he told you that at time of appraisal.

MAYBE it was a sale. Buyer bought BECAUSE he wanted the advanced growth pot plants just lime some people like apple trees. In escrow lender says remove and document removal of the plants. Seller reluctantly does so to close the deal. Buyer says now he doesn’t want the property. Not the same as when he inspected it.

We are NOT talking about poisonous meth or potentially explosive meth. We are talking about pot. It is a PURELY legal issue between the owner and authorities.

I was NOT hired to be a policeman. IF its a commercial growing operation then I report a commercial use growing operation at the property and indicate that value about the real estate may be attributed to the agri-business there.