 For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Zaloom Appraisal Associates, Ltd.Typically, appraising is a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.
We have a lot of obligations as appraisers, but first and foremost we answer to our clients.
Typically, for a normal 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 contracted in order to maintain independence.
Subsequently, appraisers are typically restricted to only disclosing their findings to their clients, so as
a homeowner, if you would like to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to request it through your lender.
Appraisers will often be required to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary role is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.
There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - something else Zaloom Appraisal Associates, Ltd. makes a part of their standard routine. Zaloom Appraisal Associates, Ltd. holds itself to the industry standards and mandates set in place for ethics. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Working on orders based on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to 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 an unsubstantiated value and then get paid more money! This isn't how we operate. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply "USPAP") explicitly states a violation in ethics 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value. With Zaloom Appraisal Associates, Ltd., you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service. |
|||||||||
