 Honesty and Integrity: Amazing Grace AppraisalsBy and large, appraising is a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can certainly be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.
We have a lot of obligations as appraisers, but above everything we answer to our clients.
Most of the time, for a regular residential appraisal, the lender (or an agent of the lender) places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client.
Thereon, appraisers are typically limited to only disclosing their findings to their clients, so as
a homeowner, if you would like to review an appraisal report, you generally should obtain it through your lender.
Appraisers will often be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.
There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - at Amazing Grace Appraisals you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule. We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments based on contingency fees is not something we can consider. In other words, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and base our pay upon coming up with a particular value conclusion. There's a definite conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a larger value with the reward of getting paid more money! Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice clearly states unethical behavior as 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to get you an accurate home or property value. When you order an appraisal from Amazing Grace Appraisals, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the high ethical standards we're known for. |
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