 For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on South Sound Appraisal, Inc.Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.
The appraiser's main obligation is to their client.
Typically, in residential practice, the lender (or an agent of the lender) places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client.
Consequently, appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, plus many rules and regulations that must be followed. As
a homeowner, if you desire a copy of the appraisal document, you normally should get it via your lender instead of the appraiser.
There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Normally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary role is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.
Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at South Sound Appraisal, Inc. you can rest assured that we abide by that rule. While working on an assignment, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Accepting assignments where our fee is dependent on our value conclusion is not something we can consider. That means we don't 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 an unsubstantiated value and then get paid more money! We just don't do it. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice also describes 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", 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 get you an accurate home or property value. As soon as you engage South Sound Appraisal, Inc., we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the high ethical standards we're known for. |
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