A defensible value isn't a number that's right — it's a number a reasonable reviewer can follow from evidence to conclusion without guessing.
The four pillars
- Subject definition: identical make, model, year, hours or usage, and configuration — recorded, not implied.
- Comp selection: transparent inclusion criteria, with rejected candidates noted and dated.
- Adjustments: every delta between subject and comp has a written basis, not a gut-feel percentage.
- Reconciliation: the final value ties back to a specific weighting of the strongest comps.
"Reviewers don't disagree with values as often as they disagree with reasoning they can't reconstruct."
Where workfiles fall apart
Most workfiles that fail review fail on the same axis: the appraiser knows why the value is right, but the file doesn't. Systemizing the reasoning capture is the highest-leverage change a team can make.
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Pull defensible comps, keep the reasoning tight, and ship the workfile faster.
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