Honesty and Integrity: American Appraisal, Inc.

We think of our business as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. 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 are bound by an ethical code.

We have quite a few responsibilities as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, reaching and sustaining a respectable level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at American Appraisal, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - at American Appraisal, Inc. you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

American Appraisal, Inc. holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for ethics. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. We don't 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 don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be defined 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you order an appraisal from American Appraisal, Inc. we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.