We consider what we do as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. That’s why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.
An appraiser’s primary responsibility is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser’s client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has contracted in order to maintain independence. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment are to be shared exclusively with the appraiser’s client. So, as a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you normally should obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities include accurate calculations appropriate to the scope of the assignment, reaching and keeping a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Home Appraisals, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.
Appraisers may sometimes have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser’s fiduciary role is limited to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.
Home Appraisals, Inc. has an established track record for producing appraisals with the highest of ethics. Contact us today to learn more.
Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years – at Home Appraisals, Inc. you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.
When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Accepting orders based on contingency fees is never an option. That means we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and base our pay upon coming up with a particular value conclusion. Anyone should be able to see that inflating a value to achieve what amounts to a bigger paycheck is unethical! We set ourselves to a higher standard.
Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply “USPAP”) explicitly describes a violation in ethics as accepting of an assignment that is contingent on “the reporting of a pre-determined result (e.g., opinion of value)”, “a direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the client”, or “the amount of a value opinion” in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are working hard to get you an accurate home or property value.
With Home Appraisals, Inc., you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.
Home Appraisals, Inc. - Copyright 2019