 Honesty and Integrity: Souris Valley Appraisal, LLCWe think of what we do as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession rather than a trade. In our field, 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.
Typically, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has retained to maintain independence.
Consequently, appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney, can only discuss many of these matters with their client. As
a homeowner, if you want a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to obtain it via your lender.
Appraisers may frequently have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. 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 things in the framework of the assignment.
Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - something else Souris Valley Appraisal, LLC takes very seriously. We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. Accepting orders based on contingency fees is not something we can consider. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. It should be obvious that fabricating a home's value to achieve a bigger paycheck is unethical! We just don't do it. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply "USPAP") explicitly defines a violation in ethics 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" as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to get you an accurate home or property value. When you request an appraisal from Souris Valley Appraisal, LLC, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the high ethical standards we're known for. |
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