![]() For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Frederick & CompanyAppraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.
We have a great deal of obligations as appraisers, but our main duty is to our clients.
Normally, for a typical 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.
It's important to know that certain details relating to an assignment are to be shared exclusively with the appraiser's client. So, as a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to request it via your lender.
Appraisers can also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary role is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.
Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else Frederick & Company takes very seriously. We demand the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Accepting assignments based on contingency fees is never an option. That means we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. There's an obvious conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a larger value with the reward of getting paid more money! This isn't how we operate. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice clearly 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 follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value. With Frederick & Company, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service. |