Honesty and Integrity: ABK Appraisals

We consider our our job a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

An appraiser's chief obligation is to their client. Normally, for a standard residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you should request it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, attaining and keeping a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at ABK Appraisals, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will regularly need to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is only to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else ABK Appraisals takes very seriously.

When busy with an assignment, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing orders 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. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the value of the home would increase the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines unethical behavior 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," in addition to other situations We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage ABK Appraisals we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.