For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on AM Appraisal

We consider our what we do a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can certainly be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

For an appraiser the main obligation is to his or her client. Typically, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you want a copy of the appraisal document, you should obtain it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the parameters of the report, acquiring and keeping a respectable level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at AM Appraisal, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at AM Appraisal you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

We require the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries biggest no-no, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the estimate of the home would raise the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be confident we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you engage AM Appraisal 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.