For honest and ethical appraisals, count on Astute Appraisals, Inc.

We consider our our job 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 in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

As appraisers our chief obligation is to his or her client. More often than not, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you would like a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to request it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the parameters of the report, attaining and keeping an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is is what we do everyday at Astute Appraisals, Inc..

Appraisers can regularly have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Normally the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Astute Appraisals, Inc. you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other unethical 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 accepting 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," as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you engage Astute Appraisals, Inc. we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.