Appraiser Ethics

Real estate appraising is a profession. In this field, as with any profession, I am bound by ethical considerations... both personal and legal.

My primary responsibility is to you, my client.

I have certain duties of confidentiality to my clients. For example, if a homeowner, not named as an "intended user" in my report, wants a copy of an appraisal report pertaining to their house, that homeowner has to request it through the lender / client.

Additional obligations include numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, an obligation to attain and maintain a certain level of competency and education, and I must conduct myself as a professional.

I take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

I recognize my fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others.  Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. My fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment, such as those named as intended users.

There are ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. I must keep appraisal work files for a minimum of five years.

I only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. I do not complete assignments on contingency fees. That is, I do not agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. I do not complete assignments on percentage fees. That is one of the appraisal profession’s biggest no-no's, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck.  Other unethical practices are defined by state law and the Arizona Board of Appraisal rules.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines as unethical 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," and other things. This means you can be assured I am working to objectively determine your property's value.

I promise that I will provide you with ethical, professional service 100% of the time.