![]() For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Albers & Co LLCAppraising is, by and large, a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.
We have a lot of responsibilities as appraisers, but our primary duty is to our clients.
More often than not, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has hired in order to maintain independence.
Subsequently, appraisers are privy to a lot of information, and like an attorney, can only discuss many of these matters with their client. As
a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you generally should get it through your lender.
Appraisers may regularly have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.
There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Albers & Co LLC takes very seriously. We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments based on contingency fees is never an option. That means we don't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. It should be apparent to anyone that inflating a value to achieve essentially a higher paycheck is unethical! Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply "USPAP") explicitly describes 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value. When you order an appraisal from Albers & Co LLC, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the principles we're known for. |