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 Appraiser Ethics
We provide only objective, ethical and professional service. Real property appraisal is a profession, and we required to act professionally. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations. Our ethical 'Bible' is the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
USPAP provides clear guideline for professional appraisal practice. For example, we cannot act as advocates (like an attorney may) -- USPAP defines as unethical the acceptance 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," "the amount of a value opinion," and other things. This means you can be assured we are working to objectively determine the home or property value.
We perform to the highest ethical standards. For example, don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the client obtains a desired result. Ethical appraisers don't do assignments on percentage fees. Why? Because it would tend to make unethical appraisers inflate the value of properties to increase their compensation. Like all ethical appraisers, we don't do that, and we never will.
After USPAP, an appraiser's primary responsibility is to his or her client. Normally, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal to decide whether to make the mortgage loan. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients -- as a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender -- obligations of numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, an obligation to attain and maintain a certain level of competency and education, and must generally conduct him or herself as a professional. Here, we take
these ethical responsibilities very seriously.
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