For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Cedar Elm Appraisals

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we must follow strict ethical considerations.

As appraisers our main obligation is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you desire a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, reaching and sustaining an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is standard operating procedure for us at Cedar Elm Appraisals .

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those 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 duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - at Cedar Elm Appraisals you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We require the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Working on assignments that contingency fees is never an option. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries biggest no-no, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the value of the home would raise the fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 rest easy knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Cedar Elm Appraisals 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.