 For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Jim Audas, Jr.By and large, appraising is a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.
The appraiser's main obligation is to their client.
Normally, in residential practice, the lender (or an agent of the lender) places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client.
Subsequently, appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, plus strict rules and regulations to which we must adhere. As
a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you normally should get it through your lender.
Appraisers will frequently need to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.
There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Jim Audas, Jr. you can rest assured that we stick to that rule. We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. Accepting assignments based on contingency fees is never an option. In other words, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. There's a definite conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a larger value with the reward of getting paid more money! This isn't how we operate. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice also defines unethical behavior 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 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. As soon as you request an appraisal from Jim Audas, Jr., we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the honesty and integrity we're known for. |
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