For honest and ethical appraisals, count on A-1 Appraisal Service

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

As appraisers our primary responsibility is to his or her client. More often than not, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to request it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the parameters of the report, reaching and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at A-1 Appraisal Service, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the assignment.

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 A-1 Appraisal Service you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the estimate of the home would inflate the fee. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics 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," "the amount of a value opinion," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

With A-1 Appraisal Service, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.